"John D. Giorgis" wrote:
>
> At 12:16 AM 1/18/02 -0500 Gautam Mukunda wrote:
> >>Not to get into the argument, but I actually think that Woodrow Wilson was
> >>the second-worst President in American history, after only the pathetic
> >>James Buchanan...
> >
> >I think LBJ belongs below Wilson somewheres......
> >
> >JDG
> >
> >Not even close. For the Civil Rights Act of 1968 _alone_ LBJ gets into my
> >"near-great" Presidents list. Screw Vietnam. Yes, he botched it. He
> >wasn't alone in that. His efforts on behalf of racial justice - that is,
> >the eternal attempt of the United States to redeem itself from its original
> >sin - are so much more important that Vietnam shrinks into insignificance in
> >comparison.
>
> Yes, the Vietnam is a big strike against him, but there is more.
>
> Most important is The Great Society, which probably has produced the least
> bang for the buck of any government program in US History. Indeed, it was
> the massive spending combiantion of The Great Society and The Vietnam War
> that produced the economic debacle of the 1970's.
He got stuck with Vietnam. IIRC (and if I don't, I'm sure that Gautam
will correct me), we got into Vietnam on *Eisenhower's* watch. The
people advising him on it wanted us to stay in Vietnam. He was boned on
that one from Day 1.
(I'm not going to defend the Great Society, except to say that it was
well-intentioned.)
> As for Civil Rights - every President has their achivements, but on this
> issue a lot of credit has to go to Kennedy as well.
But Kennedy wasn't going to get it passed on his watch. You know the
saying, "Only Nixon could go to China"? Only a Southerner could get
that legislation through.
Julia
