All language subtitles for Path.To.War.2002

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Congratulations,
Mr. President.

Johnson:
Just the beginning, Bob.

Man:
Sir! Mr. President!

Over here, please!
Thank you!

She is pretty.

- Having a good time, George?
- Great night, Mr. President.

- What a night.
- Johnson: You bet, George.

Mr. Johnson!

Thank you, sir!
Mrs. Johnson!

Man: Get him, girls.
Get him.

Senator Dirksen,
the president would
be delighted

if you'd join him
in the Oval Office
after the ball.

I will.

One thing I can say
about the Great Society--

it sure is crowded.

Up all night writing
this one, Dick?

Uh, this is one speech
I'll gladly disavow.

Got a clipping here.

Quotes my honorable
defeated opponent,

Senator Goldwater.

Calls my secretary of defense
"an IBM machine with legs."

Outrageous!

Now, I stand here tonight
to tell you

that I regard
Bob McNamara here

as not only
one of the smartest,

but one of the most humane
men I know.

Yeah.
Over here.

Man:
Goldwater's history!

And that goes for all
my blue-ribbon men

you see here tonight.

Yep.

Never in our history
has there been

such an abundance
of brains and talent.

Why, I've got three
or four Rhodes scholars,

four or five graduates
of Harvard,

a couple from Yale.

And, why, there's even
one here tonight

from Southwest Texas State
Teachers College.

And don't you know,
that one rules the roost.

♪ The eyes of Texas
are upon you ♪

♪ All the livelong day ♪

♪ The eyes of Texas
are upon you ♪

♪ You cannot get away ♪

♪ Do not think
you can escape them ♪

♪ At night
or early in the morn ♪

♪ The eyes of Texas
are upon you ♪

♪ Till Gabriel blows
his horn... ♪

Hey!
Thank you.

( singing and cheering
continue )

Watch broken, Jack?

- Timing it.
- Timing what?

The applause.
He'll ask.

♪ The eyes of Texas
are upon you ♪

♪ Till Gabriel blows
his horn. ♪

Johnson on TV:
In a land of great wealth,

families must not live
in hopeless poverty.

In a land
rich in harvest,

children just must not
go hungry.

In a land
of healing miracles,

neighbors must not suffer
and die unattended.

In a great land of learning
and scholars,

young people must be taught
to read and write.

Dirksen:
A bit more volume,
please, Mr. President?

I want to hear
every brilliant word

that Dick Goodwin wrote
for your marvelous speech.

Goodwin? Who told you
Goodwin wrote that speech?

A dozen people work
on my speeches.

Nobody more than I do.

Why, Jack here's
been writing

some of my best stuff
for seven years.

My penance for marrying away
his last secretary,

but thank you
for the credit,
Mr. President.

- Good night, Jack.
- Good night, Mr. President.

- Good night, Senator.
- Good night, Jack.

Johnson on TV:
...with the resources
I have had,

I have vigilantly
fought against it.

- Goodwin wrote
maybe a word or two.
- Mm-hmm.

"Great" being one,
"Society" the other?

- Smart son of a bitch
got that out of a book.

Now, listen to me, Ev.

And listen well.
You're a good friend.

I don't want to see you
retire prematurely.

But as this reception
plainly shows you,

the American people
ain't gonna stand

for you fellas
on the other side
of the aisle

dragging your feet
on any of my programs.

Now, FDR passed
a handful of bills

in his first
hundred days.

I'm gonna pass
a bucketful--

poverty, education,
health care.

And I'm gonna
finish what I started
on civil rights, too.

I'm telling you,
Jim Crow put a collar
on more smart men

sure as they were sentenced
to an Illinois chain gang.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I take offense, sir.

We are most humane
to our condemned.

The Great Society
is my beautiful woman, Ev,

and I'm taking her
by the arm.

And as the greatest
Republican leader
of this century,

Everett Dirksen is gonna
take her by the other

and help me escort
that lady home.

Yes.

And knowing
what is likely thence
to ensue, Mr. President,

that is where I shall
take my leave.

Lyndon?
I apologize
for interrupting.

I thought perhaps you'd
like some sandwiches
from the kitchen.

Mrs. Johnson,
my most abject apology.

I have kept your husband
far too long

on this most festive
occasion.

No.

Mr. President,

a heartfelt
congratulations, sir.

Adieu.

- Good night.
- Good night.

Johnson on TV:
If we fail now,

then we will have
forgotten in abundance

- what we learned
in hardship.

Democracy rests
on faith,

freedom asks more
than it gives,

and the judgment
of God...

It was a wonderful
speech.

Full of such hope
and promise.

Dick Goodwin asked
what I thought,

and I told him
it was a magnificent job.

And you delivered it
so very well.

- Thank you, honey.
- Yes, you did.

Thank you.

9:00 p.m. unless
you hear from me.

- Morning. How are you?
- How are you, sir?

- Is that for me?
Thank you.
- Yes, sir.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

Morning.

Good morning,
Mr. Secretary.

What have we got here?
A crisis in every capital?

Uh, just one.

- This is one cable?
- Not quite.

Here's the rest of it.

McNamara:
The situation in Vietnam
is continuing to deteriorate.

We've been able to keep
the noise level down
since your campaign,

but my guess is you'll be faced
with a tough decision soon.

How soon?

There are 19 million
older folks who can't
see a doctor.

33 million
under the poverty line.

I can't have
Congress distracted.

Now, how soon, Bob?

Very soon,
Mr. President.

I hate to have
to report this to you,

but Max Taylor says here
that Vietcong enlistment

is increasing rapidly

and that Saigon
can't continue much longer

to provide security
for our advisors down there

and fight an insurgency
at the same time.

Why not? How many men
does South Vietnam have
out there fighting?

200,000.
VC have about 34,000.

Well, how the hell
can 34,000 lick 200,000?

Well, historically,
a 10:1 ratio minimum

is required for
a guerilla situation,

and there's no way
that South Vietnam can
achieve that on their own.

Now, we've kept
our powder dry

through the elections
and the holidays,

waiting for
some stability
in the south,

waiting for the cycle
of coups to end,

during which we've had
five killed in the attack
at Bien Hoa,

two at our Saigon
officers quarters,

and scores wounded
with no retaliation
from us whatsoever.

Now, Wheeler,
the other chiefs,
Westmoreland,

are fit to be tied,
as you know,

and now this
from Ambassador Taylor.

You might send
Mac Bundy to Saigon,
have a talk with him.

I'd make
another trip myself,

but I'm in the middle
of the defense budget
right now.

I don't want to see
the word "Vietnam"
in that damn budget.

Well...

you know I'd do that
if I could.

In fact, it's becoming
increasingly difficult
to conceal--

Bob, all I want
to know is this.

What's it gonna take
to get Ho Chi Minh to quit?

That's all I want to know.

Mr. President,
it's clear to me now

that the answer is sustained
military action in the air.

And if that doesn't work,

on the ground.

This is the decision
you are going to have
to face, Mr. President,

and as I said,
very soon, I'm afraid.

Keep me
up to date, Bob.

- Turn that thing off.
- Yes, sir.

This Medicare speech
is shit.

Cut out the gobbledygook
and sex it up.

Maybe Goodwin ought
to take a crack at it.

Goodwin's got three months
of assignments.

Oh, I just put the last of those
on your desk, Mr. President.

I'd be glad to look it over
if you'd like me to.

All right.

Put the music
to it, Dick.

Jack, I want you
to tell him

to stop taking credit
for every goddamn word I say.

- Absolutely,
Mr. President.
- All right.

Come on, dog.
Up you go.

- Schedule me a haircut.
- Surely.

And see if you can get
Clark Clifford here for dinner.

Lady Bird:
Converting from Protestant
to Catholic is a big step.

Actually, Lyndon took it
better than I did.

I was quite surprised.

Well, both you and Daddy
changed your religions.

From one Protestant
denomination to another.

