[Theodore R.]

I read that LBJ enjoyed socializing with Republicans so he could boast of his bipartisan support. He was quite deferential to his old rival John Tower, often gave him rides to D.C. and Austin via Air Force One. He once told Tower, “John, you have done more for me on Vietnam than my whole damn party!” And he loved ol’ Everett Dirksen like an older brother. Of course, Ev caved when he was called upon to do so. Just like Ev’s son-in-law Howard Baker, and Baker’s successor, Bob Dole, and now the same ol’, same ol’ McC of KY.

[Brad from Tennessee]

LBJ's fixer and bag man, Bobby Baker, wrote a book in the early 1980’s that detailed LBJ's style in the Senate. Getting votes often entailed handing off satchels of cash to lawmakers. But he also had a great talent for persuasion on other levels. The Washington press corps always carried a resentment against Johnson because he wasn't JFK. LBJ was a political powerhouse who remains, at least for me, one of the most fascinating political figures in U.S. history.