Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Is it time to reconsider LBJ?

Maybe. Adam Nagourney writes in the Sunday Times, "Rescuing a Vietnam Casualty: Johnson’s Legacy":
On Monday, the L.B.J. Presidential Library and Museum will announce details of a Civil Rights Summit to be held here in April to commemorate Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act, attended by three of the four living former presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — and perhaps President Obama.

A ceremony is being planned inside the massive slab of the L.B.J. Library, to be followed by celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Johnson initiatives: Medicare, the Clean Air Act, public broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Head Start, the requirements for seatbelts, and warnings on cigarette packs. The events are intended to offer a counterweight to the way Johnson has been portrayed over the past decades.

Shouldn't passing Medicare or the Civil Rights Act alone get LBJ into the top tier of presidents?

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