It was a matter
of convenience
and schooling.

Well, I don't
think religion should be
a matter of convenience.

And this is
a private matter, Luci.

You're finishing up
at Texas, aren't you,
Lynda?

- Next year, ma'am.
- She's dating George Hamilton,
you know?

- The actor?
- Yeah.

- With the tan?
- And your sister may consider
that a private matter, too.

- Oh, Mother,
you must be joking.

Come on now, damn it.
What's the reason this time?

I don't have
the qualifications
to be CIA director.

I decide
the qualifications.

You had all the qualifications
to be attorney general,
didn't you?

To succeed Bobby Kennedy.

Yeah, and here I am
stuck with a friend
of his-- Katzenbach.

- He's excellent.
- Aw, well, look.

All right, you told me your
interest was foreign affairs.

Well, that's where I need
your help-- foreign affairs.

What is CIA
but foreign affairs?

I think my skills
would better serve you

in foreign policy,
Mr. President,

not foreign intrigue.

I hear you billed
a million dollars last year.

First lawyer
in the country
to do that.

- True?
- Well, that's what
5% came to.

Well, hell, then you can
afford to take a hiatus

from all
this moneymaking,

come serve
your president.

I don't think you need
an attorney, old friend,

I think you need
a magician.

- Magician?
- Yeah.

Someone who can
make a small corner
of Southeast Asia disappear.

President Kennedy
did not lose South Vietnam

and I'm not gonna
lose South Vietnam.

I kept
all these people on.

They assured me
he was determined
to stick it out.

Now, that little
son of a bitch Bobby's
just hovering to swoop down

and reclaim the mantle
if I fail.

He'll hang me
from my left ball,

Goldwater'll hang me
from my right.

That is complete nonsense.

You humiliated Goldwater
in the election.

The entire right wing
is in disarray.

Bobby is a freshman senator
with no record.

His brother was a no-record
senator, too, wasn't he?

- And he came out of nowhere.

Luci:
Daddy?

Would you like some dessert
or are you on your diet?

Now, you save some for me,
honey, if it's good.

- How about you, Mr. Clifford?
- No, thank you, dear.

No, he's not
getting anything.

Now,

Jack Kennedy put
16,000 advisors in there.

I put in another eight.

We've got 24,000 now,

teaching them people
how to shoot and fly planes.

We got patrols
and covert operations.

We got an alphabet soup
of aid programs,

a lot of which I'd like
to have right here.

And none of it's working
because of all this coup shit.

It's like building bricks
with no mortar down there.

There's nothing real
to hang it on.

Now, Ho Chi Minh
knows this,

and he's gonna keep
his people attacking
till there's nothing left.

Now, if we call it quits
and continue as we are,

South Vietnam, maybe
the whole of Southeast Asia,
goes Communist.

Now, even George Ball
admits that.

Everybody else thinks
we ought to up the ante.

Bombing?

Look at this.

Bunch of sheds
just outside Hanoi.

And they call that
a military target?

There's a school
right up the street.

Poles built it for 'em.

Hell, Clark,
I could build them
a thousand damn schools.

I'd like you to start
to follow the situation
down there.

Read some of these reports
they keep throwing at me.

I just don't know
what to believe anymore.

Biggest damn mess.

You'd be on the outside.
You could take a fresh look.

I'll do everything
I can to help.

Yeah, except
come work for me.

Hey, what about
the Supreme Court?

What if a seat
opens up?

I'm an advocate.
I'm not a judge.

Hell, Clark,
you're a hick lawyer
from Missouri.

Well, I may be
a hick lawyer
from Missouri,

but as you yourself
pointed out,

I haven't made Missouri wages
for a long, long time.

You know, I ran
saying I was for peace.

Now, sure as hell
they're telling me
I gotta do

what I said
I wasn't gonna do,

what Goldwater
was gonna do.

Luci's converting
to Catholicism.

Big decision
for a young girl.

He told me.

He said when the press
gets hold of it,

they'll make it
sound as if she did it
as a tribute to the Kennedys.

Oh.

I swear, I think
he was only half joking.

Clark?

Oh.

Hello?

I'm sorry,
he's asleep.

He's just gotten
over pneumonia.

I'd rather not wake him.

I-- I know.

- Is it possible--
- Marg?

Sorry, Bob.
Must be pretty damn bad
to keep you at home.

Let's just call it
the Hanoi flu.

What the hell's
going on here?

General. II Corps
Headquarters at Pleiku.

Vietcong cut
through the wire.

Blew up our advisors'
barracks, planes, choppers
on the runway.

- In Camp Holloway...
- Casualty report.

...more of the same.

Advisors' compound
next door.

VC got in with mortars
and grenade launchers.

There are eight dead,
120-plus wounded,

six choppers,
one transport destroyed,

other aircraft
severely damaged.

Colonel:
Mr. Secretary?

The National Security
Advisor's in Saigon,
is he not?

Didn't the CIA say
Hanoi would connect
Bundy's visit

with a decision
on bombing?

Vietcong agents
in Saigon government
probably leaked it out.

And knowing this,
knowing this,

look what
they did, Bob.

They blew up
128 people

just to thumb
their noses at us.

Now what the hell
are we gonna do about it?

McNamara: Number 33,
the North Vietnamese
barracks at Dong Hoi

just over the border
in North Vietnam.

About 6,000 troops
based there.

An isolated facility
with minimal civilian
support.

What are our
expected casualties?

3,600 troops,
roughly 40 civilians.

How'd you come up
with these numbers?

Wheeler:
Sir, we take the approach,

look at the blast pattern,

the size of the blast,
demographics.

Mr. President,
it's as sophisticated
an analysis as I've seen,

unprecedented
in aerial warfare.

But Ho Chi Minh's
not gonna turn tail
overnight.

Saigon's gonna
take a shellacking
for anything we do.

And if they go in now,
it'll be like sending in

a widow woman to slap
Jack Dempsey.

Sir, we doubt Hanoi
will slap back.

Didn't MacArthur
say the same thing

when a million Chinese
poured into Korea?

What does State
think of this?

The risk of inaction
means more aggression.

Ambassador Taylor
concurs.

He's meeting with
Saigon's leaders now.

Should be calling
the Situation Room
momentarily.

They'll put him
through to me.

Mr. President,
if I might.

I was in charge
of bombing surveys
during World War II,

and bombing
never wins a war.

Rather than erode
the enemy's will,
it strengthens it.

We've seen this
time and time again--
in the Blitz, Berlin.

The Blitz in Berlin
never would have happened

if we didn't lay down
to Hitler in Munich.

And if we lay down now,
it'll be the same thing
again--

an open invitation
to more of their aggression.

Mr. President,
what we're proposing
with Rolling Thunder

is a strictly limited program
of sustained retaliation,

moving northward
only if Vietcong
activity persists.

But it will persist, Bob.

We'll be bombing their cities
before we know it.

Now, do we expect Russia
to sit still for that?
Or China?

Comparisons with Korea
15 years ago

are flimsy at best,
Mr. President.

Ball:
You are absolutely right.
China has atomic weapons now.

They tested
their first bomb
four months ago.

It was no dud.

We have no idea
what will set them off.

I-I don't understand.

Why is this?

Man:
North Vietnam
has secret treaties

with the Chi-Coms,
Mr. President.

We don't know
what the flash points are
in their intervention.

We can take China out
in 17 minutes.

They'd be crazy
to take us on.

I agree, Bus, but why assume
they're as rational as we are?

Mr. President, 400 Americans
have died in Vietnam.

And now eight more
in these atrocities.

There has to be a response
to this aggression.

Mr. President,
the Air Force

will be launching strikes
from the Da Nang airfield,

and that base will become
a more attractive target
to the Vietcong.

General Westmoreland
is requesting a Hawk
missile battalion.

- Is he asking for troops?
- No, no troops.

Saigon will be responsible
for base defense.

But if the Vietcong activity
intensifies

despite these measures,
they may need some help.

