#lbj tapes

[deadpresidents]

A question which occurred to me: which President do we have the most confirmable information about, such as the most documents?

I imagine it’s someone in the modern age, where documentation and recording are mandated and easier to accomplish, so maybe someone like Nixon? Whereas earlier Presidents we know less about, because they either had their papers destroyed (Buchanan) or they themselves altered them (Madison).

That's an interesting question. You make a good point about it probably being a modern President, particularly one whose personal and official papers were carefully preserved and archived in a Presidential Library. When it comes to official records and correspondence from a President's time in office, LBJ, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama were especially careful with preserving EVERYTHING that went on in their White Houses. Nixon, too, to a certain extent and Nixon's personal notes and planning memos are particularly revealing, but with Nixon, you never know what he didn't share or what he may have destroyed. With LBJ and Nixon you also have extensive recordings of phone calls and Nixon's taping systems, which allow us to hear Presidents at work in ways that we don't normally get to see them, warts and all (expletives not deleted).

But it really depends on what kind of information you're looking for. Because if it's personal, biographical information, that is different. John Quincy Adams kept a detailed diary that recorded virtually everything he did, what he thought, and what he felt about others and pretty much never missed a day for 70 years. I don't think there's any President whose day-by-day lives were so intimately logged as JQA. The diaries of Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield are also very interesting, but far less extensive than JQA's (plus, Garfield was only 49 years old when he died). Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan kept pretty detailed daily diaries during their Presidencies -- and Reagan was a shockingly talented writer despite what many people often think about him being an "amiable dunce".

An interesting possibility in the future is George H.W. Bush. Jon Meacham's 2015 biography of Bush, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) is, in my opinion, perhaps the best single-volume biography ever written about an American President. Meacham had extraordinary access to Bush, his family, his friends, his papers, everything. But when you read the book, you also learn that Meacham drew a lot from Bush's diaries, to which he had full access. Apparently, Bush kept an extensive daily diary that he started when he joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 18 in World War II and maintained for nearly 60 years. Bush's wife, Barbara, also kept a detailed diary (which Meacham also had access to for his book), and the Bushes -- especially the 41st President -- were big letter-writers throughout their lives. So, if and when all that material is available for researchers it's going to put Bush up near the top of the list when it comes to having the most letters, diaries, and detailed information on day-to-day activities documenting any President's entire life.

[deadpresidents]

Do you listen to lbj recordings for fun

I know I'm a Presidential history nerd and a notorious LBJ fanboy, but are you really asking if I spend some of my free time just listening to 60-year-old recordings (most of which are rather poor quality) of Lyndon B. Johnson's phone calls? Do I really come across as that boring/crazy/weird?

I mean, do you REALLY think that I just randomly have an "LBJ Tapes" folder on my laptop full of MP3s from the LBJ Library archives so that I can listen to them when I’m bored?

Of course I do.

[deadpresidents]

https://www.tumblr.com/deadpresidents/788245278738235392/do-you-listen-to-lbj-recordings-for-fun

Piggybacking off this ask have u listened to the recording where he talks to Valenti’s daughter 😭it’s so cute its one of my fav recordings from him

Another one of the LBJ Tapes that I really like is this recording from a phone call to President Johnson by Lady Bird.

On August 4, 1964, LBJ was working late in the Oval Office in the immediate aftermath of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in order to speak to Senator Barry Goldwater (the Republican nominee/LBJ's opponent in the upcoming 1964 Presidential election). Since President Johnson had ordered retaliatory airstrikes in North Vietnam that evening, LBJ felt it was important to notify Goldwater ahead of time and keep him briefed in the event that Goldwater succeeded LBJ as President.

At 8:35 PM, Lady Bird briefly called LBJ to check on him and the call began with this sweet exchange:

LBJ: "Darling?" LADY BIRD: "Yes, beloved." LBJ: "Did you want me?" LADY BIRD: "I just wanted to see you whenever you're all alone." LBJ: "All right." LADY BIRD: "Just merely to tell you I loved you. That's all."

