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Somewhere in my studies of the Viet Nam war I ran across a statement by Johnson saying the call of the bugle had too often summoned the resources that should be dedicated to achievement of social equality. He was determined not to have that happen in his administration and to his great society. Thus, war anywhere else was to be second in importance to the war on poverty.
Johnson was a complicated man. He was complicated not in the sense of posessing diversity and depth of knowledge, but in the sense of constantly changing winds of conflicting grandiose superficiality that dominated his personality. He was somewhat of a populist nut who espired to greatness. When nuttiness and grandiose ambition combine, the results are catastrophic. We are still paying the cost of the Johnson period.