LBJ Page #5

I need this committee to show

a strong record right from the start.

Something that demonstrates

concrete changes on civil rights.

We can't do that if we're giving

a huge contract to a discriminatory plant.

On the contrary, I think we can, sir.

If we send that contract to Georgia...

...then I can get Russell to make

that plant hire a number of negros.

And then, we can have

white men and black men...

...working side by side in the deep South...

...building America's newest airplane.

This can be one hell of a victory

for this administration.

All right, Lyndon, but...

...you're gonna have to move Russell.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Oh, and if I may, there's just

one other item I'd like to discuss.

What's happening with Sarah Hughes?

The judge from Dallas?

You haven't responded

to my recommendation to nominate her.

It's not your place

to make that recommendation.

She'd make a damn fine judge.

- She's too old.

- To you, everybody's too old.

Senators make those recommendations.

You know that.

I promised Sarah Hughes that appointment.

It's Ralph Yarborough's

recommendation to make.

How's it gonna look to my state

if I can't get a federal judge appointed?

I understand your frustration, Lyndon,

but this is how it's gotta be done.

We'll give Sarah Hughes a look

next time. Thanks for stopping by.

She'll be ready to take off this summer.

Record time.

Are you sure that big b*tch will fly?

She'll fly all right.

Built by Georgia's finest.

Half of them, anyway.

Thanks to you.

Jesus, Lyndon. God, put that thing away.

Look at that. Number-two man in Washington.

Attorney generals don't become president.

There's a lot of things these Kennedy

boys do that no one else has done.

He is a nice-looking boy.

You know, I've been...

...hearing disturbing news about

some goddamn civil rights bill.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm afraid

I've been hearing the same thing.

I hope you're impressing on the president

the severity of the moment.

Well, I have, but, unfortunately,

he doesn't answer to me or you.

Mmm.

So Kennedy won the presidency

by a fraction of a percent.

Do you recall my margin of victory

that very same year? Ha-ha-ha.

Mmm. Hang on, Dick.

- Yeah, I believe you were unopposed.

- That's right. I was. Unopposed.

Six years before that too.

And six years before that. And you know what?

Six years before that.

Are you plodding toward a point?

I may not be president, but neither

am I ever in jeopardy of losing my job.

So if the president sends

a civil rights bill to Congress...

...it'll be my distinct pleasure

to see it die a painful death.

And I'll kill every other bill along the way.

I don't care

if it costs my party the White House.

I'm sure we can all sit down and come

to an agreement that we can all live with.

It seems like every time we do that,

I'm the only one giving something up.

And I'm about running out of things

that I can live without.

Dick, you didn't have to give up

your billion-dollar airplane, did you?

I'm not saying lay down and die,

but this train is leaving the station.

So you can stand there

and watch it roll on by...

...or you can hop on it with me

and try to slow the damn thing down.

Yeah.

Move, move, move!

Stay back! Stay back.

We're not stopping for anything, understand?

- You bet, partner. You ready, Bird?

- Here we go.

- Let's move.

- Everybody back!

Everyone back.

Keep that area clear.

Keep the area clear!

- What's going on?

- Move!

We're going right through

this door right here, sir. Here we go.

Copy that.

Get them out of here.

- Back in the corner. Here we go.

- Sorry?

Here you go.

Nobody comes in unless he's got

a damn good reason to be here.

- He wants you to call Washington.

- I'm not leaving this man.

The president and Governor Connally

suffered gunshot wounds.

I don't know the governor's condition,

but the president...

It's bad.

We need to get you to Washington

as soon as possible.

I'm not leaving here.

Mr. Vice President, safest place

for you is the White House.

It would be unthinkable for me

to leave President Kennedy...

...while he fights for his life.

Gentlemen...

...this is a time for prayer

if ever there was one.

In another current trouble spot:

Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Mounted state troopers and police...

...used tear gas

and high-pressure water hoses...

...in Plaquemine last night to break up

a civil rights demonstration...

...that almost erupted into a race riot.

How many more demonstrations do we

have to look at with hoses and dogs?

I'm running out of ways

to explain to the press corps...

...why the civil rights bill

isn't being sent to Congress.

I'm running out of ways

to explain it to Congress.

You take legislative action now,

all you'll do is fan the flames.

We made promises during the campaign.

We sit on this bill,

our supporters will never forgive us.

It is also the right thing to do.

- It's the wrong time to do it.

- The wrong time?

We've got kids in the street

getting their heads busted open.

And how does sending what will surely be...

...a failed bill to Congress help kids?

Well, burying our head in the sand

is not a solution.

Neither is getting your ass handed

to you by Richard Russell.

- I am so tired...

- Forget about the demise of the bill.

What do you think he'll do to your budget?

Do you believe

they'll hold the budget bill hostage?

To block civil rights,

they'll hold everything hostage.

- To hell with Russell. We'll go around him.

- You can't.

Then we'll go through him.

We've got Martin Luther King writing

letters from jail. It's an embarrassment.

- What are we waiting for?!

- Mr. President...

...I may not be the smartest man

in this room.

Hell, I may not be as smart

as any man in this room.

But I know the Congress of the United States.

And if you submit

this civil rights bill now...

...it will never become law.

Thank you, gentlemen.

- What do you think?

- The time for negotiation is over.

- What about Southern Democrats?

- You never had their support.

This is one of those times

to draw a line in the sand.

We could get to them through Lyndon.

Send a message.

They might listen to a Southerner

who's on our side.

What makes you think he's on our side?

Kenny...

...can we get this bill passed?

I don't know, sir.

It's not gonna be easy.

Well, we don't do these things

because they're easy.

We do them because they're hard.

What do you want me to tell Lyndon?

He's no longer a part of this discussion.

The Kennedys attended

private schools their entire lives.

Now they wanna talk about equality.

Voluntary integration is one thing,

but don't you think that I...

...as an American citizen,

shouldn't be forced to eat a hamburger...

...next to someone in a restaurant

I don't wanna bump elbows with?

Dick, I think it is unconscionable...

...that you, as an American citizen,

should ever...

...be forced to eat a hamburger.

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