I am not saying he, bill moyers, was involved in the jfk assassination, but certainly i am saying that about his boss lyndon johnson and military intelligence. More specifically the book is about how a guy, lyndon johnson, rises. He explains how he first met lyndon johnson and four years later campaigned for johnson for president in the 1960 election. In his two hour archive interview, bill moyers discusses his upbringing in texas and his early interest in writing and journalism. Telephone conversation between president johnson and bill moyers citation no 6109 nov. Will bill moyers ever tell the truth about lyndon johnson. A conversation between lbj and reverend billy graham. In reading your new book, moyers on america, i was reminded of your ambivalence toward him. Nearly too late, public learns of bill moyers conflicts over pbs, lbj, jan. Quotations by bill moyers, american journalist, born june 5, 1934. I am such a big fan of both of these guys and the whole thing is bewildering to me. A book based on the series was coauthored and edited with jacqueline kennedy onassis by a consultant to the series, bettysue flowers, a former english professor at the university of texas and director of the lbj library. Moyers, who has refused to make any public disclosure of his income, pockets the proceeds from tape and dvd sales, sales of the related book and other subsidiary products from hundreds of hours of his programs. Bill moyers is an american journalist and served as the white house press secretary in the johnson administration from 19651967.
Mcclendons book that he performed such functions as handling policy concerning religion and to answer letters that had a religious tone. Three recent books have alleged that johnson helped coordinate the murder. Why bill oreillys lie about jfks murder might matter to you, march 17, 2015. Johnson following the assassination of united states president john f. Many others have argued that johnson orchestrated a coverup of the murder, at the. Bill moyers early life is the stuff american myths are made of. Johnson in the amphicar with eunice kennedy shriver and paul glynn at the haywood ranch, april 10, 1965. Johnson supposedly made a crude racist remark about his partys voter base. John trimble, a ut english professor who has known her for 30 years, calls flowers the female bill moyers. Goodwins chapter on lbjs mental problems in his book remembering america is entitled descent and is filled to the brim with anecdotes about lbjs hatreds, bucketfuls of perceived humiliations, paranoia, nuttiness so much so the chapter title descent into madness would have been more apt. Discoverlbj is the lbj presidential librarys online digital archive. Bill moyers, whose weekly magazine now on pbs has capped a 30year career in tv journalism, is leaving the broadcast after the november elections.
A tale of two quagmires, bill moyers interview with writer and producer david simon and the journals presentation. Bill moyers on working with lbj to pass medicare 52. Billy don moyers born june 5, 1934 is an american journalist and political commentator. Lbj refused ceremony, undercut bill with signing statement. Then he came back and he was helping to do advance work for dinner for jfk in austin, tx on the night of 112263. National security archive electronic briefing book no. From 1986 to his final series, now with bill moyers, moyers pbs programs have been done and owned by public affairs television. Bill moyers and richard goodwin were both fully aware lyndon johnson was a lunatic. Johnson, talking in the oval office, august 24, 1965. I never thought the situation could arise when i would wish for the defeat of lbj, and that makes my current state of mind all the more painful to me, he. Expanding on a chat earlier in the week, bill offers his views on the oscarnominated. It was directed by rob reiner and written by joey hartstone, whose script was on the 2014 black list. If the 10year gap between caros book and the 45year gap since moyers resigned during the sgt. But jones has two details about bill moyers, the former johnson press.
He retired from the program on december 17, 2004, but returned to pbs soon after to host wide angle in 2005. And it continued after the meeting adjourned when bill moyers. And this is the second of a set of programs with a man one must enormously respect for. Lets see what bill moyers was involved in on that fateful day november 22nd, 1963. Moyers described johnson to me as paranoid and depressed, and never more so than in 1965. Bill moyers was a founding organizer of the peace corps, a senior white house assistant and press secretary to president lyndon johnson from 1963 to 1967, the publisher of newsday, a senior news analyst for cbs news, and the producer of groundbreaking series for public television. Bill moyers will not be interviewed about lbj by robert. Mcclendon s book that he performed such functions as handling policy concerning religion and to answer letters that had a religious tone. It was the vice presidential campaign of lyndon baines johnson and bill moyers was twentysix years of age. Did lbj say ill have those ns voting democratic for. He was born in 1934 in hugo, oklahoma, where his father henry worked as an oddjobs man. Lyndon johnson was the ultimate psychopath sign in to follow this. The feud between bill moyers and morley safer whom to. Lbj shares the spotlight finally in building the great society lyndon baines johnson was an outsize character who gets a lot of credit.
Every once in a while, a book so possesses me that i happily give up a couple of consecutive nights of sleep as well as the evening news broadcasts and latenight talk shows to finish it. After the murder of jfk, bill moyers assumed a lot of power as a very young and inner circle aide to lyndon johnson. Much too late, public learns of bill moyers conflicts. Lbj shares the prevailing cold war mentality that communism is an aggressive menace that, like todays war on terror, had to be opposed, no matter what or where. The film stars woody harrelson as the titular president, along with richard jenkins, bill pullman. Through lbjs taped phone conversations and his own remembrances, bill moyers looks at johnsons deliberations as he stepped up americas. He lay on his huge bed in his pajamas watching television, as the world, holding its breath in anxiety and fear, considered that this alien cowboy was suddenly become the leader of the united states. Bill moyers on working with lbj to pass medicare 52 years ago. It would seem to suggest that, in hiring moyers, johnson had hired his own personal preacher, from whom he could expect dispensation for his sins. Last month in a letter to slate, former johnson administration official bill moyers dismissed my recent column that criticized him foramong other thingsinstructing the. Expanding on a chat earlier in the week, bill offers his views on the oscar nominated. He is the author of numerous books, including lbjs 1968.
