Trump Versus LBJ? Flip a Golden Coin

Peter Rexford
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

It may not be overtly apparent, but we look at coins in our pocket daily and see presidents who have had a lasting influence on the world, our country and us. I'd like to believe that is even more true during an election cycle.

During this time, I'll call it the "pre-election," many people think we are in a rare point where a candidate — OK, one in particular — is being far too forthright and blunt. Some believe Donald Trump is using language and the bully pulpit never before seen by a presidential persona. Nope. Peel it back 50 years and you would see Lyndon Baines Johnson make Trump look almost tame. Of course, that was once Johnson had assumed the office after the assassination of John Kennedy.

LBJ was the first president in the telecommunications age of radio and TV to redefine candor. (Johnson loved TV to the extent of having one installed in every room and bathroom.) Outwardly, he appeared soft-spoken and even folksy, just like a good ol' Texan. Unlike the Kennedy team, who had degrees from the Ivy League, Johnson had gone to Southwest Texas State Teacher's College. A nice place, but not exactly on the same plane.
Updated: Thu Sep 17, 2015

It may not be overtly apparent, but we look at coins in our pocket daily and see presidents who have had a lasting influence on the world, our country and us. I'd like to believe that is even more true during an election cycle.

During this time, I'll call it the "pre-election," many people think we are in a rare point where a candidate — OK, one in particular — is being far too forthright and blunt. Some believe Donald Trump is using language and the bully pulpit never before seen by a presidential persona. Nope. Peel it back 50 years and you would see Lyndon Baines Johnson make Trump look almost tame. Of course, that was once Johnson had assumed the office after the assassination of John Kennedy.

LBJ was the first president in the telecommunications age of radio and TV to redefine candor. (Johnson loved TV to the extent of having one installed in every room and bathroom.) Outwardly, he appeared soft-spoken and even folksy, just like a good ol' Texan. Unlike the Kennedy team, who had degrees from the Ivy League, Johnson had gone to Southwest Texas State Teacher's College. A nice place, but not exactly on the same plane.

Johnson knew nothing of the term "politically correct" and would have made short work of anyone around him advocating it. In one exchange with a poor reporter who had asked a question Johnson deemed foolish he snapped, "Why do you come and ask me, the leader of the western world, a chicken s—t question like that?" Yikes.

His White House persona could be every bit as crass. Some described him as "power mad," rarely missing an opportunity to wield his supremacy. Another famous Johnson quote was, "If you've got 'em by the (five-letter plural for testicular region), their hearts and minds will follow." Double yikes.

Remarkably, he could also be coercive and affable to House and Senate members when he needed their support for such things as Voting Rights; Civil Rights; Department of Housing and Urban Development; or Medicare and Medicaid — all passed under Johnson.

He didn't fare as well on the other side of the world with Vietnam. Johnson was president when a half million American soldiers on the ground had their lives on the line. He was in charge during the disastrous Tet offensive and the divisive 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention riots.

But, back to how Johnson might compare or contrast to politicians today. If the press were as candid about his personal life as they are about politicians today he would have been eaten alive.

They would have reported on his speeding 90 miles-an-hour around his ranch drinking scotch. They would document his obscenity-laced conversations. Surely there would have been ample coverage of his female consorts Madeleine Brown and Alice Glass as well as the revolving door of women from Texas who came to "work" as well as, according to the book, "Inside the White House," do "other things" in the executive office. (The Secret Service had to install a buzzer in the Oval Office to let LBJ know if his wife Lady Bird was approaching. Make of that what you will.)

Johnson retired essentially unscathed and even appeared on two U.S. postage stamps — one in the year of his death in 1973, and another in the presidential series of stamps of 1986. He also appeared on some medallions but until now, not on a U.S. coin.

The latest U.S. presidential golden dollar coin, and the last of four being issued in 2015, features a slightly formal portrait of Johnson — without his cowboy hat but with a tie — under his name, "Lyndon B. Johnson" and above "In God We Trust 36th President 1963 — 1969." A gold one-half ounce coin featuring Lady Bird Johnson was also recently released.

Presidential golden dollars are not currently circulating, but they are available directly from the Mint in rolls, bags or special sets of coins. For more information about the Johnson dollar or any presidential golden dollars still for sale log onto: www.USMint.gov or phone toll-free: 800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the new Lyndon Johnson Presidential Golden Dollar coin has been sent with this column.