Episode 50 UPHEAVAL!! ( Part 9 ) 1968 The Transition, taking it all in, & Looking back at Lyndon

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In our 50th, and final episode of our third season, we watch the winding down of the Lyndon Johnson Administration. It is truly an end to an era, as few men have ever dominated the public stage as Lyndon Johnson did our country for over two decades, even before he wound up in the White House. 

Joe Califano, an aid to President Johnson, is correct when he says the United States today is more a reflection of the hopes and dreams of President Lyndon Johnson than of any other President. If not for the catastrophe of Vietnam he would arguably be considered one of our great Presidents, if for nothing else but his work to guarantee equal rights for all Americans.

In this episode we watch him wind down his career and re-evaluate his impact on our country. We will listen as he addresses the nation and both houses of Congress in a rare, end of an administration "State of the Union " Address given just a week before he left office. Then we listen as the reigns of power are transferred from him to Richard Nixon.  

Then after an assessment from historian Michael Beschloss and some final thoughts from our host , Randal Wallace, we give the final word to the person closest to President Lyndon Johnson throughout his many years of public service, his wife, Lady Bird Johnson.

 Mrs. Johnson sat down in 1995 for an interview with ABC News Correspondent Barbara Walters for the program 20/20,  where she discusses everything from wildflowers, to changes in the social programs that were then under fire, to the place in history she felt her husband would occupy. It is one of my favorite interviews with any historic figure, and it will endear Lady Bird Johnson to an audience like few public figures in our history. 

Questions or comments at , [email protected] , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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