But it will
intensify, Bob.

This is precisely
my point, Mr. President.

- Rusk: Yes?

Woman on intercom:
Mr. Secretary, Saigon.
Ambassador Taylor.

Put him through.

Max, we're all here
with the president.
Go ahead.

Taylor:
Mr. President, gentlemen.

Saigon has agreed
to the commencement
of air strikes.

They say their army's ready
for any counterattack
from the north.

All right, Max.
Thank you.

George...

your concerns are mine
as well, as you know.

But we're nowhere near
the point you suggest.

Now, many here agree
there's a good chance

that Ho Chi Minh will quit
if we start making him pay.

Now, is there anyone here
who does not agree with this?

I'm concerned
about the press.

They're gonna view this
as a change in policy.

There is no change
in policy!

But we haven't struck back
since the Tonkin Gulf affair
six months ago.

That's right.
That's why I asked
Congress for the power.

They gave me the power,
and I'm using it.

But we're taking it slow.

I'm not going to Hanoi.

And I'm signing off
on every target.

You're not gonna
bomb the smallest outhouse
without checking with me.

You understand, General?

We understand,
Mr. President.

All right, Bob.
You better get going.

Now, anything else?

McNamara's voice:
From Robert S. McNamara
to Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp,

Commander
of Pacific Forces,
Honolulu.

This is
an execution order.

During daylight hours,
7 February, 1965,
Saigon time,

conduct the following
coordinated attack:

Number 33,
Dong Hoi barracks.

- Good evening,
Mr. President.
- Planes back?

Carriers weren't on station
when the order went out, sir.

The operation
has been delayed.

- Delayed?
- About 90 minutes, sir.

We should
have word shortly.

Stand at ease.

Well, what happened?

It's monsoon season
there, sir.

Well, are they going
or aren't they going?

You find out what the hell's
going on and you call me!

Get the White House operator
to put you through.

- You want me
to wake you, sir?
- You won't wake me!

- Why are you up?
- Worried for you.

Those planes should've
been back hours ago.

What's that?

It's a letter from a friend,
complaining about junkyards.

She says here,

"They're all up and down
the highway now.

Through Dallas
to San Antone,
Houston"--

Right on the highway,
or away where people
can't see?

No, right along the road,
defiling the countryside

through Waxahachie
and Hillboro

and lovely San Marcos
where you went to school.

Oh, love, don't.

Love.

Yes, Mr. President.

What are you doing about
junkyards on the highways?

- What?
- Junkyards!

Well, I'm sending something
over to your office right now.

You jump in your car
in your jammies,

you might even beat it.

- Yes?

I spoke with Honolulu.
They're cabling now.

Planes are back.

The primary was hit.

All the planes,
they all get back?

No, sir. I'm afraid
we did lose one plane.

- What about the pilot?
- He went down at sea.

Search and rescue
is looking for him now,

but I'm afraid
it's not looking very good.

I'm sorry, sir.

All right.
Thank you, Bob.

Good night,
Mr. President.

Man:
Yes, Mr. President?

Lyndon.

Oh, I'm-- I'm sorry.

Put this
on Moyers' desk.

Yes, sir.

Honey?

We lost a pilot.

Sweetheart.

Oh, sweetheart.

- Oh, I'm so sorry.
- That's all right.

This isn't about
junkyards, is it?

Shit, what time is it?

I told Sandra
I'd be home before 1:00.

She didn't call.

That's not a good sign.

Hmm.
How about you?

You coming or going?

He wants company.

We started bombing
North Vietnam tonight.

Christ.

Are they talking
about combat troops?

No.
Not yet, no.

Christ, I don't know
what to tell the press.

We are backing
into a war here,
for Christ's sake.

And it's a war
he campaigned against.

But now he talks like
he's putting a paddle
to Ho Chi Minh's behind.

Well, Johnson's
a deal-maker.

He's the best politician
this country's ever seen.

He'll find a way
out of this.

Sure. He'll just
get old Uncle Ho
down to the ranch,

serve him up
some tasty barbecue

and then offer him a dam.

Or a federal judgeship.

- Hello, Mr. President. Ahem.
- Good evening, Mr. President.

Congratulations on getting
that education bill
out of committee.

Well, it hasn't
passed yet, has it?

I want all you
up there on the Hill,

day and night,
getting me those yeas.

What is this?
Tapioca pudding?

Yes, sir.

Would you like it?

Ah, now, voting rights.

That's the meat
in the coconut.

Where do we stand?

At last tally,
we are short 50 congressmen.

- But the Senate--
- Start with the House.
Give me their names.

You want me to read
the roll, Mr. President?

All 435?

From Abbitt of Virginia
to Zablocki of Wisconsin.

- Go.
- Uh...

Um...

Abbitt, Virginia, nay.

Abernethy,
Mississippi, nay.

Where do you think
you're going?

Home.

The hell you are.
You're gonna relieve him
when he gives out.

Adair, Indiana, nay.

Adams, Washington, yea.

Addabbo, New York, yea.

Albert, Oklahoma, yea.

Boys, it doesn't
look like

we're gonna be able to get
voting rights through.

- Not this session.

Well, I must say,
I don't understand,
Mr. President.

Only a month ago in your
State of the Union message,
you made it perfect--

Johnson:
Reverend King,
I have been to the well,

and the well
has provided.

I got the votes
on Medicare,

aid to education--

all these benefit the poor
and disenfranchised,

and you know who that is.

Please don't misunderstand.

We're very grateful,
Mr. President.

Attorney General Katzenbach
here has written

a beautiful piece
of legislation.

You think I wanna
carry that around
in my ass pocket?

You see, it's this--

this problem I got
in Southeast Asia,

the Vietnamese.

To them Southerners
up on the Hill,

what are they
but another bunch
of colored people?

And I go up there
crawling for more aid,
as I must for Vietnam.

"Mr. President,"
old Wilbur Mills will say,

"you're gonna have
to raise taxes,

declare war,
call up the reserves.

And by the way,
that's gonna cost you
your War on Poverty,

your voting rights
for Negroes."

Just like World War II
killed the New Deal,

well, there ain't
gonna be World War III,
I promise you.

I'm gonna nip this
in the bud. I am.

And as soon as I do,

I'll send that bill up
and more, I promise you.

There will be no delay.

Well, Mr. President,

we're going to be
down in Selma,

marching for the vote,

and we expect
you'll take notice

as to what we do
down there.

Man on TV:
During preparations
for Martin Luther King's

second attempt to march
to Montgomery,

four white men beat to death
a Boston clergyman,

one of the 1,500 marchers.

The slain reverend,
James Reeb,

had come to Selma
in solidarity with Negroes

attempting to register
to vote.

- Uh-huh.
- Amidst growing concern
about increasing

racial violence
in Alabama,

Governor George Wallace
is reportedly preparing a trip

to Washington, DC,
to see the president.

Meanwhile, demonstrations
continue in front of
the White House.

Protestors:
We demand justice!

Call them off!

Well, we didn't
organize it, Mr. President.

Call them off!
Get out there, both of you!

Call them off!

- Daddy?
- Why are you up?

Those goddamn agitators
wake you?

No, I heard you yelling.

Oh, sorry, honey.

King on TV:
...how it can't be done.

It's still strange
to us, though,

how millions of dollars
can be spent every day

to hold troops
in South Vietnam,

and our country cannot protect
the rights of Negroes

in Selma and Marion,
Alabama.

He's outrageous!

Now, now, now!
Everything's gotta be now!

What, they want
the whole goddamn world
with a fence around it?

I just gave
standby authorization

to federalize
the Alabama Guard.

We just need your order.

You have to do it,
Mr. President.

Wallace won't protect
those marchers.

You want me
to send troops
into Alabama?

Lose Stennis,
Dirksen, Russell,

every conservative vote
I got hanging on a thread
of spittle?

It'll be Reconstruction
all over again.

