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Was the assassination planned in 1960? Johnson as Vice President.


John Simkin

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In 1960 Lyndon Johnson's closest political supporters urged him to enter the race when John F. Kennedy emerged as favourite to win the Democratic Party nomination. Sam Rayburn was especially keen for Johnson to defeat Kennedy. So was John Connally who established a Citizens-for-Johnson Committee. As Ralph G. Martin, pointed out, Johnson felt no need to campaign against Kennedy as he was convinced he "would destroy himself on the religious issue". (1)

Theodore H. White argued in "The Making of the President" that it was impossible for Johnson to win by taking on Kennedy from the beginning. "These men (Johnson, Rayburn and Connally) knew that the Johnson candidacy could not be muscled by seeking individual Convention delegates… The great surprise is that Johnson was willing to sacrifice this power in order to become Kennedy's running-mate.

In his book, The Making of the President, Theodore H. White, expresses shock at both Kennedy's decision to offer Johnson's the post, and his eventual acceptance of what appeared to be a demotion. White adds that this mystery will only be solved by "tomorrow's historians". (7)

The idea that Johnson should be Kennedy's running-mate was first suggested by Philip Graham of the Washington Post. Graham, the key figure in the CIA's Operation Mockingbird, had been campaigning strongly for Johnson to get the nomination. However, when Graham arrived at the Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles on 8th July, Johnson told him that Kennedy would win by a landslide. Graham then had a meeting with Robert Kennedy and was finally convinced that Johnson had indeed lost his race to be the presidential candidate.

According to Katharine Graham, her husband and Joe Alsop, arranged a meeting with John Kennedy on 11th July. Alsop started the conversation with the following comment: "We've come to talk to you about the vice-presidency. Something may happen to you, and Symington is far too shallow a puddle for the United States to dive into." Graham then explained the advantages that Johnson would "add to the ticket". What is more, it would remove Johnson as leader of the Senate. (8)........

Here's what Graham had to say about it, from -

[Life Magazine, June 18, 1965, p. 90. as sidebar to story by T. H. White]

PHILIP GRAHAM – A go-between's memo on the wild day L.B.J. was named Vice President.

T.H. White: The late Philip Graham, publisher of the Washington Post and chairman of the board of Newsweek magazine, cherished alike both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He bridged the gap between these two rivals as they arrived to contest each other for the Democratic nomination in Los Angeles in 1960. Graham disagreed with various interpretations I had made in my account of that transaction in The Making of a President – 1960. Shortly before his death in August 1963, Graham therefore offered me his personal story of that introduction to power which made Lyndon Johnson Vice President. He had written his account, a single excerpt from which is presented below, as a long memorandum to himself within a few days of the events. If ever, said Graham, you want to write about it again, this is the way it was.

John F. Kennedy was nominated on Wednesday night, July 13, 1960. Early Thursday morning, word spread that he had offered the Vice Presidency to Lyndon Johnson. – T.H.W.

July 24, 1960

On Thursday, about 1:45 p.m. [wrote Phil Graham], I went to Johnson's suite in the Biltmore. The Los Angeles papers and the press in general were prophesying Symington. On entering Johnson's suite, he seized my arm and took me into his bedroom, alone with Lady Bird. He said that Bobby Kennedy was with Sam Rayburn in another part of the suite and he had to make a decision.

We sat on the bed, the three of us, about as composed a three Mexican jumping beans. Lady Bird tried to leave, Johnson and I lunged after her, saying she was needed on this one. I tried to duck L.B.J.'s inquiry, but finally said I felt he had to take it. Lady Bird was somewhere between negative and neutral. At this point Sam Rayburn entered and said Bobby wanted to talk directly to L.B.J. Lady Bird intervened, apologizing by saying she had never yet argued with Mr. Sam, but saying she now felt L.B.J. should not see Bobby.

L.B.J. asked my advice – the while all of us were pacing around the bedroom, in and out of the bathroom, etc. "No," I said, "you shouldn't see him. You don't want it, you won't negotiate for it, you'll only take it if Jack drafts you, and you won't discuss it with anyone else."

Mr. Sam seemed to think L.B.J. should see Bobby, but he also seemed to think he should turn down the V.P. Finally, in that way decisions leap out a melee, it was decided. Mr. Sam was to tell Bobby, L.B.J.'s position and why he wouldn't see Bobby. I was to phone Jack L.B.J.'s position.

About 2:30 I got Jack on the phone and told him L.B.J.'s decision. He said something to the general effect that he was in a general mess because some liberals were against L.B.J. He said he was in a meeting with others right then and that people were urging that "no one had anything against Symington." He and I had discussed this earlier in the week and he made some reference conceding Symington had no affirmative qualifications. He then asked mee to call back for a decision "in three minutes."

About 2:40 or 2:45 I phone back. Jack was utterly calm. It's all set, he said. Tell Lyndon I want him and will have (Gov.) Lawrence nominate him, etc. He said he'd be busy getting Lawrence and the seconders and preparing his statement and also putting out fires of opposition, and so he asked me to call Adlai and tell him the decision and ask him for full support.

