Was Johnson a coward?

(This first part is aimed at Sean). Well, assuming you know History (since you're in the "History" section of Yahoo answers), that would be a good reason as to guess why people would know who "Johnson" was, with Vietnam given.

Given the way you phrased the question, it isn't really a question, it's you stating your view. No, he was not "too chicken." If you don't know US history, LBJ (Johnson, for those of us who can't make the leap) was HIGHLY hated. People chanted "LBJ, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" to him, and people stood outside the White house with signs saying "honk if you hate LBJ. "

Oh, and by the way, Sean, his first name would be more useful than his second name. More people say Lyndon Johnson than Banes Johnson.

Most who knew him in his long career described Johnson as a 'bully', maybe most bullies of course are cowards but I don't think Johnson was a coward. I think in 1968 he was disappointed how the Vietnam War was turning out, that he had lost faith in his Generals who advised him into it, and was depressed that the War had made him unpopular whereas just 2-3 years before he was one of the peoples most popular presidents.

Plus.. he was getting old (he hit 60 in 68, but 60 was old for a guy born 1908) and he was sick and probably knew it...He was put in hospital just 1 year after leaving office with heart disease and then cancer and died just 4 years after leaving office...so being as sick as he was he would have had to resign 1-2 years into his second term anyway.

I doubt if Johnson was worried about listening to Goldwater. In the 64' election against Johnson Goldwater took only 6 of 50 states and was a discredited politician after that. Johnson didn't get into Vietnam till 65' after Goldwater was out of politics, so Goldwater couldn't be the reason.

In fact according to documents released way later Johnson's US Generals talked him into the War, telling him it would all be over in 6 months!

LBJ was not interested in international affairs. He wanted to be remembered as the great domestic president who finished FDR's dream of the New Deal with his Great Society. He wouldn't have wasted a dime on foreign aid or fighting the Cold War--let alone South Vietnam--if he could have helped it. Unfortunately for Johnson he became president in the middle of the Cold War, which the American people took VERY seriously, and he could not simply ignore either Southeast Asia or the Soviet nuclear buildup.

He thought that if he threw a few troops at it, Vietnam would go away. But he was not willing to commit enough troops or effort to divert the money to the Great Society programs. He ordered Westmoreland an order to give him a great victory BEFORE the next election when he started the buildup of American troops. He needed the military victory to convince the American people to reelect him (he didn't care about the Vietnamese people, government, or anything else in SEA). He refused to allow Westmoreland to take out the Communist base-camps and disrupt their supply route down the Ho Chi Minh Trail for fear China would use it as an excuse to intervene with combat troops, like they had in Korea. So, Westmoreland's hands were tied, and he did the best he could with the troops and Rules of Engagement he was constrained to work within.

Thing is...he succeeded in handing Johnson the victory he had been ordered to. The Tet Offensive in 1968 was a military/political disaster for the Communist cause. But Walter Cronkite misread what had happened and reported to the American people the US Military had been defeated. Johnson chose to believe Uncle Walt instead of General Westmoreland and spent the last few months of his administration trying to surrender to Hanoi.

Dropping out of the presidential race was a ploy. He intended to show up at the convention and manipulate it into drafting him for a second term. As fate would have it the Convention did not go as planed by the (them) leadership of the Democratic Party, and Johnson was unable to dupe the Convention into drafting him.

The short answer to your question is no...Johnson was not a coward. He just had other priorities than international politics which distracted him from the Cold War.

Johnson didn't have much experience or expertise on foreign affairs as Kennedy did and was more interested in domestic issues. He kept following the advice of General Westmoreland to escalate the war, and a lot of people say it escalated because the US was too committed due to the situation which Kennedy left him in. I think he decided not to stand as the Democratic candidate in 1968 because he knew their was no chance of him winning and his health wasn't in a good state either.

Lyndon Johnson was not a coward. Maybe foreign affairs was not his strong point, but he did put his career on the line to get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed. He was a lion. When LBJ spoke, people listened.

I think Johnson was badly advised and did not have the sense to stay away from a fight he could not win.

I could think of many things to call Johnson, but coward isn't one of them.

Any chickenhawk that doesn't have a dd-214 is a coward -- or worse.

Your not even gonna put his second name or anything? You just assume everyone knows about america's meagre history