Your friend Bobby Kennedy
could have given me
that advice!

Wallace on TV:
Martin Luther King and
his group of pro-Communists

have instigated
these demonstrations

by lawless nigger mobs
in Birmingham.

But the law-abiding citizens
of both races there

are fed up
with this rioting
and disruption

led by
so-called clergymen

and their
Communist-inspired
followers!

I am therefore sending
250 state troopers
into that city,

supported by
500 other law officers
of this state.

I will meet our enemies
face-to-face.

I will not surrender!

Mr. President, Wallace
is only coming up here

in order to placate you.

He wants things to get
so bad down there

that you have
to put the troops in.

Then he'll lambaste you
for invading his
sovereign state,

and that's how
he'll save himself.

Goddamn runty
little bastard!

I want his pecker
in my pocket.

The thing we have to do--
we have to get him to ask
for the troops,

to say he wants rights,
he wants peace,

but he just can't control
his own people.

Make it his failure.
That's what we have to do.

Man on TV:
In an interview today,
Governor Wallace denies

that Alabama state troopers
and sheriff's deputies
used unnecessary force

in routing Negro marchers
in Selma.

Johnson:
Call the speaker.

Tell him I want
to address Congress

on television.

That goddamn bill
is going up now.

- Man: One more,
Governor Wallace.

A little closer.

- Thank you.

All right, thank you.
Sit down, Governor.

Over here.
That's it.

Over there-- whoa,
right in the corner.

The corner, Governor.
That's it.

Now, Governor,
you wanted to see me?

Uh, yes,
Mr. President.

I want to thank you
for agreeing to see me--

- Goddamn demonstrators!

Keeping Lady Bird up,
disturbing my daughters' rest.

Turn that thing off!

Subversives, most of em.

- Communist Party's
behind the whole thing.
- You know what I'd do?

I'd send some of them
Secret Service boys

out there
with itching powder.

Ha! Sprinkle it on the back
of some of their necks.

They'd drop them signs
they're carrying,

scratch themselves raw.

That's a great idea.

I'm gonna get
my people on that.

Better than that, Governor,
we ought to go out there.

We got all of those
television cameras.

You see those
television cameras
they've got out there?

Yes, sir.

Why don't we go out there
and we turn them
cameras around,

and we'll announce
that you decided

to register every Negro
in Alabama?

Mr. President,
as much as I'd--

Nick, give me one of them
there Constitutions.

Yes, sir.

Nick's got
the Constitutions.

Hey, thank you, Nick.

Now, Governor,

I'm sure that
somewhere in here

it says that Negroes
have the right to vote.

Uh, yes, Mr. President,

and-- and they have
the right to vote
in Alabama.

But it's the county
registrars.

They-- they--
under Alabama law,

they independent,
and I don't have the power.

George.

Now don't you shit me
about who's got the power
in Alabama.

- Well, Mr. President--
- Now come on, Governor.

You're a persuasive man.

Hell, I was watching
you this morning on
all three networks.

You were attacking me.

I wasn't attacking you,
Mr. President.

- I was attacking the idea--
- Idea. Hell, you were
attacking me, George.

And I'll tell ya,
you're so damn persuasive,
I nearly changed my mind.

You have marvelous
powers of persuasion,

don't you, Governor?

Governor Wallace,

you and I shouldn't
be sitting here

thinking about 1965.

We ought to be
thinking about 1995,

when you and I will be
long in our graves.

Now, you've got
a lot of poor people
down there in Alabama,

a lot of ignorant people.

People who need jobs,
people who need a future.

You can do a lot for 'em.

In 1995, Governor,
what do you want left behind?

You want a great big
marble monument saying

"George Wallace,
he built,

he protected
the weak, the poor,

the impoverished people
of this great state"?

Or do you want
a little piece
of scrawny pine

laying there in the harsh,
caliche soil saying

"George Wallace,
he hated"?

I'm sorry, Governor.

I interrupted you.

Now, you wanted
to tell me something?

Mr. President,
I, uh--

I've had the opportunity
to reevaluate.

And, uh, I think that...

I just may not be able
to get things under control

without some...
assistance.

Governor, I'll give you
any assistance

that's mine to provide.

Now, what specific measures
would you suggest?

The president and I
have spoken,

and I have assured him
that I abhor brutality.

And in my eternal commitment
to law and order,

I will do
whatever it takes

to maintain the peace.

Man:
Mr. Speaker,

the President
of the United States!

I speak tonight
for the dignity of men

and the destiny
of democracy.

There is no Negro problem.

There is
no southern problem.

There is no
northern problem.

There is only
an American problem.

There is no cause for pride

in what has happened
in Selma.

The cries of pain

and the hymns and protests
of oppressed people

have summoned
into convocation

all the majesty
of this great government.

Our mission
is at once the oldest

and most basic
of this country--

to right wrong,
to do justice,

to serve man.

This Wednesday,
I will send you a law

which will eliminate
illegal barriers

to the most basic
American right--

the right to vote.

Many of the issues
of civil rights

are very complex
and most difficult.

About this, there can
and should be no argument,

for outside this chamber

is the outraged conscience
of a nation

and the harsh judgment
of history.

The cause
of the American Negro

to secure for himself

the full blessings
of American life

must be our cause.

Because, really,

it is all of us
who must overcome

the crippling legacy
of bigotry and injustice.

And we shall overcome.

Dick, 93 million on TV.
It's a record.

- Congratulations, Dick.
- Thanks.

Johnson:
Hey, Dick! Dick!
Oh, come over here.

Switchboard is jammed.

Haven't had this many calls
since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Huh, good to know
they don't only call
to complain.

- Hey, Dick, sit down,
sit down.

That was
old Dick Russell.

Says I'm a low-down cur
and a turncoat,

but he wants me to know
that's the best speech

he ever saw
any president give,

and that goes back
to Lincoln!

Mr. President,
Dr. King.

Oh, Dr.--
oh, Reverend King.

That's kind of you
to call.

Did you know
I was on TV tonight?

Oh. Oh, you saw it.
Yeah, mm-hmm.

Okay, good.
All right.

All right.
Yeah. Bye.

You've got Arthur Krim
on line three, sir.

Oh, no, no.
Not-- no, I can't--

- No, no. No.
- Sir.

You know, boys,

I'm reminded tonight

of Texas Hill Country
in the spring.

Oh, Lyndon, your guests
are far too weary

to appreciate
your poetry.

Now let me tell you boys
about the Hill Country
in the spring.

- ( chuckles ) Good night!
- You see-- oh, no.

- Good night, all.
- Good night, Mrs. Johnson.

- Good night. Luci.
- Now, in the spring--

Luci, come with me.

- Good night.
- Good night.

- Good night, Mrs. Johnson.
- Good night.

In the spring,

in the Hill Country,

the sun is up earlier
and the ground gets warmer,

and you can see
the steam rising

and the sap dripping.

And in his pen,
there's my prize bull.

Now, he is the biggest...

...best-hung bull
in Hill Country.

Well, in the spring,

that bull gets a hankering
for them cows,

and he starts
pawing the ground

and getting restless.

So I open up the pen,

and he goes
down the hill

with his pecker hanging hard
and swinging.

Well, those cows
get so goddamn excited,

they get more and more moist
to receive him,

and their asses
just start quivering.

They start quivering over--
every one of 'em is quivering!

And as that bull struts
into their pasture-- whoa!

Boys, ha ha, we had 'em
quivering tonight!

Man on TV:
Arriving in naval transports,
United States Marines

storm the beach
in Da Nang, Vietnam,
in full battle gear.

These are the first
U.S. ground troops

to step foot on Asian soil
since the Korean War.

They were greeted by
some lovely local ladies.

The Pentagon says
that their mission
is a defensive one--

to protect the U.S. air base
from enemy attack

so Operation Rolling Thunder
can roll on.

Speaking with reporters,
President Johnson emphasized

that these 3,500 Marines
will free up

the South Vietnamese troops
now guarding the base

to go out
and fight Vietcong.

