The Aim of Activity

In the art of person-to-person politicking, Lyndon Johnson has few peers. And he is certainly applying his skills to his presidency.

For example, the President invited 14 foreign correspondents to the White House for a snack, some drinks and conversation. The scene was the second-floor living room, generally considered to be part of the President's private quarters; flames crackled in the fireplace, cheese dips and hot hors d'oeuvres were served, and a small bar had been set up at one end of the room. After about an hour, the President conducted a tour that included his own bedroom, where mauve-brown pajamas were neatly laid out on the turned-down covers.

"My Number One . . ." In that same friendly, seemingly impromptu fashion, Johnson took visiting Evangelist Billy Graham for a dip in the White House pool, packed Air Force One with Senators and Representatives of both parties to accompany him to New York for a speech to the United Nations, called a drop-of-the-hat press conference with a format that seemed to suit his style perfectly (see THE PRESS).

Although it lasted the usual 30 minutes, the news conference had a leisurely quality that apparently is impossible to achieve on national television.

What was Johnson's attitude toward meeting soon with Nikita Khrushchev? "I am ready and willing to meet with any of the world leaders at any time there is any indication a meeting would be fruitful and productive."

Would his first budget be under $100 billion or over? Well, he really couldn't tell yet. He had inherited a $98.8 billion budget from President Kennedy, and there were lots of new, unavoidable cost increases. "But we are going to keep that increase the lowest possible level, first, because we believe in frugality and thrift, and second, because we hope that we won't send to Congress a budget that will require severe and drastic reductions by the Congress. We think that they are overworked now, and we don't want to add to it."

Would he propose any new programs that would add to the budget? "There will be new programs. We are not going to stand still in this country; we are going to move ahead . . . We do expect never to just be content to sit in our rocking chair and enjoy the status quo."

How about the cold war? "My number one priority, my number one goal, my number one objective, my number one ambition is to try to provide the leadership for my country with vision, tolerance, patience and strength that will convince the rest of the world that we court no territory, we seek no satellites, that we are trying to live in peace and prosperity, and we would like for our fellow men everywhere to be able to do the same thing."

What were his Christmas plans? "If God is willing and Mrs. Johnson is willing, I plan to fly to my home [in Texas]. I hope to spend Christmas Eve with my sisters, my brother, my uncles, cousins, aunts and my family. Immediately after Christmas, I am going to relax a little. I might even--I don't want to keep my secrets from you people--I might even go hunting. I haven't had a chance to do that this year, and I would like to go and spend a day out in the hills, communing with myself."

"For All, and Above All." But if Lyndon Johnson's talents for the informal occasion are, and have long been, widely recognized, there remained some doubts about how effective he would be as spokesman for the U.S. in formal addresses before international forums. He set some of those doubts to rest in his United Nations speech.

The death of President Kennedy, said Johnson, "did not alter his nation's purpose." He continued: "We are more than ever opposed to the doctrines of hate and violence--in our own land and around the world. We are more than ever committed to the rule of law --in our own land and around the world. And more than ever we support the United Nations, as the best instrument yet devised to promote the peace of the world and the well-being of mankind." The U.S., concluded Johnson, "wants sanity, security and peace for all, and above all."

The U.N. delegates warmly applauded Johnson, recognizing his address for precisely what it was--a sincere, low-keyed reavowal of U.S. dedication to the cause of peace, without any headline-catching promises of bold new breakthroughs. And afterward, at a reception, Johnson wowed the delegates with a virtuoso display of his handshaking techniques. Those techniques are really a modern marvel--Lyndon is equally adept at shaking two people's hands at the same time, or shaking one person's hand with both of his, or shaking a hand while patting an elbow or a shoulder, or using the handshake to hurry someone past him in the reception line. After viewing the performance on television, New York Times TV Critic Jack Gould quipped: "The President can only be described as the Y. A. Tittle of handshakers; he does not let go until the last moment."

By such personal diplomacy, by the content of his public addresses, by the force of his energies, President Johnson in his first month in office has dispelled some of the doubts that existed about him when he took over. But the aim of activity must be accomplishment, and in this area, the returns are still out. Yet if there was one thing that marked Johnson's career as a Senate leader, it was accomplishment.

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