Lyndon B. Johnson's Presidency

Some of your poins, I will not deny. However, I think you lack the capacity to realize how much the Great Society has positively influenced this country. The Great Society had flaws and it wasn't the best policy set, but overall, Johnson's vision of a free, economically thriving, peaceful America is what we should give him credit for. You cannot deny his influence in the Civil Rights Movement. You cannot deny his passion and his determination to create a great society for all of us. When I went to the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, I learned quite a lot. When I entered the building, I had nearly no knowledge of the Johnson presidency. When I left, however, that changed. I began to see the goodness and pure greatness within his person and his policy. Lyndon Baines Johnson climbed up the ladder into my list of top ten favorite presidents. That is saying something.Now, opinions are no good here. For that reason, I will begin making more arguments:Economic Success of the Great Society The Great Society wasn't a perfect set of programs, but you can't deny some of the greatness it has accomplished: "In fact, from 1963 when Lyndon Johnson took office until 1970 as the impact of his Great Society programs were felt, the portion of Americans living below the poverty line dropped from 22.2 percent to 12.6 percent, the most dramatic decline over such a brief period in this century. Since then, the poverty rate has hovered at about the 13 percent level and sits at 13.3 percent today, still a disgraceful level in the context of the greatest economic boom in our history. But if the Great Society had not achieved that dramatic reduction in poverty, and the nation had not maintained it, 24 million more Americans would today be living below the poverty level." [1] This is crucial. This can't be denied. Also, I see you are a Republican. I do not want to start the debate between the two parties again, but I will say this: Conservatives are usually the ones that deny the successes of any Democratic programs. Republicans hate the Obama policies, Republicans hate the Great Society, and Republicans somewhat hate the New Deal. Let's put party aside and look at the facts, shall we? The facts are clear: The Great Society had a flaws like any other policy, but its successes cannot be denied. Below, is another example of a success of this program:"Since 1965, 79 million Americans have signed up for Medicare. In 1966, 19 million were enrolled; in 1998, 39 million. Since 1966, Medicaid has served more than 200 million needy Americans. In 1967, it served 10 million poor citizens; in 1997, 39 million. The 1968 Heart, Cancer and Stroke legislation has provided funds to create centers of medical excellence in just about every major city‹from Seattle to Houston, Miami to Cleveland, New Orleans to St. Louis. To staff these centers, the 1965 Health Professions Educational Assistance Act provided resources to double the number of doctors graduating from medical schools, from 8,000 to 16,000. That Act also increased the pool of specialists and researchers, nurses, and paramedics. Community health centers, also part of the Great Society health care agenda, today serve almost eight million Americans annually. The Great Society's commitment to fund basic medical research lifted the National Institutes of Health to unprecedented financial heights, seeding a harvest of medical miracles." [2] I will make plenty more arguments regarding the Great Society in coming rounds. Again, I have limited time to make my arguments and I will now move on with a very important topic:Vietnam WarNo one is perfect. He has made mistakes I will not deny. "Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), as he took over the presidency after the death of Kennedy, initially did not consider Vietnam a priority and was more concerned with his 'Great Society' and progressive social programs. Presidential aide Jack Valenti recalls, 'Vietnam at the time was no bigger than a man's fist on the horizon. We hardly discussed it because it was not worth discussing.'" [3] I will allow you to argue this issue in detail. Again, I do not have much time to make this argument and I had to make it shorter than I would have wished it to be. Please make arguments about Vietnam and I will then make rebuttals. References[1] & [2] http://www.washingtonmonthly.com...[3] http://en.wikipedia.org...