Reports from the field,
however, indicate that
Saigon forces

may be no match
for full Vietcong regiments.

Recently, in one
of the heaviest attacks
of the war so far,

the Vietcong inflicted
major casualties

in Quang Nam Province.

Unofficial sources say
that many South Vietnamese
army units

are near collapse.

- Oh, my, oh, my.

- Mr. President.
- Mr. President.

No, no, sit down.
Sit down, boys.

I heard you fellas
were talking over dinner.

- Can I get you a plate
of food, Mr. President?
- No, thank you.

- A drink?
- No.

Why?

Why do they want
war with us?

To Ho Chi Minh
and the North Vietnamese,

this is just a continuation
of the war with the French

and the Japanese
and the Chinese

a thousand years
before that.

We never should have
allowed the French

to reclaim their
colonies in '45,

but we needed
them allied with us
against the Soviets,

and that was
their price.

Will we end up
like the French?

A great power
cutting and running

from a bunch of little men
in black pajamas,

tucking our tail
in defeat?

France didn't have
the firepower we have.

But the bombing seems
to have no effect.

Well, it appears now
that it won't stop them,

but it has slowed down
their resupply.

Hanoi's starting
to send down large units,

and the more of their men
we can tie up with repairing
roads and bridges,

the fewer they can spare
to fight the south.

What do we have there now?

Well, we've got
the 3rd Marines
at Da Nang,

Phu Bai, Chu Lai,
the 173rd Airborne
at Vung Tau

for base defense and support
of the South Vietnamese units.

13 battalions in all.

Never mind battalions.
How many boys?

51,000 troops,
Mr. President.

And Westmoreland
wants how many?

184,000.

And the authority to launch
offensive operations

under his own command.

The South Vietnamese
are useless, Mr. President.

They've lost four battalions
in the last month.

Desertions
are at record levels.

They're losing,
and they're losing fast.

I know they're losing!

I don't need
a Phi Beta Kappa key
to know they're losing!

Anyone smart enough
to pour piss out of a boot

knows they're losing!

How many casualties
you think we'll take?

We could reach 500 a month
by the end of the year

if Hanoi hasn't quit
by then.

500 a month?

You tell Westmoreland
he's got the authority.

Tell him to get out there
and kill Vietcong.

Do whatever he has to do
to hold them off.

Then you and Wheeler
go and see him

and nail him down
on what he needs to get
this thing over with.

Then damn it,
let's get it over with!

Kid was setting fuses
on the goddamn bridge.

Do you believe it?

I was five minutes away.

And that potshot,
last time I was here,
he missed me by a mile.

Jesus, you'd think they'd put
their best sniper on the job.

I wish I could tell you

they were representative
of the enemy, Mr. Secretary.

My strategy for the war
is divided into three phases.

In Phase One,

employing
the 184,000-man level
now being considered,

we would halt
the losing trend
by the end of 1965.

In Phase Two,

for which an additional
100,000 troops would
be needed,

allied forces
would gain the initiative
by June 30, 1966.

Pacification activities
would be expanded,

aimed at winning
the hearts and minds

of South Vietnamese
peasantry.

If the Communists
do not then give up,

Phase Three of our strategy
would kick in,

the win phase,
which would begin
on July 1st, 1966,

and conclude
by December 31st, 1967--

the defeat of remaining
enemy forces and base areas.

Additional reinforcements
will be needed for this phase,

following which allied forces
will begin to be withdrawn.

General,
that's a marvelous plan,

but excessively abstract.

I want to see your numbers.

I want to see the percentage
of the country you now control

and the percentage
you intend to control

with these 200,000
additional men.

I want to see
rates of infiltration
and interdiction,

force ratios in each
of the tactical corps zones

and enemy casualties
in battles fought

and in projected battles
against these added forces.

Woman on phone: Mr. Clifford?
The president on line one.

Old friend,
I need you here.

Ball:
Whatever resources are lost
through bombing or capture,

China and Russia
will make up with resupply,

encouraging a friendly game
of "I'm more revolutionary
than thou."

Our intervention will give them
a cause over which to unite

when it is in our interest
to deepen the breach
between them.

But wouldn't
we lose credibility
throughout the world

if we give up
as you propose?

Wouldn't this be
an irreparable blow, George?

A worse blow,
Mr. President,

would be that the mightiest
power in the world

is unable to defeat
one of the most backward.

With the 71 battalions,
with Westy's plan,

this war is winnable.

I say we go in
and we get the job done.

But can we get
the job done?

What if they put
their stack in?

What makes you think
if we put in the numbers
you're suggesting

that Ho Chi Minh won't
match us man for man?

This means greater bodies
of men, Mr. President,

which will allow us
to cream them.

Their firepower
against ours.

Why does anyone think
that they will accommodate us

by fighting
our kind of war?

Their tactics
are terror and sniping.

They have better access
to intelligence.

Why is this?

It's because
the South Vietnamese
government

is heavily infiltrated
with Vietcong agents,
Mr. President.

What other road can we go?

Negotiations,
stopping the bombing?

These make us look weak,
with cup in hand.

Better to lose now
than after committing
200,000 men.

I disagree.

We have to make
a stand here.

And if we fail,
it could be chalked up
to any number of things.

Corruption amongst
Saigon's leaders,
for instance.

Then we can get out.

But this government
will have stood up
to the Communists.

But we won't get out, Bob.

We will double
our bets and get massacred
in the rice paddies.

So-- so what's
your advice, George?

Cut and run?

Mr. President...

no great captain
in history

ever hesitated to make
a tactical withdrawal

when conditions
were unfavorable to him.

Does anyone else here agree
with what George is saying?

I've asked Clark Clifford
to join us.

Clark, do you have
any comments at this time?

I-- I have a question
for General Wheeler.

Wheeler:
Yes, sir.

- Good morning, General.
- Good morning.

If the president proceeds
with this plan,

what, in your view,
would constitute
a victory?

Wheeler:
What is the definition
of victory in this contest?

Yes.

A military victory
in the traditional sense

is not what
we are seeking.

To eliminate every last
Vietcong guerilla

could require as many
as half a million men

and five years--

No one's considering
those kind of numbers,
no one.

Wheeler:
Our objective
is to reach a stalemate

whereby we are
attriting the enemy

faster than he can
replace his losses.

This is the so-called
crossover point.

And how many men
will this require?

Wheeler:
A substantially
smaller number,

depending on how
the North Vietnamese
respond.

Well, might they respond
by sending in, say,

100,000 troops?

Wheeler:
We regard this
as unlikely.

Clifford:
Well, this is less than half
the men they have under arms.

Wheeler: Well,
it's certainly possible.

They already have
50,000 men down there.

Clifford:
And to achieve
the ten-to-one superiority,

which I understand
is barely adequate

for conventional forces
in a guerilla situation,

how many troops
would be required

to meet this possible threat?

As I said,
this would be unlikely.

One million troops,
is that not correct, General?

You see?

We would need
one million men
in Vietnam.

Excuse me.
Clark.

I can't tell you
how grateful I am

to finally have an ally
at the barricades.

Well, it's just
what makes sense, George.

Not to Bob McNamara,
but to me.

A million men was
straight out of your memo
of October last year.

An impressively persuasive
document, in my opinion.

- All 67 pages of it?
- Well...

I haven't shown much restraint
on the subject, it's true.

If he brought you in,
it must be because I'm like

an old broken record now.

Well, then there'd
be two of us.

Scratchy and irritating
as hell.

Good day, George.

Yeah?

The VISTA volunteers
are here for the pictures,
Mr. President.

Tell 'em I'll be out
in a minute.

And tell Valenti I wanna
see him right after.

I called Marge as soon
as I heard you were safe.

Cowards.

I really appreciated that.
She was pretty shaken up.

- Well...
- She hates when
I go over there.

Well, I hate sending you.

The whole thing stinks
to high heaven.

