we need to do more. so universal pre-k, top quality early childhood education is one thing that we could do across the country. the second is full access to higher education for every child who seeks that, because we know america needs an educated workforce. go to the lbj legacy a minute here, dr. bunch is the historian here. how unlikely of a figure of lbj leading this cause in hindsight or in many ways did it need to be a white guy from the south to do this? in many ways the success of the civil rights act, the voting rights act, is really because, in part, who lbj was. he was a southerner so he was able to speak to other southern senators. he was able to say this is a cause that s closely important to me, you must pay attention to it. but i also think the strength of lbj was recognizing how america had changed, recognizing the impact of the civil rights
most bitter rival in the administration, in all of washington and politics. but to call them rivals at the moment that would have been a gr gross distortion. he told sam rayburn, being vice president is look being a cut dog. that s who lbj was in the months, weeks, minutes, seconds before the shots rang out. lyndon johnson in predallas was in serious political trouble. a scandal, secretary of the senate s office was unfolding, one that involved, lbj s protege, bobby baker, graft, sex, influence peddling. and sparked new interest that johnson amassed a fortune of millions after 30 years of government salary. in november 1963, the powder keg was about to blow. november 22nd, the presidential motorcade rolling through dallas, editors of life
speech to congress that night. the lbj who awoke in 1963 was vastly different than the one frantically sworn in as president less than 12 hours later. eight weeks before the assassination, this was the defeated, slow moving, lyndon johnson, dressed informally in cakies, me khakis. the interviewer was ray miller. johnson replied to his question with the body language of a man just going through the motions. a lot of people thought when you when you gave up the majority leadership in the senate to become vice president that you would find it a comedown. how do you find it? well, i can t imagine why anyone would think that. i don t think that, vice presidents ha ccan come down fr anything. no one thought he was the second man in washington. when they quoted number two man in washington they were talking about robert kennedy, l.b.j. s
worrying about inside was if there is a piece of information that says oswald was acting as an agent for cuba or the soviet union if killing john kennedy, americans will demand we go to war against the soviet union and might kill 40 million people. nobody knew it on the 23rd of november 50 years ago, that s what was going through his head. he was also terrified politically in even in 64. i wonder because that brings us to the first major legislative pushes in advance, that was civil rights, how much of that was because lbj s reputation before was the conservative southern senator. 1948. he had run almost with white supreme cyst language. exactly. so much of his push was this was
manly because johnson had the feeling or he had the feeling you let johnson get in charge of one area, in three minutes, he will be controlling my white house. the period where things in part you brought out, other historians, lbj has been reassessed. he passed away, his legacy had been totally equipped by vietnam. can you talk about in his final days lbj reckoned with how his great society civil rights, how that was being torthen. he was expected to have a large place in american memory. he didn t have it. 1973 as you say, steve, people thought of him as a vietnam president, they had forgotten