Means of Ascent by Robert Caro

This is the second book in the Caro life project of telling the tale of LBJ. My wife the other night when I told her Caro had finished the fourth ( but not final ) book in his series asked me " Was LBJ that important? "

The answer is a resounding yes though one has to dig such as Caro does to understand why. So much of what is politics today is a result of LBJ and his efforts.

For example in 1948 LBJ brought about the modern political campaign with his helicopter and media buys. Coke Stevenson ran an old style campaign. That Johnson stole the election is a pretty well known fact. That there was thievery on both sides is not as well documented. Still in Caro's telling Coke Stevenson comes across as a pretty remarkable character. One we could use today.

Johnson was under the thumb financially to Brown and Root a large contractor in Texas. The book does not advise this but it is a fact known to anyone who looks deep enough that as Brown and Root grew and bought other companies it became Haliburton. Knowing what we know of Johnson if that does not make sense you are not paying attention.

Johnson and his life were life changing for all of us. In his foreword to Book Two Caro talks about how Johnson's life had threads of good and bad that concurrently ran. Johnson and the War in Vietnam was perhaps the first and biggest straw that broke the prestige of the Presidency. The fact that a majority of Americans hold the office in less respect runs back in a straight line to Johnson.

In Book Two Caro tells us their is only one thread. The seven years between 1941 and 1948 were Johnson's time in the wilderness. He hated being in the House but had lost his chance at a Senate seat in the War. He did not see the future he wanted. This was when he almost got out of politics and indeed his media empire grew exponentially at this time.

The election of 1948 was everything. Caro in detail tells us about this election. Johnson collapsed with kidney stones still trying to campaign. Perhaps the biggest correlation to our modern elections would be to Bush/Gore in 2000. Johnson with his late ballots from Box 13. Stevenson seeking relief from the courts. Johnson's folks appealing the decision to review the ballots and while waiting for a ruling that would stop the process and stop Johnson's win doing everything they could to delay the hearing they were in to open the ballots. Finally a higher court intercedes. Who helped Johnson primarily in this endeavor. Abe Fortas. Who did Johnson put on the Supreme Court later. Abe Fortas. In Texas it works like that.

One should remember Johnson and I paraphrase had said that he would always turn in his votes last after the 1942 debacle in which he lost a Senate race by thinking he had it won and not even cheating could take it. With that in mind perhaps one can understand that Johnson is only the most famous of mid twentieth century vote stealer's in Texas.

Johnson did some great things and from his heart. He is not a black hearted figure. He is a man raised in poverty determined to help those who were poor. He also however wanted power and held on to it at all costs.

Johnson was like the proverbial man with the angel and the devil on his shoulder. A great book.