The President asked the First Lady if their friends, Robert and Betty Ann Russell, were still visiting the White House, but Lady Bird said that they had left earlier in the afternoon.

LBJ: "I'll be darned. Well, I...Why didn't they tell me goodbye?" LADY BIRD: "Uh...Because I guess they just -- they figured you just didn't have a moment." LBJ: "I'll be darned. Well, any other news?" LADY BIRD: [laughing] "Nothing in comparison to yours, darling."

Before hanging up, LBJ let Lady Bird know that he would be heading upstairs soon: LBJ: "I'm trying to get Senator Goldwater [on the phone], and I'll come over just as soon as I get through. LADY BIRD: "Honey?" LBJ: "Yeah?" LADY BIRD: "Bring anybody who's a bachelor or who wants to eat or who would otherwise be doing without supper until real late with you, will you?" LBJ: "Okay."

There were many times throughout their life together where Lyndon B. Johnson was demanding, critical, and even cruel to Lady Bird, but I always enjoy coming across their private moments together, where you could see just how important she was to him and his work. As I've written before, she was his compass and always ready to help him find his way. It's phone calls like this one where you get a sense for how close they truly were and how much they genuinely loved one another, even after all those years. I also appreciate how considerate Lady Bird Johnson always was, to everybody she came in contact with. Understanding that nobody could leave the West Wing while the President was still at work, Lady Bird wanted to make sure that anybody who might stay late to support her husband didn't go home hungry or need to feel alone. She was just an incredibly decent human being and that really comes across in recordings like this one where she never could have expected that her unconditional kindness was going to be preserved for history or known about by anyone other than President Johnson.

[deadpresidents]

My favorite LBJ convo is when he talks to a tailor in Texas about his pants and how they're cutting into his nuts.

Yes, that's a very famous and hilarious call.

[deadpresidents]

From the LBJ recordings that you’ve listened to, which do you find the most interesting?

It's obviously fascinating to hear LBJ's phone calls with other political leaders, whether it's him wheeling and dealing with members of Congress, getting advice from former Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, discussing civil rights strategies with Martin Luther King Jr., or using the "Johnson Treatment" like when he straight up threatened his longtime mentor, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, to force him to serve on the Warren Commission ("You are my man on that Commission and you are gonna do it. And don't tell me what you can do and what you can't because I can't arrest you and I'm not gonna put the FBI on you, but you're goddamn sure gonna serve, I'll tell you that!").

But I think the LBJ tapes that I find most interesting are the ones where you hear Lady Bird Johnson giving him very candid, direct advice that demonstrates how influential she was on him personally and professionally.

As I wrote in an earlier post about the recordings of Lady Bird's constructive criticism of President Johnson:

There is an absolutely remarkable taped phone call available from the LBJ Library which gives us a fascinating look behind the curtain at Lady Bird's influence on LBJ's political career. After he gave a televised press conference on March 7, 1964, Lady Bird calls the President and asks him if he wants to hear her critique on his performance then or wait until later and LBJ says, "Yes, ma'am. I'm willing now." So, the First Lady launches into a detailed review of how LBJ looked, sounded, and seemed during his press conference -- a quick, brilliant, perceptive analysis that touched on everything that a President's communications director or press secretary might have scrutinized. She's fair and honest, supportive but direct and constructive, comparing the press conference she just watched with a recent one that she had only heard, and LBJ listens carefully and respectfully, obviously accepting her opinions as helpful and much-needed: "I thought that you looked strong, firm, and like a reliable guy. Your looks were splendid. The close-ups were much better than the distance ones...Well, I would say this: there were more close-ups than there were distance ones. During the statement you were a little breathless, and there was too much looking down, and I think it was a little too fast. Not enough change of pace, dropping voice at the end of sentence. There was a considerable pickup in drama and interest when the questioning began. Your voice was noticeably better, and your facial expressions noticeably better. The mechanics of the room were not too good, 'cause although I heard you well throughout every bit of it, I did not hear your questioners clearly." What I find most interesting about the call is that it's a different side of LBJ and Lady Bird than the public perception of the town, and it's arguably the earliest -- and possibly best overall or most direct -- example of a First Lady's political influence and/or impact upon a President's job performance. There is a little bit of back-and-forth between them during the call, but it's mainly Lady Bird in action as a virtual White House communications director and LBJ hearing her review, with Lady Bird declaring, "In general, I'd say it was a good B-plus. How do you feel about it?" before ending the call after confirming their plans for dinner later that night. It's really a pretty incredibly peek into Presidential history and the life of a fascinating Presidential marriage -- and the best part is that you can listen to the whole thing yourself via the LBJ Library.

