[lelio]

Johnson's number one principle was self-advancement at all cost, and feeding his own perverse carnal desires for sex and power.
You hit the nail firmly on the head with that one. After reading the 3 volumes I wondered what made LBJ tick and that's what I came up with: the next deal and how he was going to screw someone out of something.
And that's why LBJ's presidency was such a failure: he could no longer be the "professional son" (see his relationships to his father, FDR, Sam Rayburn, Richard Russel) he had to stand on his own principles and lead people. He had none and the world came collasping down on him.
Your post about Ho Chi Minh was interesting. I'm trying to think of a time when LBJ met a principled politician (and I'm talking zealotly principled, like Ho) and dealt with them in a manner that's not like horse trading. When the other person doesn't want your horses you're stuck.

[Zack Nguyen]

When the other person doesn't want your horses you're stuck.

Exactly. To LBJ, politics was like negotiating over a used car. Principle was completely outside of his understanding.