1968: Tet, Plummeting Popularity and the Ultimate Failure of the Johnsonian Press Strategy

Quail, Benjamin W.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-84946-7_7

Benjamin W. Quail²

145 Accesses

Abstract

The year 1968 was sha** up to be a pivotal one for both the Johnson administration and for America as a whole. Later termed “The Year the Dream Died,” by veteran journalist Jules Witcover, the country had much to deal with. On 23 January, a week before the Tet Offensive began, North Korea seized the USS Pueblo, claiming ship violated its territorial waters. The crew would not be released until 11 December. In March, LBJ announced a bombing halt and removed himself from the race for the presidency, declaring that he would refuse his party’s nomination. Political unrest was underlined by two high-profile assassinations; civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was shot by James Earl Ray on 4 April, just a week before President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 on 11 April, and Senator Robert Kennedy (D-New York) was targeted for his views on Israel by the assassin Sirhan Sirhan, dying on 6 June. Kennedy and Johnson were not on good terms since the latter declined to name Kennedy as his running mate in 1964. The economic unrest and public dissatisfaction with the war exploded into violence following King’s death, and again as demonstrators picketed the Democratic National Convention in August—a well-publicised incident involving security officers, and reporters Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite created further publicity issues for the Democrats. On 31 October, Johnson announced a complete cessation of all air, naval and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam was to start the following day. The following week, Richard Nixon became the president elect, defeating Johnson’s vice president, Hubert Humphrey, and giving a clear indication of negative public opinion on the Johnson administration’s progress. However, the final break between Johnson, the press and public opinion came with his 31 March announcement removing his name from contention. The focus of this section is on the events leading up to this declaration, but some due consideration is needed for events after the fact as the administration looked towards the November elections.

