Unfinished

JFK had gone over the cruel math over and over again, the math was clear, he could only win the Presidency with the electoral votes of Texas, Johnson’s home state, but without them, he would lose. Besides, he respected LBJ’s effectiveness as Senate majority leader, and his work ethic, as his office lights shone like a lonely beacon deep into the nights. Many historians rank LBJ as one of the most effective legislative leaders of the century.
But there was hesitancy within the liberal Kennedy circle of Massachusetts, there was exploratory probing by Robert Kennedy, JFK’s younger brother, who was serving as Attorney General. Would the Deep South LBJ consider instead becoming the chairman of the Democratic Party? LBJ was firm, he had been offered the Vice-Presidency, and he would not quietly back down. As our authors recall: “Mistrust, suspicion, and a scarcely concealed hatred continued between these two men from that day forward.” […]