What did you want
to tell me in private?

I've managed to keep
these Vietnam expenditures

under wraps
as you requested,

but if you decide
to move forward with this,

it's going to be
impossible to keep up
the guise indefinitely,

and I strongly believe you
should present this bill
to the American people.

No, absolutely not.

Mr. President,
I can't continue to hide
these kinds of figures.

Phase One
of Westmoreland's
program alone

is going to run us
$12 billion.

12 billion?

I can't ask Congress
for $12 billion!

- Mr. President--
- Bob, it'll be unshirted
hell if I go to the Hill

asking for
that kind of money.

I'll never get another thing
out of 'em again.

Now, how much can you
trim off that?

Bob, I've got my ox
in a ditch here.

Now, what can
you do for me?

If we continue to use
the maximum transfer authority
from other areas,

I could probably cut
these figures in half,

but we'd still need
a big appropriation

to carry us
through this year.

But Westmoreland says
if we put the men in,

there's a chance they'll quit
by year's end, right?

Well, that's certainly
what we all hope,

but we can't
count on West--

Just do the number counting,
will you, Bob?

Yeah.
Get it as low as you can.

One more.

All right. All right.
Thank you, thank you.

Jack, I need a statement
for next week.

I'm not sure yet
if I'm gonna use it,
but I need it ready.

All right, Mr. President.

You know, Jack, I want war
like I want polio.

The shooting,
the bombing--

goes against
every bone in my body.

You know that better
than almost anyone.

These young people here,
that's what I'm all about.

That was me, in Cotulla,

teaching Mexican kids
living in hovels,

treated worse
than you'd treat a dog.

But here I'd start
a billion-dollar bank for 'em

in Southeast Asia,
free money,

and Ho Chi Minh wants
no part of it.

I could have turned that place
into the Tennessee Valley.

I read he said he's willing
to fight for 20 years.

I know what he says,
I know what I say,

and I know what I must do
despite what I say.

Damn it!

I want to leave the footprint
of America in Vietnam.

Schools, dams, hospitals.

Bomb craters,
that'll be our footprint.

That's what they'll
remember me for.

Not for health care
or civil rights
or education.

No, sir.
It'll be Vietnam,
Vietnam, Vietnam.

20 bills I'm trying
to get out of committee,

and 12 out of 18
working hours every day,

my head's stuck up
that raggedy-ass little
fourth-rate country

that doesn't even have
the fight to save itself.

You get with McNamara.

You know
what it's got to say.

And tell Busby or Goodwin
to put the music to it, Jack.

Why are you up?

You needn't
ask me that
each time.

Eh.

Tried not to wake you.

Got the ringer so low,
I can't hear it.

Got the flashlight.

Maybe you ought to sleep
in that other room you set up.

What happened to that prime rib
from the Medicare meeting?

Is that what you want?

There's a nice
chicken left over
from the Education lunch.

Johnson:
I saw 'em put it away.

Oh, darling,
you've been so good
about your diet,

- but I don't see any point
in the middle of the night--
- I don't care about that now.

Another heart attack might
be the answer to my problems.

All right, you stop
that kind of talk, please.

I worry enough
about your health.

I'll fix something
for you if you sit down.

- All right.
- Come on.

All right.

I'm sorry, honey.

Luci met a boy.

When she went
on that Chicago trip
with you last week.

What do you mean,
she met a boy?

Why didn't I know
about this?

That day she went
to Milwaukee

and visited
the William Feldsteins.

- Ah.
- Mm-hmm.

She visited Beth Jenkins
at Marquette,

and Beth had
some friends over,

all the students there,

and among them
was this... boy.

Patrick Nugent is his name.

He's Catholic.

So Luci will only date boys
who are Catholic now.

And she calls him "Paddy."

- Thank you.
- So I am paying attention.

"He's just tons,
Mother."

She said to me
that's the new expression.

Tons.
Move your elbow.

Thank you.

Now, you like the chicken?

You remarked on it.

I didn't know of it.

You might have shown it
to me this morning.

- And woken you again?
- Oh...

Like a jackass
in a hailstorm.

I guess I'll just have
to hunker up and take it.

I feel like
I'm going down
in a plane.

I can crash with it
and burn up

or jump and die.

Where we were
when I came in,

I'd-- I'd trade
back to that.

I'd trade back
to the damn vice presidency

to get out of this mess.

Bill on phone:
Clark, the president would
like you and your wife

to join him at Camp David
this weekend.

Clark on phone:
Oh, thank you, Bill.
Thank the president.

We'd love to, but we have
a prior engagement.

Bill:
Clark, is there any way
you can make it?

He's working on
an escalation speech.

Clark:
Has he made up his mind?

Bill:
I say yes,
but he's asking for you.

Clark:
And who else
will be there?

Bill:
Bob McNamara.

Hi, Bob.

Mr. and Mrs. McNamara,
I'd like you to meet
my friend, Pat Nugent.

It's an honor
to meet you, sir.

A pleasure.
My wife Marg.

- Afternoon, ma'am.
- Nice to meet you.

Air National Guard?
Where are you stationed?

I'll be at Andrews
with the 113th, sir,

but down to San Antonio
first for basic.

Uh-huh. Lackland
Air Force Base, sure.

Used to call it Kelly
back in '42

when I was going
around helping to build
an Air Force in this country.

You know, we only had
a handful of planes

when the Japanese attacked us,
spread all over the country.

- Is that right?
- Yeah.

And Hap Arnold knew the name
of every one of 'em.

I've got some Hap Arnold
stories for you.

Yeah. Hey.

Uh, sorry.

We'll leave everything
till tomorrow.

We'll talk
in the morning.

- I look forward to it.
- Come on in.

Hey, how are you?

Let the best minds
of our administration

start looking
for a way out

and stop looking
for a way to win
this unwinnable war,

because it is
my considered opinion

that continuing on that path
will lead us to catastrophe.

Any unbiased jury would
give you your verdict, Clark,

no question.

But?

But if it's true
what Moyers says,

that Lyndon's in
McNamara's pocket...

McNamara has
such sway in there.

Truman took your advice
over George Marshall's,

for heaven's sakes.

Kennedy, too.

Yeah, but Lyndon
is another kettle
of fish.

Give him
a new vision, Clark.

He'll hear you.

Johnson:
Rinaldo, leave it there.

So, these are the numbers.

Now, you will not
be held accountable

for anything
that has happened
up to this point.

In fact,
you will be admired
for the noble attempt

you have made to honor
your predecessor's commitment,

a commitment that has been
exploited by that corrupt

and self-destructive regime
in South Vietnam.

The bombing
might have worked,
but it hasn't.

And to make it work,

you would have to resort
to unconscionable measures

that would make you
a hero to those in this
country you disdain

and a criminal
to those you have sought

all your life to assist,
the young and the poor,

who are the ones
who will have to
fight this war.

This-- this is not
the last inning

in the struggle
against Communism.

We must pick those spots

where the stakes
are highest for us

and where we hold the cards
that'll give us

the greatest opportunity
to prevail.

Ho Chi Minh told
the French-- he said,

"You will kill
ten of my men,

and I will kill
only one of yours,

but in the end,
it is you who will tire."

And they did.

And 11 years ago,
at Dien Bien Phu,

they just couldn't
do it anymore.

The North Vietnamese
lost 500,000

in their war
against the French,
and they did not tire,

and they will not tire now.

Not after you commit 100,000,
not after you commit 500,000.

And if you
do not win decisively
after a big buildup,

it will be
a huge catastrophe.

It will destroy the American
people's faith in you

and the Democratic Party

and their government
for years to come.

Now, you have always
stressed the economic

and social dimensions
of world problems.

And in this
you are unrivaled.

You have a unique
opportunity here

to address this problem,
economically and socially.

Not by war,
not by killing people,

but by helping them
here and there.

This is a year
of minimum political risk
for you, Mr. President.

You were elected
by the largest landslide
in our history.