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Notes

1.
J Witcover, The Year the Dream Died: Revisiting 1968 in America (New York: Warner Books, 1997), p. 1.
2.
M Frankel, “Johnson’s Press Secretary is Unflappable as Ever,” New York Times , 1 January 1968, p. 1.
3.
Ibid., p. 6.
4.
Transcript, Peter Braestrup Oral History I, 1 March 1982, T Gittinger, p. 16, Internet Copy, LBJ Library.
5.
“Man of the Year,” Time , 5 January 1968, pp. 16–18.
6.
Ibid., p. 22.
7.
Ibid., p. 7.
8.
L B Johnson, “The President’s News Conference at the LBJ Ranch,” 1 January 1968. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=28693.
9.
Ibid.
10.
G Gallup, The Gallup Poll : Public Opinion 1935–1971 (New York: Random House, 1972), p. 2099.
11.
Ibid., p. 2103.
12.
Panzer ’s courting of Harris is mentioned by B Altschuler in LBJ and the Polls (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1990), p. 77.
13.
L Harris, “Harris Survey: LBJ Rebounds to Lead GOP Contenders,” Winona Daily News (Winona, MN), 8 January 1968, p. 4.
14.
Confidential Memorandum from H Owen [no recipient specified], “Where Do We Go From Here?”, 29 November 1967, “Annual Message To Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon Baines Johnson, box 260, Lyndon B Johnson Library, Austin, Texas [LBJ Library].
15.
Memorandum from Fred Bohen to Joseph A Califano, 1 December 1967 (Forwarded to Harry McPherson on 16 December 1967), “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon Baines Johnson, box 260, LBJ Library.
16.
In his memoirs, Nicholas Katzenbach noted, “Nineteen sixty-eight was my eighth consecutive year in government and it was by far the most depressing and frustrating year for me—and I think for many others as well.” See N DeB Katzenbach, Some Of It Was Fun: Working with RFK and LBJ (New York: W. W. Norton, 2008), p. 277 and passim.
17.
Memorandum from Betsy Levin to Don Furtado, forwarded to Joseph A. Califano on 12 December 1967, “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon B Johnson, box 260, LBJ Library.
18.
Memorandum from Donald J Irwin to President Lyndon B Johnson, 20 December 1967, “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon Baines Johnson, box 260, LBJ Library.
19.
Memorandum from Kintner to President Johnson, 13 January 1968, “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon Baines Johnson, box 260, LBJ Library, p. 2.
20.
Ibid., p. 3. Kintner also advised (p. 4) that Johnson should work with a professional “if” he decided to run in the 1968 election.
21.
The 9 pm time of the speech is noted in Lyndon B. Johnson, “Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union,” 10 January 1967. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=28338. Kintner recommended later in the memo that the text be released to newspapers, magazines and broadcasters no later than 6:00 pm.
22.
Memorandum from Kintner to Johnson, p. 5.
23.
Memorandum from Liz Carpenter to the President, 16 January 1968 (mis-labelled as 16 November), “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon B Johnson, box 260, LBJ Library. Carpenter was a journalist and public speaker in her own right, and contributed to some of Johnson’s speeches. She also created the “White House Humor Group,” who, Robert Schlesinger notes, would meet in her office every week or so, “sip scotch and try to come up with jokes for Johnson’s upcoming speeches.” See R Schlesinger, White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008), p. 177.
24.
Memorandum from Douglass Cater to the President, 16 January 1968, in Statements of Lyndon B Johnson, box 260, 17 January 1968, LBJ Library.
25.
Memorandum from Joe Califano to the President, 17 January 1968, at 10:10am, “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon B Johnson, box 260, LBJ Library.
26.
Memorandum from Joe Califano to the President, 17 January 1968, at 2:00am, “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” Statements of Lyndon B Johnson, box 263, LBJ Library.
27.
D Kearns, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream (London: Harper and Row, 1976), p. 343.
28.
L B Johnson, The Vantage Point (New York: Henry Holt, 1971), p. 430. Turner also notes this exchange in Lyndon Johnson ’s Dual War, p. 213, and Johnson’s difficulties at the beginning of 1968.
29.
L B. Johnson: “Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union,” 17 January, 1968. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=28738.
30.
H Smith, “Johnson’s Budget $186 billion: Wants Gold Reserve Freed; Seeks an Assurance by Hanoi,” New York Times , 28 January 1968, p. 1.
31.
“The State of the Union,” New York Times , 18 January 1968, p. 38.
32.
J Reston, “Washington: ‘Why Then, This Restlessness,’” New York Times , 19 January 1968, p. 46.
33.
Associated Press, “Key Solons Would Slice More From ‘Tight Budget,’” Bridgeport Post (Bridgeport, CT), 18 January 1968, p. 50.
34.
“The Cities: The Crucible,” Time , 26 January 1968, p. 11.
35.
“The Presidency: Bar Grease,” Time, 26 January 1968, p. 13.
36.
L Harris, The Anguish of Change (New York: W. W. Norton, 1973), p. 60.
37.
“The Pueblo Incident,” New York Times , 24 January 1968, p. 44.
38.
J R Shepley, “Letter from The Publisher,” Time , 26 January 1968, p. 9.
39.
“The War,” Time , 26 January 1968, p. 13.
40.
Summary Minutes of Meeting, 24 January 1968 [10:30–11:45am], in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. XXIX, Part I, Korea, doc. 217.
41.
Minutes on Meeting, 24 January [6pm], in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. XXIX, Part I, Korea, doc. 220.
42.
Notes of Meeting, 25 January 1968, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. XXIX, Part I, Korea, doc. 226.
43.
Editorial Note, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. XXIX, Part I, Korea, doc. 247.
44.
On the Wise Men’s meeting, see previous chapter and C Page, U. S. Official Propaganda During the Vietnam War , 1965–1973: The Limits of Persuasion (London: Bloomsbury, 1998), p. 36.
45.