My memory is vague, but I believe I called Adlai first because of the need to get his support in such a short time. In any event, I talked to him first and then went down the hall to L.B.J.'s bedroom. He and Lady Bird naturally quizzed me in detail about the conversation with Jack. Also Lady Bird was especially curious about Adlai's reaction. I remember shrugging and saying, Oh, you know, sort of as you'd expect.

Bobby Kennedy had been back down to see Rayburn some 20 minutes before (say, roughly, 3:00) and had said Jack would phone directly. No call had come in and L.B.J. was considerably on edge. I wrote down the private numbers in his bedroom (his switchboard had long ago broken down) and said I'll call Jack.

About 3:30 I got Jack, who said he had assumed my message would suffice. I explained what Bobby had told Sam, and he said he'd call at once. He then again mentioned opposition to L.B.J. and asked for my judgment. I said something to the effect that the Southern gains would more than offset liberal loses, and added that anyway it was too late to be mind-changing. He agreed about the finality of things and asked what Stevenson had said. I said he was wobbling about but would be all right and he asked me to call Stevenson back and ask him to issue a statement shortly after Jack issued his at 4:00.

I told L.B.J. Jack would be phoning him and then returned to call Adlai. In our prior talk he had argued for Symington on purer expediency grounds and I had been a bit testy in pointing out that any V.P. was likely to be President.

I got Adlai on the phone again after some delay and found him still brimming over with an account of his difficulties. He had spent the time since our last call in "canvassing" various people's reactions. After I listened to a recital of this for some time, I interrupted and with (I hope) polite firmness said "the nominee" had asked me to ask him to please issue a supporting statement as soon as Kennedy made his statement on TV, which should be very soon. Stevenson then quickly agreed.

Sometime around this point (approximately 3:40) I went back into L.B.J.'s bedroom and listened to Senator Kerr and Governor Daniel objecting to L.B.J.'s taking the VPship. By now Rayburn, originally against the idea, was supporting Lyndon's decision and Kerr was soon able, very articulately, to change his mind. But Daniel remained opposed – and very loudly so. On the assumption that "Yankee faces" might create more furor, I left.

Shortly after 4:00 L.B.J.'s appointment secretary Bill Moyers, rushed into our room to say Lyndon wanted me. "I'll be along in just a minute." "That won't due," Moyers yelled, and, grabbing me by the arm, dragged me down the hall through a solid jam of press people and into the entrance hall of the suite.

L.B.J. was in a state of high nerves and said we must talk alone at once. His bedroom was still packed with Daniel, et al, so we headed into the adjoining room, which in proper pure face sitting was full of about 15 Hawaiian delegates. Johnson called out that he was sorry he had to have the room and they solemnly filed out, bowing their serious Oriental faces in turn to all of us at the door (L.B.J., Lady Bird, Rayburn, Connally, Rowe and me), with L.B.J. loudly chanting, "Thank you, boys, thank you. Thank you for all you did."

In a minute they were gone and the six of us swept into the bedroom, joined by Bobby Baker, L.B.J. seemed about to jump out of his skin. He shouted at me that Bobby Kennedy had just come in and told Rayburn and him that the was much opposition and that Lyndon should withdraw for the sake of the party.

There was considerable milling about and hubbub, and finally Mr. Rayburn said, "Phil, call Jack." The only phone was a regular Biltmore extension and it took a minute which seemed an hour to get the operator, then another series of hourlike minutes as we got Kennedy's switchboard, then his secretary, and finally Kennedy. "Jack," I said, "Bobby is down here and is telling the Speaker and Lyndon there is opposition and that Lyndon should withdraw."

"Oh," said Jack, as calmly as though we were discussing the weather, "that's all right: Bobby's been out of touch and doesn't know what's been happening."

"Well, what do you want Lyndon to do?" I asked.

"I want him to make a statement right away: I've just finished making mine." (I believe he was reported to have made his statement downstairs at the Biltmore Bowel at 4:05.)

"You'd better speak to Lyndon," I said.

"Okay," he said, "but I want to talk to you when we're through."

I was standing between twin beds, and as I handed the phone to L.B.J. he sprawled out across the bed in front of me, lay on his side, and said, "Yes…..Yes….Yes…." and then, "Okay, here's Phil," as he handed the phone back to me.

At this point Kennedy chatted along to me as though we were discussing someone else's problems. He said Alex Rose was threatening not to list him on the Liberal party ticket in New York because of Johnson and that "this is a problem we'll just have to solve." I heard myself saying, "Oh, don't worry, we'll solve that." And then, returning closer to sanity, I said, "You'd better speak to Bobby." So Baker dashed out to fetch Bobby, who walked in looking dead tired.

"Bobby, your brother wants to speak to you," said I (in what at once seemed to me the silliest line in the whole play). Bobby took the phone, and as I walked out of the room I heard him say, "Well, it's too late now," and slam down the phone.