The reactionary elements
of this society will not
soon recover.

I foresee little erosion
of your prestige and power

if we cut our losses
and get out of Vietnam.

But I foresee
nothing but disaster

for you and this country
if we don't.

If we escalate this war,

I believe it will ruin us.

And I believe
it will ruin you

and all the great good
you have sought to do.

Shit.

It's a hot one already.

You wish you were back
in Texas, Mr. President?

Fellas, right now
I'd rather be on the moon.

Okay, Bob.

Mr. President,
Clark has suggested

that the stakes
aren't there in Vietnam.

This is damn shocking.

Here are the stakes.

Number one:
national security.

If we back down
in Vietnam,

it will only be
a matter of time

before we have to go in
someplace else.

Two: the commitments
we've made and the price
of breaking them.

And three: our prestige
before the world.

Could the stakes
be any higher?

To elaborate
on point one,

if we withdraw,
Laos, Cambodia,

Thailand,
Burma will fall,

but the ripple effect
will be far greater,

with Communist agitation
increasing in Africa,
India, even Japan.

We will have to give up
some bases.

Pakistan will move
closer to China.

Point two.

Our pledge is a pillar
of peace in the world,

and if we break it,

our allies will lose
faith in us.

And three,
because we have
so persistently

and publicly
committed ourselves

to preventing a Communist
takeover in South Vietnam,

our failure to see
that commitment through

will be
profoundly devastating
to our prestige.

This is why I recommend
the following--

one: put the men in.

Westmoreland's plan
is sound.

Every quantitative measurement
shows we can win.

Two: call up the reserves
and extend tours of duty.

And three:
expand the bombing.

In the north,
remove restrictions
on bridge and rail lines,

mine the harbors.

Expand Rolling Thunder from
2,500 to 4,000 sorties a month.

In the south,
tactical air strikes

must be supplemented
by increased B-52 bombing
of VC base areas.

Now, to elaborate...

Clark.

Clark, I think you scored
some terrific points in there.

I'm so glad you were
arguing the other side.

Bob...

you believe
what you've said
to the president?

You're certain
we can win?

Well, I sure hope
there's no mistake

in my confidence
on the president's part.

No, that's not
what I'm asking.

Clark, I've seen the charts,
I've run the numbers.

Everything else is...

soft, speculation.

I had dinner with
President Kennedy

just after
the Missile Crisis.

And he told me that
if it had not been for you,

keeping your head,
facing down the chiefs,

thinking clearly,

we might not be
alive today.

Now, there were no charts
and numbers then,

just judgment.

You're telling me
that it is your judgment

that this is the best course
of action for this country,

for this president?

I can only give
my best advice.

That's what I did
for Jack Kennedy.

It's what I'm doing now.

I'll see you
at dinner, Clark.

You want to stop somewhere
and talk about it?

I'm all talked out,
honey.

I've done nothing but talk.

At some point,
the talking's gotta end.

God help us
when the talking ends.

Lyndon. Oh.

A hundred PhDs among 'em,
10,000 IQ points,

and I can't get an answer
I can sit with.

And if it turns bad,

they'll say this wouldn't have
happened under Jack Kennedy!

No, sir!
'Cause he could do no wrong!

He leaves a thousand
on the beach in Cuba,

and his numbers go up!

Lyndon.

Now-- oh.

Lyndon, now,
come on, honey.

What do you think of crashing
through that damn gate

and driving back to Texas?

Now you know you'd get
no argument from me.

You hate it that much?

Have you ever considered
the shoes I've had to fill?

She didn't die
with him.

Oh, he didn't die.

He's more alive than ever.

'Cause his half-size brother
with one and a half his brains

and a tenth of his scruples
ate his heart out

and took in his spirit

as sure as he was
out of some Injun story.

And me?

I'll be President
What's-His-Name

who came
between the two.

The president who lost
America's first war.

Oh, shh, shh.

Why must young Americans,

born into a land
exultant with hope

and with golden promises,

toil and suffer
and sometimes die

in such a remote
and distant place
as Vietnam?

It is because
in the fight for freedom,

the American people
have learned

that retreat
does not bring safety

and weakness does not
bring peace.

If we are driven
from the field
in Vietnam,

then no nation
can ever again

have the same confidence
in American promises

or in American
protection.

We did not choose to be
the guardians at the gate,

but there is no one else.

Nor would surrender in Vietnam
bring peace,

because we learned
from Hitler at Munich

that success only feeds
the appetite of aggression.

I have asked
the commanding general,

General Westmoreland,

what more he needs to meet
this mounting aggression.

He has told me,

and we will meet his needs.

I have today
ordered to Vietnam

the Airmobile Division
and certain other forces

which will raise
our fighting strength

from 75,000 to 125,000 men
almost immediately.

Additional forces
will be needed later,

and they will be sent
as requested.

Yeah, but how many?

Johnson:
Now, I do not find it easy

to send the flower
of our youth,

our finest young men
into battle.

I think I know
how their mothers weep

and their families sorrow.

Mr. Secretary,

Senator Morse has been calling
Vietnam "McNamara's War."

What is your reaction?

This is a war
of the United States
government.

I'm following
the president's policy

and working in close cooperation
with the secretary of state.

Now, I must say
I don't object to it
being called McNamara's War.

I think it's
a very important war,

one that I'm pleased
to be identified with
and to do what I can to win it.

Man on radio:
Appearing on "Meet the Press"
yesterday,

McNamara was asked to comment
on Hanoi's claim

that some 10,000 civilians
have been killed
in the bombing,

including thousands
of women and children.

- McNamara: Some loss
of innocent life

is unavoidable
in an operation such as this.

I can tell you
that we are taking

every possible precaution
in choosing targets.

The risk of civilian
casualties is most assuredly

- one of several
factors considered.

McNamara:
So what target
are you recommending?

It's a cement factory
along a major rail line.

General Wheeler feels
military value is marginal.

But the monsoon has socked in
more valuable targets.

McNamara:
What's the output
of the facility?

Colonel:
It appears to be small, sir,
even by their standards.

It couldn't produce
enough for them to rely
heavily on the output.

McNamara:
Let's give it a "C"
for military value.

What's your
risk analysis?

Colonel:
Risk to pilots
is close to zero.

There might be
some small arms fire,

but recon shows
no antiaircraft
emplacements.

McNamara:
No MIGs in the area?

Colonel:
They'll be protecting
more valuable targets

and probably
won't risk losing them
defending this one.

Depending on cloud cover,
we may have to come in
low enough

to be in range of small arms,
but this is a small risk.

McNamara:
Give it an "A" for risk
to pilots and aircraft.

What's your
flash point analysis?

The target is more than
20 miles outside Hanoi,

so there's little risk
of provoking China or Russia.

McNamara:
Kosygin or Mao
won't be down there

touring the factory
that day, will they?

This isn't one
of Russia or China's
friendship projects?

Army Chief of Staff:
A gift from the motherland?

Colonel:
Well, if I were
Ho Chi Minh,

I would have
returned this gift.

Of course, catching
one of them there

might have been
a nice bonus for us.

McNamara:
Thanks, but I've already
been to the brink

of nuclear annihilation,
and I'm not eager to go back.

McNamara:
Give it an "A"
for flash point risk.

Next.
What about civilians?

Colonel:
We're clear
of residential,

except for one row of hooches
behind the facility.

So what are these, houses
or storage shacks or what?

Well, we can't be sure.
Uh...

Most likely
the factory managers

and their families
live there.

I'm not too familiar
with Southeast Asian
home construction, sir.

We can certainly use
someone who knows something

about Vietnamese culture
around here.

So, what's the outside
number of civilians?

Well, four hooches this size,
we use six per, so 24.

McNamara:
24 for a target this size?
That seems high.

Colonel:
That's how
we figure it, sir.

McNamara:
I mean, that seems
a high number to lose

for a target like this.

Give it a "D" for
civilian casualties.

