136. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Special Assistant (McPherson) to President Johnson1
For the President:
I was disturbed by the speech last night in the Armory.2 I felt it was harsh, uncompromising, over-militant. It seemed you were trying to [Page 384] beat Fulbrightʼs ears down before an audience of Democrats who, I am told, had earlier applauded him strongly.
The speech does not read as bad as it sounded. The combination of tone, emphasis and frequent glances down at Fulbright made it (for me) wrong. There was nothing of Baltimore3 or subsequent assurances that we want to negotiate an honorable way out.
If the purpose was only to tell Democrats that the policy line is hard, that is one thing. But most of them know it. Those who agree can only holler yes when it is reiterated. Those who disagree feel further estranged by high-powered shouting. Even in the first group there are those who think Fulbright is a luminary of our Party, although wrong on this issue. I talked to couple of these who were embarrassed to see him gored like that.
Lastly, there was nothing perceptive or careful or restrained in it. Even a political speech by the President ought in my judgment to make some distinctions. I am sure we are not going to fight Uganda if she attacks Rwanda and “oppresses her freedom.” Yet the speech sounded that way. Wherever it touched on foreign policy it was militant—if not in language, then in delivery. Nothing about the U.N. Nothing about food or education or health. Nothing about the willingness to talk without conditions. Standing in Viet Nam is the only issue for America.
Mr. President, I am one who believes we are right to stand in Viet Nam. I abhor the kind of vapid sophomoric bitching Fulbright is producing nowadays. But there are questions about Viet Nam, and about our appropriate role in the world, that are extremely difficult for me to resolve—difficult for anyone, I think, who gives them serious attention. They cannot be shouted out of existence.
Churchill rallying Britain in 1940 is not the only posture a wise and strong leader can assume today, especially an American leader with half of the worldʼs power at his disposal. The speeches you make, even on the stump, ought to pay some attention to the complexity and diversity of the questions America faces. To stand or not to stand is simple. After that nothing is. I hope what you say, and indeed, sir, how you say it, will reflect that; for you set the tone for all who follow your banner.
- Source: Johnson Library, Office of the President File, Harry McPherson. No classification marking. The source text is marked with an indication that the President saw the memorandum.↩
- The President spoke to 6,000 Democrats at a fundraising dinner on May 12 at the National Guard Armory in Washington. For text, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966, Book I, pp. 502–505.↩
- Reference is to the Presidentʼs Johns Hopkins speech on April 7, 1965. For text, see ibid., 1965, Book I, pp. 394–399.↩