In the hall of the suite L.B.J. and Lady Bird were standing, looking as though they had just survived an airplane crash, with Lyndon holding a typed statement accepting the V.P.-Ship. "I was just going to read this on TV when Bobby came in, and now I don't know what I ought to do."

With more ham than I ever suspected myself of, I suddenly blurted: "Of course you know what you're going to do. Throw you're shoulders back and your chin out and go out and make that announcement. And then go on and win. Everything's wonderful.

This soap-opera thrust was somehow wonderfully appropriate, and Bill Moyers echoed loud approval while swinging open the doors and pushing Johnson out into the TV lights and the explosion of flashbulbs. Someone else propelled Lady Bird, and from the hall I could watch them rising to stand on some chairs, and as they rose their faces metamorphosed into enthusiasm and confidence.

One other incident I cannot place exactly in time and so have left to a postscript, but I think it occurred just before Johnson asked me to call Kennedy (i.e. about 2:15). Rayburn told me the details of Bobby's visit to offer the V.P. (which must have been around 1:30). He said Bobby came in and sat down with Rayburn (and I believe Connally), with Rayburn waiting for the obvious. Bobby said he wondered if Johnson would like to be National Chairman. "…" answered Rayburn, whereupon Bobby offered the Vice Presidency.

Edited by William Kelly
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  • 1 year later...
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Has anybody heard the story of JFK sending RFK to talk LBJ out of accepting the VP nomination?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rfk/peopleevents/e_1960.html

At around 11 a.m. on the day a nominee was to be presented, John Kennedy visited Johnson in his hotel suite and offered him the job. Robert Kennedy maintained afterward that his brother offered the job to Johnson only as a courtesy, and then felt trapped when he accepted. "Now what do we do?" the candidate asked, then answered by sending Bobby back to talk Johnson out of it. Around 4 p.m., with tensions running high all around, John Kennedy called Johnson to assure him he was the one. Ignore Bobby, he said, because "he's been out of touch and doesn't know what's happening."
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  • 9 months later...

FROM TOP OF PAGE 46 DICK RUSSELL ''ON THE TRAIL OF THE ASSASSIN'S'' ''QUOTE : THE FIRST PIECE OF EVIDENCE IS A WHITE HOUSE MEMORANDUM FROM LBJ'S AIDE MARVIN WATSON...TO THE FBI...ORDERING THE BUREAU TO COMPLETE SECRET DOSSIERS ON SEVEN PROMINENT COMMISSION DETRACTORS..'' THE FBI DID TURN THOSE DOSSIERS OVER , AND IN ONE INSTANCE THERE WAS DEROGATORY SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH PHOTOGRAHS SCHWEIKER SAYS '' THE PART WE'VE UNCOVERED HAPPENED IN 66 AND 67 . WHAT WE DON'T KNOW YET IS HOW ONGOING IT WAS THERE IS SOME INDICATION THAT THIS WAS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG..''...IF THE FEDERAL GOV. WOULD GO TO SUCH LENGTHS TO VILIFY IT'S OPPONNENTS WHAT COULD IT POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN HIDING.?? MERELY THE FACT THAT OSWALD AND RUBY HAD INTELLIGENCE CONNECTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE PROVED EMBARRASSING ?? OR SOMETHING FAR MORE TERRIFYING..''. B..

Edited by Bernice Moore
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  • 2 months later...
Given these events, it is possible that the assassination of John F. Kennedy was considered as early as 1960.

The sequence of events leading to Johnson's V.P. nomination implies that Kennedy was not expected to live to complete his term in office. Johnson had been conducting a whispering campaign about Kennedy's long-denied Addison's Disease. Additionally, Johnson's close friendship with J. Edgar Hoover probably made him aware of Kennedy's drug use and chronic venereal disease. Kennedy himself didn't expect to live long, so it's fair to consider that LBJ didn't either. The thinking in 1960 may well have been that Kennedy wouldn't need to be killed. It must have frustrated Johnson to see Kennedy's health actually improve during his last year of life.

T.C.

In the words of John Simkin

"well done"

But Johnson got his due, like Hitler in April of 45 in his Bunker in central Berlin,Johson also lost his Presidency in 68.

Nixon was ousted also he probably never knew why but it was related to the JFK assassination.

Bush Sr Lasted one term. He got his due. He was not worth humiliating.

The "Fool" Bush 2 completed his terms but was too stupid to have any enemies.

Edited by Peter McGuire
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  • 4 months later...
In my opinion... The story starts with JFK accepting the suggestion to choose LBJ as VP. If you can help sum up the story in a neat, made for mass consumption manner - I for one would be happy to help spread the word

As a new member you might not be aware of this thread.

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  • 6 years later...
On May 27, 2010 at 1:59 AM, John Simkin said:

As a new member you might not be aware of this thread.

Welcome David Joseph's,!

xal-xa-xa !!!

IMO, The hair on the necks of the high-level planners stood-up, during the Kennedy-Nixon debate, when JFK said that the upcoming challenge was with those who wanted to make the world "half-slave"..

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