A younger bill moyers with president lyndon johnson. Now, a quote like the one in ops question is not found in any of these recordings, nor do they contain the oftcited statement to bill moyers that lbj had lost to the south to the gop for a generation. In this special 2009 edition of bill moyers journal, lbjs road to war, bill recalls the events surrounding the gulf of tonkin affair and the vietnam wars continued escalation. Lbj champions the civil rights act of 1964 national archives. Bill moyers, naive to the will of lyndon johnson, still believed he had a choice. Provence also wrote in his 1964 biography the first one of lbj that johnson had hired bill moyers in 1958, and described his function as personal assistant and we know from ms. Moyers hosted the tv news journal now with bill moyers on pbs for three years, starting in january 2002. Lbj is a 2016 american political drama film about the beginning of the presidency of united states president lyndon b. Moyers was one of the ones who ordered the bubbletop off by phone to an aide in dallas. Season episode 31 53m 58s as president obama prepares to announce how many more troops he will send to afghanistan, bill moyers remembers the. Bill moyers on working with lbj to pass medicare 52 years ago journalist bill moyers once worked as the special assistant to president johnson, where he witnessed firsthand the political. Journalist morley safer in his 1990 book flashbacks wrote that moyers and.
With that assessment of bush in mind, lets go back and talk about lbj. Its the south that raises johnson to power in the senate, and its the south that says, youre never going to pass a civil rights bill. Bill moyers was one of the ones ordering that the bubbletop to jfks limo be taken off. Subtitled, a journalist and his times, the book consists of a series of tv columns and speeches worked into essay form. Caro began the years of lyndon johnson, his multivolume biography of. When he left now, he announced that he wished to finish writing a biography of lyndon b. The site is currently in beta mode as we are in the process of migrating content from the librarys research collections website as well as adding newly digitized content to discoverlbj. An evening with tom johnson, kyle longley, bill moyers.
He was lbjs aide who had left to go to the peace corps. I am not saying that bill knew that his actions would set up jfk for assassination. Bill moyers on working with lbj to pass medicare 52 years ago journalist bill moyers once worked as the special assistant to president johnson, where he witnessed firsthand the political maneuvering that resulted in the landmark health care legislation. One of the things that attracted a young bill moyers to lyndon johnson was that lbj exuded power, not that lbj was a decent, honest and likeable man. His article in this issue is based on research for his book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading moyers on. Lbj hired moyers as a summer intern in washington and persuaded him to transfer to the university of texas, where he could work for lady birds austin tv station. Journalist bill moyers once worked as the special assistant to president johnson, where he witnessed firsthand the political maneuvering that. Pioneering black secret service jfk guard abraham bolden warns of current lessons, july 22, 2015. The new book, an excerpt of which recently ran in the new yorker, is 736.
I was telling bill moyers that last night i couldnt sleep, and i got on my knees and prayed for you that the lord would just give you strength. After all, the lbj biographers first book, the power broker, about new york master. Kennedy had sent several thousand military advisers to south vietnam. The third aspect of this section of the book that is exemplary is caros portrayal. I told my sweet wife last nightwe got mental telepathyi said that if i didnt think id embarrass him graham, id say, please, dear lord, i need you more than i. Did lbj say ill have those ns voting democratic for 200 years. I cant find an explanation other than in this interview with moyers, ht mefi which was absolutely cryptic. Freedom of information at 40 national security archive.
His article in this issue is based on research for his book to be. What i am saying is that he was most likely told to do certain things without the foreknowledge that jfk was about to get. Free videos show shocking claims about cia, jfk murder probes, june 29, 2015. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. But they do provide excellent insight into how lbj talked about these issues in private. Bill moyers took it in the shins this week after the washington posts joe stephens, drawing on fbi files liberated by a foia request, reported the liberal lions role in hunting suspected. Veteran journalist and former lbj press secretary bill moyers compares the trump presidency to the johnson administration. Moyers the inspiration for his next project, a book called listening to america.
They were two texas longhorns with some kind of an intimate connection, an umbilical cord as bill moyers would. Convince the lowest white man hes better than the best colored man. Richard goodwin, who, along with bill moyers, consulted doctors on lbjs mental instabilies, concludes. Bill moyers, who served as one of johnsons top special assistants and as white house press secretary, told historian robert. Much too late, public learns of bill moyers conflicts over pbs, lbj. Power, politics, and the presidency in americas year of upheaval, released earlier this year. One example of an attempt by president johnson and bill moyers to reframe real history, while vilifying an honest reporter occurred in 1965, when they called the president of cbs, frank stanton, to complain about a broadcast report by the late cbs reporter morley safer in an attempt to. Maybe moyers has sat on this book because if he wrote it he would have to tell the truth about lbjs fantastic corruption, scary mental instabilities, hatred of the kennedys, his sadism, his cruelty, his beyond outrageous behavior. He describes being present when jfk offered johnson the vicepresidential ticket, shares where he was when jfk was assassinated, and. Three journal programs have been nominated for emmy awards.