LBJ Page #6

Don't be a wisea... Lyndon.

I don't find this topic amusing.

Well, here's where I get confused.

A baby calf is born.

It grows into a cow,

lives on a farm, gets slaughtered...

...butchered, packaged, shipped, cooked...

...and finally served to you.

Most, if not all, those steps required

the hands of black men.

Why is it that

when it comes time to eat it...

...you can't stomach the notion of sitting

next to a black man while you chew?

- If those...

- May I clear your plate?

Oh, yes, Zephyr. Delicious.

"If the law can compel me to hire a negro...

...it can compel a negro to work for me.

And such a law would do nothing more

than enslave a minority."

And that's what one senator had to say

about civil rights legislation. Thank you.

That's probably Strom Thurmond.

He's an a**hole and a moron.

No, it was you.

1949, your first speech

on the Senate floor. Ha.

You spoke for over an hour in opposition

to a civil rights bill just like this one.

I remember watching you speak,

thinking to myself:

"This young man's the future of the South."

The best leaders of the time...

...from both our states, voted for secession.

And they were great men

who nearly destroyed America.

I don't ever want a history book

to say that about me.

Mmm.

Let me ask you something.

When was the last time

you had a meal with her?

She's an employee...

...but if you think

that I would have any objection...

...of breaking bread with her,

then you are a fool.

So you're telling me she's your equal?

That woman spends more time in

this house than anyone except Lady Bird.

She is family.

I don't know how I missed the resemblance.

Look, what I'm talking about here is freedom.

I'm talking about the preservation

of a way of life.

A way of life

that you and I both grew up with.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Then why are we whispering?

One hundred years of delay have passed...

...since President Lincoln freed the slaves.

Yet their heirs, their grandsons,

are not fully free.

They are not yet freed

from the bonds of injustice.

They are not yet freed from social

and economic oppression.

And this nation...

...for all its hopes and all its boasts...

...will not be fully free

until all its citizens are free.

Next week, I shall ask the Congress

of the United States to act...

...to make a commitment

it has not fully made in this century...

...to the proposition that race...

...has no place in American life or law.

Good morning, Mrs. Lincoln.

I'd like a moment with the president.

Sir, Vice President Johnson is here.

What shall I tell him?

You can go in.

Thank you.

Good morning, Mr. President.

- How you getting along?

- You're up early, Lyndon.

No, the president hasn't arrived yet,

but what do you need?

It can wait.

What's on your mind?

I wanna know

the president's intentions for '64.

Does he wanna keep me on the ticket?

Dropping you from the ticket

would be more trouble than it's worth.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I was on my way.

Bobby.

Why don't you like me?

Your brother likes me.

Your father likes me.

What is it makes you hate me so much?

I don't hate you. I just... I...

We see the world in very different ways.

Then why do you keep me around?

I was in Congress 24 years...

...but you never asked for my help

in legislative issues.

I'm from the South...

...but when you need help down there,

you go to other Southerners.

Why don't you just...

...put me out to pasture?

You've worked overtime

making sure I'm politically through.

I can never run for elected office again.

Hell, I don't even know

if I can help the president out in '64.

This isn't about '64, is it?

It's about '68.

You don't wanna bring in someone new.

You keep me here precisely because...

...you've made me politically irrelevant.

That way, in '68...

...the vice president isn't

the presumptive nominee.

You are.

You think I'd be that calculating?

I know I would be.

If either of you get a better job offer,

I suggest you take it.

My future is behind me.

He's gone.

Mr. President?

Sir, I need to announce

the death of President Kennedy.

Ahem. I want you to hold off

on that, Malcolm.

Rufus, get some cars set up and let

the drivers know we're ready to move.

Emery, have your people

locate Luci and Lynda Bird.

I want my daughters to meet us

when we arrive in Washington.

Also, have McNamara, Rusk and the rest

of the cabinet on the ground at Andrews.

Rusk and five cabinet members

are on a plane to Japan.

Turn it around.

I need you to tell Mrs. Kennedy

it's time to go.

Mrs. Kennedy won't leave without the body.

Well, we won't leave here

without Mrs. Kennedy.

- Sir, we need to get you in the air.

- Not without Jackie.

- Then let's wait for her at the plane.

- Fine.

Cliff, I need people I know close by.

Congressmen, I want you

flying back to Washington with me.

- Yes, sir.

- Sir...

...the American people need to know

that President Kennedy has died.

On April 14th, 1865...

...two men attempted to kill

Secretary of State William Seward...

...stabbing him in his home.

At the same time,

another assassin was on his way...

...to take the life

of Vice President Andrew Johnson.

This was the same night...

...that John Wilkes Booth

shot Abraham Lincoln.

We don't know the extent

of this conspiracy or who's behind it.

Malcolm, you're to announce

President Kennedy's death...

...only after the rest of us

are safely onboard that plane.

Otherwise, you're gonna make

these boys' jobs...

- ...a whole hell of a lot harder.

- Sir.

It was only on October the 24th...

...that our ambassador

to the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson...

...was assaulted in Dallas,

leaving a dinner meeting there.

From Dallas, Texas,

the flash, apparently official...

...President Kennedy died

at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time...

...2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time...

...some 38 minutes ago.

Vice President Lyndon Johnson

has left the hospital in Dallas...

...but we do not know

to where he has proceeded.

Presumably, he will be taking

the oath of office shortly...

...and become the 36th president

of the United States.

I wanna thank everybody

for getting here so quickly.

And I'm gonna need your help

back in Washington.

- Marie, can you join me in the next room?

- Yes, sir.

- Excuse me.

- At Dallas Airport...

...was cheerful, waving...

This is Lyndon Johnson.

Yeah.

I need you to take notes.

Sir, I got Lyndon Johnson on the phone.

Hello, Lyndon.

Bobby, I am...

...so sorry for your loss.

Words cannot express...

The whole country mourns with you.

- Thank you.

- Listen, Bobby...

...I need your opinion about something.

People down here are saying that I...

I should take the oath of office

as soon as possible...

...before we depart.

What do you think about that?

Well, I think it would be nice

for President Kennedy...

...to return to Washington as president.

Well, I understand that. I do.

But we got confusion down here,

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