[deadpresidents]

Are there any tapes of lbj not being gentle with the johnson treatment?

You bet there are!

My favorite is this phone call with Senator Richard Russell of Georgia. Senator Russell had been one of Lyndon Johnson's mentors in Congress. When Johnson arrived in Washington, he quickly recognized that Russell was a lonely bachelor and workaholic with no close friends or family, so he ingratiated himself with Russell, invited him to meals and holidays at the Johnson home so that Russell felt like he was part of the family. LBJ relentlessly sucked up to Russell and treated him as a father figure throughout Johnson's time in Congress, even after Johnson became Senate Majority Leader (LBJ did the same thing with powerful House Speaker Sam Rayburn).

When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the relationship between LBJ and his longtime mentor quickly changed. In the days following the assassination, LBJ formed the Warren Commission to investigate the President's murder, and he was determined to have Russell be a part of the Commission, but Senator Russell hated Chief Justice Earl Warren, who LBJ put in charge of the Commission. Russell kept trying to beg off of serving on the Commission for various reasons -- not knowing that, while he was speaking on the phone to LBJ, Johnson had already officially released the names of the Commission's members to the press. (Which led to this great exchange: RUSSELL: "Mr. President, please..." LBJ: "No, it's already done. It's been announced." RUSSELL: (Shocked and stammering) "You mean you gave..." LBJ: "Yes, sir. I gave the announcement, it's already in the papers...")

So we have the audio of this remarkable phone call from November 29, 1963 between Senator Russell and LBJ. If you listen to the entire phone call, you hear LBJ go from 0 to 100 with the Johnson Treatment -- he begins with flattery and heartfelt appeals to Russell's patriotism before making it clear (in the segment of the phone call posted below) that he's not really asking Russell; he's telling him that he's going to be a part of the Commission, making it clear that the dynamic has changed and that President Johnson is the most powerful person in the world and not afraid to prove it. The crazy thing is that, at the time of this phone call, LBJ had only been President for exactly one week. He hadn't even moved into the White House yet! But this is where we get this quintessential Johnson Treatment moment:

"You are my man on that Commission and you are gonna do it. And don't tell me what you can do and what you can't because I can't arrest you and I'm not gonna put the FBI on you, but you're goddamn sure gonna serve, I'll tell you that!"

[deadpresidents]

A very gentle example of Lyndon B. Johnson using the "Johnson Treatment" in a conversation with Texas Congressman Albert Thomas on December 20, 1963, less than a month after LBJ assumed the Presidency following President Kennedy's assassination.

[deadpresidents]

"We've just got to go after him. And...put him right where he belongs: with [Barry] Goldwater] around his neck...He's got a better television personality and he's more effective. But he's more dangerous."

-- President Lyndon B. Johnson, telling California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, that the Democrats needed to portray Brown's opponent during the 1966 California Gubernatorial election, actor Ronald Reagan, as an extremist and link him with LBJ's unsuccessful opponent in the 1964 Presidential election, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, during a phone call recorded by LBJ's White House taping system on June 13, 1966.