LBJ Library

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We had a couple of vistors join us while in Austin. Our good friend Cindy arrived on Valentine's Day and stayed for a few days. We took her to the LBJ Presidential Library on campus of UTX on our first day. We have been once before (with Gord and Leslie) and found it to be very interesting. It's especially interesting because we can remember at least some of the events that shaped the presidency.

There's 3 floor of exhibits and many more floors you cannot access where the presidential archives are stored away. Among the many papers in the archives there are also many recordings. Most recordings were made without the knowledge or permission of those recorded. There are quite a few you can listen to and some are quite interesting. Kate and Cindy are laughing hard in the photo as they listen to Lyndon Johnson try to sweet talk Kathryn Graham the publisher of the Washington Post. It's more than a bit ribald with pretty explicit innuendo. My how the world has changed.

On our return home we listened to a couple of related and interesting podcasts about LBJ. The first is "LBJ's War"  (Public Radio International) which covers the Vietnam war he inheirited on becoming president and the quagmire it became as he sought to win an unwinnable war. The second was "LBJ and the Great Society" which documents the astonishing success LBJ achieved on civil rights, voting rights, medicare/medicaid and more. We'd both recommend these podcasts, they're well worth a listen.

You usually think of LBJ in terms of the Vietnam War but forget the substantial good he achieved. We are dismayed by current efforts to unwind all that was, all the could be.

If you're in Austin, visit the LBJ library.