 Lyndon Johnson was depressed and despondent at the course of recent events. The New York Times article had been released just two days before the Democratic Party (United States)'s New Hampshire primary, where the President suffered an unexpected setback in the election, finishing barely ahead of Senator Eugene McCarthy. Soon afterward, Senator Robert F. Kennedy announced he would join the contest for the Democratic nomination, further emphasizing the plummeting support for Johnson's administration in the wake of Tet.