Memorandum from the President’s Special Consultant (Roche ) to President Johnson, January 18 1968, FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 17.
46.
Memorandum for the Record, 18 January 1968, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 20.
47.
R E Ford, Tet 1968: Understanding the Surprise (London: Frank Cass & Co, 1995), pp. 102–103.
48.
Details of Westmoreland’s telegram were discussed at the President’s weekly Tuesday lunch with National Security advisory staff, notes of which are found in Notes of Meeting, 23 January 1968, FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 23.
49.
Notes of meeting, 22 January 1968, FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 22.
50.
Page, U.S. Official Propaganda During the Vietnam War , p. 5.
51.
Ibid.
52.
P Braestrup, Big Story: How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis of Tet 1968 in Vietnam and Washington (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983), p. 133.
53.
Berman, Lyndon Johnson’s War, p. 138.
54.
A Grunberg, “Eddie Adams, Journalist Who Showed Violence of Vietnam, Dies at 71,” New York Times , 20 September 2004, accessed on 5 June 2017 at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/arts/eddie-adams-journalist-who-showed-violence-of-vietnam-dies-at-71.html?_r=0.
55.
Gustainis, American Rhetoric in the Vietnam War , pp. 43–44.
56.
D Halberstam, quoted in Gustainis, American Rhetoric in the Vietnam War , p. 45.
57.
N Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam (London: Jonathan Cape, 1989), p. 720.
58.
P Braestrup Oral History I, p. 16.
59.
A E Hunt, The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (New York: New York University Press, 1999), p. 19.
60.
Quoted in H B Franklin, Vietnam and Other Fantasies (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2000), p. 104.
61.
Sheehan, Bright, Shining Lie, p. 718.
62.
J Hellman, American Myth: Legacy of Vietnam (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986), p. 93.
63.
W Weaver, Jr, “M’Carthy[sic] Gets About 40%, Johnson and Nixon On Top In New Hampshire Voting,” New York Times , 13 March 1968, p. 1.
64.
Information Memorandum from the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow ) to President Johnson, 10 March 1968, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January-August 1968, doc. 116.
65.
Telegram From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow ) to President Johnson in Texas, 16 March 1968, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 135.
66.
Memorandum for the Record, 19 March 1968, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 140.
67.
Editorial Note (Meeting between the President and his advisors), 15 March 1968, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 130.
68.
Dean Rusk appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer questions on the war on 12 March 1966.
69.
Telegram from the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State, in FRUS 1964–1968, vol. VI, Vietnam, January–August 1968, doc. 131.
70.
Katzenbach , Some of it Was Fun, pp. 274–75.
71.
S Karnow, Vietnam : A History, (London: Century, 1983) p. 403. Hoopes quoted in The Limits of Intervention (London: D McKay & Co, 1969), p. 90.
72.
R Dallek, Lyndon B Johnson : Portrait of a President (New York: Penguin Books, 2004), p. 328.
73.
Gallup, The Gallup Poll , p. 2109.
74.
Ibid., p. 2106.
75.
Ibid., p. 2113.
76.
Dallek , Lyndon B Johnson , p. 330.
77.
D Kearns, Lyndon Johnson & The American Dream (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), p. 339.
78.
Johnson , A White House Diary, pp. 642–47. A note dated “Late August, 1964” (pp. 191–92), describes a conversation between Johnson and his wife in which he discussed not taking the nomination for the previous election. Lady Bird wrote a letter to Johnson imploring him to move on with his campaign. She did not repeat this advice in 1968.
79.
Turner , Lyndon Johnson ’s Dual War, p. 233.
80.
R E Gilbert, “The Political Effects of Presidential Illness: The Case of Lyndon B. Johnson,” Political Psychology, vol. 16, no. 4 (December 1995), p. 775. Johnson would die in January 1973, just as a second term in office would have ended.
81.
Johnson , A White House Diary, entry for 31 March 1968, p. 642.
82.
Dallek , Lyndon B Johnson , p. 332.
83.
Kearns , Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, p. 348.
84.
A recording of the call between Mrs McCarthy and Johnson can be found courtesy of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, at https://soundcloud.com/the-miller-center-at-uva/31-march-1968-johnson-and-abigail-mccarthy.
85.
“I Will Not Accept,” New York Times , 1 April 1968, p. 44.
86.
Dallek , Lyndon B Johnson , p. 334.
87.
Katzenbach , Some of It Was Fun, p. 284.
88.
Turner , Lyndon Johnson ’s Dual War, p. 249.
89.
K Longley, LBJ’s 1968: Power, Politics and the Presidency in America’s Year of Upheaval, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018) p. 220.
90.
R Baker, Observer: The Brave Boys in Chicago, New York Times, 29 August 1968, p. 34.
91.
J Reston, Chicago: Humphrey and the Politics of Power, New York Times, 30 August 1968, p. 32.
92.
Dallek , Lyndon B Johnson , p. 331.
93.
P E Jamieson, “Seeing the Lyndon B Johnson Presidency Through the March 31, 1968, Withdrawal Speech,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 1 (March 1999), p. 148.

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University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Benjamin W. Quail

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Quail, B.W. (2021). 1968: Tet, Plummeting Popularity and the Ultimate Failure of the Johnsonian Press Strategy. In: Media Management in the Age of Lyndon B. Johnson. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84946-7_7

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84946-7_7
Published: 01 January 2022
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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