With some of the debate on race in the Democratic Party bringing us back to the 1960’s Joseph Califano Jr. has written an article for the Washington Post that touches on the relationship between President Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King, and also touches on a couple of their most notable political achievements. This controversy sprang from an attempt by Senator Clinton to show that mastery of the political system is a necessary component to achieve real change. I wish she had picked a different example, but Califano has written a thoughtful article about King and Johnson.
With plenty being said, and some real nerves being touched I found myself somewhat offended by John Edwards characterization of President Johnson as “a Washington politician”. Johnson was a flawed man who made some major mistakes, but his Presidency had some notable achievements, especially in the Civil Rights arena. From the Califano article:

LBJ appreciated King’s powers of persuasion and ability to attract media attention. He decided to “shove my stack of chips into the pot” to push for passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination in education, employment and public accommodations. To break a filibuster, Johnson had California Democrat Clair Engle, who was dying of a brain tumor, wheeled onto the Senate floor. Engle couldn’t speak, so LBJ had him signal his aye vote by pointing to his eye.

The day after passage, Johnson told his aide Bill Moyers, “I think we delivered the South to the Republican Party for your lifetime and mine.” Indeed, he was defeated in five Southern states in 1964, four of them states Democrats had not lost in more than 80 years. The losses didn’t faze him, and he turned his energies to voting rights for black Americans.

In 1966, Johnson’s attention turned to the Fair Housing Act, which prompted the most vicious mail LBJ received on any subject. When King went north to push for fair housing, he said he had “never seen such hate — not in Mississippi or Alabama — as I see here in Chicago.” Sadly, this turned out to be their last joint achievement. By March 1968 there was still no hope of passage in the House. The morning after King was assassinated, President Johnson called me into his office and said, “At least we’re going to get our fair housing bill. I’m asking the speaker [John McCormack] and minority leader [Gerald Ford] to pass the Senate bill today.” He worked the phones, citing this as a last tribute to King. Days later, the House passed the bill.

Califano’s theme of partnership to achieve change is relevant today. Change is difficult, and distortions of history to achieve short term political gain serve no one in the end. Califano closes with this:

Enacting these laws took both the civil rights leader and the “Washington politician” whom John Edwards has derided in attacking Hillary Clinton. And both of them knew it. With the 1964 and 1965 civil rights acts, King told Johnson, “You have created a second emancipation.” The president replied, “The real hero is the American Negro.” That’s an example the presidential candidates and civil rights leaders of 2008 would be wise to follow.

Read the Califano article at this link.

Read the Washington Post article dealing with the fallout from the Clinton remarks here.