Lessons From the Presidents For Turbulent Times (2018)
When LBJ was born, his mother figured that she could guide him into the kind of life that had been denied her. However, LBJ proved to not have the requisite passions, curiosity, or intellectualism that his mother possessed, and the result was that she withdrew her love and affection from her son. At best,, her love and affection for LBJ were on-and-off, a quid pro quo for obedience and achievement, which became a huge factor in shaping his personality, which eventually became known as the “Johnson Freeze-Out”.
As a student, LBJ was not brilliant in the intellectual sense, but very much so in terms of processing information and dealing with people; LBJ was even held back for summer school before he graduated. Unlike his mother, LBJ was never a reader; if LBJ read, it had to be about government, history, or politics, and he remained forever plagued with a sense of academic inferiority. LBJ knew that if he wanted to achieve his ambitions, he needed to connect himself and get close to those that were the “head of things”.
LBJ’s first job in which he was in charge was as a principal of a very small border town school in Texas, which was mired in poverty. LBJ became a beloved leader in the community, in large part because in that instance, LBJ wasn’t trying to absorb power by accommodating a mentor or by ferociously competing with peers. LBJ did his best to try and elevate those in need, and his efforts were fed by his empathy, and the success he sought was combined with the fierce desire to help his students improve their lives in the short and long runs.
At the time when LBJ would have had the best opportunities to enter state-level politics, the Great Depression started. LBJ found a job at Sam Houston High School where he taught public speaking and debate, and soon the school won its first state trophy for debate under LBJ’s tutelage. Again, LBJ combined his ambition with improving the condition of others; in a way, LBJ combined the best attributes of his parents in elevating the debate team to its achievements.
In dealing with constituent requests, LBJ had to become an expert with the federal bureaucracy. LBJ constantly figured out where power lay, and who the actual power-brokers were. It was when LBJ reached that plateau that his enthusiastic bombardment and hectoring began, which was mixed with flattery and threats, and he never took no for an answer. In effect, LBJ had become a Congressman in every way but in fact, and by the age of 25, LBJ was on the path to a career in politics. LBJ’s ability to locate the true source of power in any institution, to secure wise and faithful mentors, and to transform minor positions into far more powerful ones would accompany him every step as he ascended to the White House.
Unlike Lincoln, TR, and FDR, LBJ could never truly unwind, always obsessed with all-things political. Even during “down time” or socializing, LBJ found ways to keep going full throttle. In 1934, LBJ married Claudia “Lady Bird” Taylor, who was a daughter of a wealthy Texas businessman. Lady Bird was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. Consistent with his personality, LBJ’s courtship of Lady Bird lasted only a few weeks until he proposed. Lady Bird established a home in DC using her family’s money, which provided stability for LBJ, and it also intensified his ambition. Lady Bird offered near nonstop hospitality to LBJ’s guests, and she was always ready to entertain, even with very little advance notice.
In 1935, LBJ told Rayburn that he would be the best person to run the National Youth Administration in Texas. Due to Rayburn’s influence and insistence, FDR agreed to name the young and relatively inexperienced LBJ to the post. The youngest of the NYA directors immediately proved himself, showing his unique set of skills, proving that he did indeed have the executive skill set. To LBJ, the NYA in Texas was a much larger-scale version of his principal’s gig years before. The first thing LBJ did to get the ball rolling was to put thousands of NYA kids working to build rest areas off highways, complete with restrooms, picnic tables, etc. LBJ navigated the bureaucratic morass and the logistical labyrinth, and he came through with flying colors . . . and LBJ made sure that he advertised his successes. LBJ’s star had risen to the point where he was juggling 350 agencies, and he had the most NYA funding of any state. In 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt made a point to visit LBJ in Texas.
LBJ’s “Go Fever” had a downside, in that there were complaints of asking too much on one end and abuse on the other. LBJ instilled fear and kept everyone around him on edge, and staffers never knew what would trigger an outburst from LBJ. Some found LBJ’s oscillating behavior too much to bear, but the vast majority under LBJ didn't feel that way, in that they shared LBJ’s vision,and they were learning new skills. In DC, Lady Bird was able to soften LBJ’s harsh edges with her hospitality and level of caring, which reduced the demands and hours of LBJ. Even though LBJ wasn’t yet 30 years old, most of his staffers knew he was going way up, and they wanted to go along for the ride.
Even though he was the youngest candidate, LBJ simply outworked his older rivals. While the other candidates focused on only campaigning in urban areas, LBJ went to the district’s hinterlands as well. LBJ had the same abilities as Lincoln on the campaign trail, making the kind of connections with voters that the other candidates in no way could match. LBJ literally worked himself to the point where he had to be hospitalized before the election, and it was from his hospital bed that he learned that he had won by 3000 votes.
LBJ was invited to meet FDR in Galveston as the President was arriving from a vacation in the Caribbean. FDR also invited LBJ to ride back to DC on the same train with him. FDR was very impressed with the young LBJ, telling an aid back in DC to make sure that LBJ received assistance in the future. When LBJ entered Congress, it was with FDR as an indirect mentor. During the campaign, LBJ promised voters that he would bring electricity to the Hill Country, and that was the first thing he pursued as a freshman Congressman. Even though the Tennessee Valley Authority (1933) and the Rural Electrification Act (1935) were in effect, the Hill Country of Texas had been left out, since it didn’t meet the population density requirements of the REA.
In early-1938, Congress passed a bill providing federal money to clean up slums and to build public housing, and the first three cities given federal grants were New York City, New Orleans, and Austin, due to LBJ’s efforts. LBJ’s “Go Fever” in the corridors of Capitol Hill and beyond had secured the grant for Austin, and LBJ told the power-brokers in Austin that they would need to include African-Americans and Latnos, or there would not be a federal grant for public housing. LBJ had become part of a circle of young New Dealers in Congress and the White House, and soon LBJ became one of the straws that stirred the drink, and FDR’s interest in LBJ sharpened. FDR went so far to tell others that he believed LBJ could very well become the first President from the South.