On the Ranch

THE PRESIDENCY

The President had been in Washington for only four days since the election, and nearly a month in the Texas sun shine had erased the marks of campaign fatigue. The relative isolation of the ranch protected him against Washing ton's nagging ceremonial duties, freed him to mull over foreign-policy issues and to chart the direction of the Great Society at home.

In a display of post-election charity, Johnson invited leading Democrats from Georgia, one of the few states he did not carry, to the ranch. Senator Her man Talmadge and Governor Carl Sanders each bagged an eight-point buck.

With the deer season open, so many hunters were prowling the area with rifles and telescopic sights that Ranch Road I, which runs past the LBJ spread, was ordered closed whenever Johnson is there. According to some reports, Johnson actually was more concerned about photographers shooting from the road with long-range lenses and catching him in off moments, than about the danger from hunters.

Report Card. The President decreed total privacy for Thanksgiving Day, on which Daughters Lynda and Luci flew in from Washington to attend the TexasTexas A. & M. football game in Austin and a traditional turkey, stuffin' and sweet-potato dinner at the ranch. After dark, Johnson hiked through the hills with the girls, discussed Lynda's studies at George Washington University and Luci's recent report card from the National Cathedral School.

At week's end he held his first give-and-take press conference in nearly two months, first spoke for 20 minutes, then answered questions for another 20.

He contended that the Atlantic Alliance is not in bad shape, argued that some "first principles" are neglected by press analysts. As Johnson sees those principles: "The ultimate essentials of the defense of the Atlantic community are the firmness and the mutual trust of the United States and Europe. The safety of the U.S. depends upon the freedom of Europe, and the freedom of Europe depends upon the strength and the will of the U.S." Johnson pledged that the U.S. will help its allies find "new and better ways by which all interested members of the alliance can increase their own sense of safety by sharing responsibility in the unified defense of the Alliance as a whole. We are not going to be adamant in our attitudes. We are going to try to be cooperative and helpful."

Chart Bearers. Johnson reported that Government agencies have submitted budget requests totaling more than $108 billion for next year, that there will be "a good many reductions," but that he "rather doubts" that he can hold the budget below $100 billion. Asked about the criticism of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, Johnson took a conciliatory tack, said that he hoped "that this would not degenerate into a battle of personalities." He smiled widely as he spoke on the healthy state of the economy, while aides bustled on and off the porch bearing charts like Wagnerian spear carriers. The President predicted a record retail business for the Christmas holidays, declared that "I hope and expect" steel prices will remain stable next year.

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