Hersh explains how JFK was blackmailed into picking LBJ as his running mate in 1960 (he had intended to pick Stuart Symington of Missouri)—thanks to J. Edgar Hoover having the dirt on him. Bobby was taken completely by surprise when he heard that LBJ would be chosen.
“Hersh explains how JFK was blackmailed into picking LBJ as his running mate in 1960 ...”
Yes, I know. It’s one of the most interesting passages in Hersh’s book. The decision to name LBJ rather than Symington as his running mate is something about which I had read sketchy rumors, but Hersh fills in the details.