Ep. 2: Thank You, Mrs. Vice President

There are moments in Lady Bird's audio diaries that truly re-write the known history of LBJ's presidency. This episode includes one of the most consequential. In a memo to Lyndon just five months into his presidency, Lady Bird predicts how the Vietnam war will derail his administration, and proposes a clear end-date for his time in office -- fully four years before he shocked the nation with his announcement in March of 1968 that he wouldn't run for reelection. We hear Lady Bird's growing sense that Bobby Kennedy will become LBJ's political rival, and RFK's bring-down-the-house performance at the Democratic Convention in the summer of 1964. In the run up to the '64 election, Lady Bird makes a Whistle Stop tour of the South — her home turf — to try to keep Southern Democrats from defecting over Civil Rights. But she's met with open hostility, and worse. And on her return to Washington, a sex scandal involving Lyndon's closest aide presents an October surprise that could easily upend the election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can listen to Ep. 2: Thank You, Mrs. Vice President online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Ep. 2: Thank You, Mrs. Vice President is an episode from In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson by ABC News.

This episode is 38:17 long.

This episode was published on Mar 1, 2021.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.