My School Project

For my school project I wanted to use some quotes from Lyndon Johnson and Lester Pearson.

I needed stuff about their views on armed conflict and the Vietnam War.

I'm happy with the quotes I used, I think they reflect each man's position and fit well with the story I am trying to tell.

Lyndon Johnson, from his quotes, was a more complex man than I had expected.

I had the impression he lucked into a presidency because sympathy due to John F. Kennedy's assassination and then ramped up the Vietnam war. Johnson had been Kennedy's vice-president.

It is easy to forget that Johnson wasn't just the president who escalated the Vietnam war, he was also the president who brought in civil rights legislation, Medicare, Medicaid and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

These initiatives were created as part of the Great Society campaign.

Here are the quotes from Johnson I didn't use:

"If you've got 'em by the balls, their heart and mind will follow."

“I never trust a man unless I've got his pecker in my pocket.”

“Boys, I may not know much, but I know chicken shit from chicken salad.”

“Jerry Ford is so dumb that he can't fart and chew gum at the same time.”

"Ford's economics are the worst thing that's happened to this country since pantyhose ruined finger-fucking."

"Did you ever think that making a speech on economics is a lot like pissing down your leg? It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else."

"It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in." Refering to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

"Fuck your parliament and your constitution."
To the Greek ambassador when he objected to American plans in Cyprus

"You’re asking the leader of the Western world a chickenshit question like that?"

I'm not sure the current president from Texas will be remembered as complex.

Related Links
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park