[Torie]

Caro did not, and does not, love Johnson. He was/is a persona non gratia among true blue Johnson loyalists, including Lady Bird. He views him as a man of enormous weaknesses and strengths, very flawed but not evil. I take a harsher view, but then Caro is indeed more of a liberal than I, and more generous, and less bothered perhaps by the way one uses means of questionable propriety to achieve ends. But he is fair, and his point of view does not detract from the narrative of this marvelous book. Caro is simply a superb writer and story teller, who has obviously expended enormous effort to create a fascinating tapestry. The book is a must read.

[appeal2]

I don't mean to say that he came to love the man, but rather that his accomplishment towards "social justice" somehow made up for the man's evils. I just saw Caro on TV talking about the book and he was just so proud of Johnson's civil rights accomplishments that they were somehow the result of some compassionate core of the man. But the fact is civil rights was all part of Johnson's grand scheme to become president.