Rate the Presidents, Installment #36: Lyndon B. Johnson

[Potus]

Terrible person. Terrible economics. Flawed strategy in Vietnam that allow communism to expand. He just took advantage of years of hard work by true egalitarians. I can't give him credit for his civil rights legislation.

[The Mikado]

The best president with the last name "Johnson."

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Terrible on everything but civil rights, and even the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was largely the product of Everett Dirksen rather than LBJ. He also voted against all civil rights acts prior to 1957 and watered the 1957 act down to almost nothing. One star.

Dirksen played an important part in getting Congressional Republicans on board with the CRA, but he was by no means the central player. Getting civil rights through Congress was a group effort in which LBJ, Dirksen, and Hubert Humphrey all played key parts.

That said, if you're going to lay sole blame for Vietnam on LBJ, you also need to give him credit for the Civil Rights Act.

[PJ]

His domestic policy (civil rights, war on poverty, immigration reform) was excellent, but escalating the Vietnam War and using conscription to do so was atrocious. Two stars, because while there is a lot of good, the bad definitely outweighs it.

Vietnam was, of course, horrific, but there's an argument to be made that it was necessary in order to win support for his domestic programs at home - and the significance of those really cannot be understated.

And that argument is terrible. This is the Vietnam War, not something with few ramifications like KXL or the confederate flag. You can't just trade it with some other reforms in order to justify it.

[Cryptic]

3 stars. He was great on civil rights and had an excellent domestic program, but the Vietnam War weights against him.

[Anti-Bothsidesism]

Domestic Program was on the whole good-a whole raft of civil rights bills were passed from housing to voting. Likewise his great society project, has to be praised including the expansion in social security. 

Foreign Policy however was awful

[Oldiesfreak1854]

As a president, average.  As a person, horrendous.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Terrible on everything but civil rights, and even the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was largely the product of Everett Dirksen rather than LBJ. He also voted against all civil rights acts prior to 1957 and watered the 1957 act down to almost nothing. One star.

Didn't Evertt Dirksen literally have to be dragged to the 1964 civil rights bill?

No; segregationist Democrats filibustered it, and it was mostly Republicans who did the heavy lifting in Congress.  In terms of percentages, Republicans supported it more than Democrats.

[JonathanSwift]

Final Result: 2.53 Stars

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Both forms of LBJ revisionism are ridiculous. He was a complex and contradictory man who's record in office was equally complex and contradictory.

[YaBoyNY]

Terrible on everything but civil rights, and even the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was largely the product of Everett Dirksen rather than LBJ. He also voted against all civil rights acts prior to 1957 and watered the 1957 act down to almost nothing. One star.

Lmfao historical revisionism at its finest.

[Gass3268]

4*

Vietnam cost him a star for me.