Let's see what we've got.
C, A, A, D...

Let's give it a solid C-plus
and put it before
the president.

- All right, what's the--
- Jesus!

There's a guy on the wall
at the river entrance!

- Oh, my God.
- Hey, wait a minute!
Stop!

Don't! Don't!

- Hey, get down from there!
- Get off!

Please, please, the baby!
Stop! Stop!

Oh, God! Please!

Goodwin:
Yes, Mr. President.

Johnson on phone:
You wanted to see me?

- Goodwin: Yes, sir.
- You can come down now.

Yes, Dick?

Mr. President,
as, uh, Bill Moyers
told you,

I've been offered
a fellowship

at Wesleyan University
in Connecticut.

Well, good for you.
Ha! That ain't easy to get.

No. No, I'm very fortunate.

Well, don't wait too long
to turn them down

so they can call
the next guy on the list.

Mr. President,
I have already accepted.

No problem.
You didn't know
you weren't free to go.

Call 'em up.
Put me on if they
give you any trouble.

What do you mean,
I'm not free to go?

I mean you can't go.

I can't get along
without you.

That makes you
a pretty big fella.

How big a fella
are you gonna be
with some fellowship?

Well, you got along
without me before I came.

You want more money?

I got plenty of money.

I'll arrange a payment
from the Johnson Foundation.

Money isn't the issue,
Mr. President.

This is something
that I want to do.

Well, it ain't gonna be.

So make your call.

Mr. President, I, uh...

I'm very sorry.

Now, Dick, you either
stay here with me,

or you go over
to the Pentagon

and get yourself a pair
of shiny, black boots.

There's a statute.
I asked McNamara.

Says we can draft specialists
vital to the national interest,

and that's what I'll do.

If you won't serve here,

you know where
I can send you.

Will you make me a general?

Oh, you won't want
to be a general.

You'll want to be a private,
Marine infantry.

That's where the action is.

I know you like to be
around the action.

That's why you
stayed here so long.

Now, you listen to me, Dick.

You go ahead and take
your fellowship.

But your hands
are all over this.

You and Moyers and Bundy
and everybody else

talking about
jumping ship!

But most of all, you!

You put your name
all over the Great Society,

but you put the tune
to those words of war, too.

And hiding out
on some college campus

or anything else you ever do
is never gonna change that!

Dismissed!

Man:
An entire generation
of North Vietnamese

have been born
and lived and died

in the pursuit
of one thing:

a united Vietnam
under Communist rule.

The North Vietnamese

have never known
anything but war.

At CIA, we've just
completed a study

of their staggering
recuperative abilities.

Bridges.

This one was knocked out
in a morning raid.

Two hours later,
some bamboo planks

across a bunch
of wooden canal boats,

and there's
foot traffic again.

By 3:00 p.m.,
it's a pontoon bridge,

strong enough
for a fully loaded truck.

A bomb knocks out
a rail line,

they call up
the bicycle brigades.

500 men and women,

some as old as 70 or 75,

put the cargo
on their bikes.

Each one balances
up to a 600-pound load
across the frame,

they wheel it across
a jerry-rigged bridge

to another train
waiting to move it on south.

Filling a bomb crater to make
a road passable again.

That's as routine
to a school kid there

as getting a malt
down at the corner shop here.

It's a first date.

They have
a brand of cigarettes,
Mr. President,

called Dien Bien Phu.

That's their Yorktown,
their Waterloo,

where they defeated
the French in '54.

Man:
Reminders of war

are in the most casual moments
of daily life.

In a smoke,
Mr. President.

Their heroes,

the kid who was put to death
for trying to assassinate

Secretary McNamara
last year in Saigon.

There's a song about him.

It's a top ten hit.

And Norman Morrison.

Norman Morrison
was the Quaker

who burned himself
to death

in front of the Pentagon
last month.

A great hero.

Hanoi just issued
a postage stamp.

Thank you, John.
Thank you, Scott.

Johnson:
A great hero.

He almost took
his one-year-old daughter
with him.

A baby!

It's a miracle
she was unharmed.

The man was disturbed.

Three young children
are fatherless.

Hero.

So...

what do we do?

Mr. President,

the most strategic targets
in North Vietnam

remain intact because
Hanoi and Haiphong

continue to be off-limits.

We're not hitting
their oil supply,
major power plants,

rail links to China.

We're not mining the ports,
hitting the dikes--

CIA says hitting
the dikes would flood
the whole damn country!

Kill the rice crop!
Starve 'em to death!

Isn't that right?

Yes, sir.

And I have one more problem
for your big computer.

Ask how long it'll take
500,000 angry Americans

to climb that
White House wall

and lynch their president

if he does
something like that!

This is why the chiefs and I
have been urging for months

that we take the next
logical step

and destroy their
oil reserves.

Nothing stopped 'em yet.
Why should that stop 'em?

That oil goes in trucks,
Mr. President,

trucks that carry troops
and guns and bullets

across the border
to kill our men.

They don't need damn trucks!

Weren't you watching?

They got hundred-year-old women
hauling crap!

What do you want me to do,
kill everybody's grandmother
in that place?

Mr. President,
Ambassador Dobrynin says

that Moscow would try
to bring Hanoi to the table

if we stop the bombing
for three or four weeks.

This would be
a grave mistake,
Mr. President.

They'll send down
everything they can.

Westy's against it,
Admiral Sharp.

Bob, I know, opposes it
and every one of the chiefs.

Look...

the North Vietnamese have
nine regiments down there.

We thought they had three.

VC has more than doubled
theirs from five to 12,

which is twice
our buildup.

And I just feel that
we need to do something

before we send another
200,000 men over there.

Yes, Bob. We can try bombing
them where it hurts.

The enemy lost
over a thousand

in recent fighting,
didn't they?

They lost 1,200
in the Ia Drang Valley,

and we lost 300.

But it's clear
that they're willing

to take those kinds
of casualties,

which is something that
we were not counting on.

Some were not counting on.

Bob,

are you now saying

that no matter
what we do militarily,

there's no sure victory?

I believe
we may have been

overly optimistic
about an early end.

China, Russia, although they
do not want a general war,

have stepped up their aid.

Clark:
Just a moment, gentlemen.

The president undertook
this program

because General Westmoreland
was confident we could win.

Why are we considering
another 200,000

if you now believe victory
to be unlikely?

That's my question.

I still believe we can win.

But if there is the slightest
chance of obtaining a settlement

without sending over
hundreds of thousands more men

and hitting their cities,

I think we should do it.

Right now we are incurring
significant casualties.

If the buildup continues,

we may be facing
a thousand per month.

And if Hanoi won't talk,

it will only make
our position

with the American people
stronger,

and they will be more likely
to accept these kinds of losses.

Wheeler:
We could have a thousand
casualties a month

if we do this,
Mr. President!

It's my job to protect
our troops.

Every truck, every sampan
that gets through

means more dead Americans.

They'll send down missiles,
antiaircraft guns.

- It'll set us back a year!
- Wait a minute now.

Seems to me that
if we're this pessimistic,

winning battles yet
predicting stalemates

just five months
after going in,

we should pause the bombing
and see what results.

I'm sorry, George,
but I must disagree.

If we pause the bombing
and it fails,

the president will be
under irresistible pressure

from the right-wing hawks
in Congress to bomb Hanoi,
to bomb the Red River dikes.

That'll flood the country
and create a civilian disaster
of such magnitude.

I do not believe that
North Vietnam will talk

until they come
to the realization

that this will be a stalemate,
that they cannot win.

And they're not there.

Their unrelenting buildup
in the south

clearly indicates
that they believe they can win.

Are you now saying
that we have no choice

but to continue
to match 'em man for man?

Well, you made that decision,
Mr. President.

We are there.

You have convinced
the American people that
we should be there.

But I see no alternative

but for you to make
your best effort to win.

I couldn't believe my ears!

Clifford about-facing,
McNamara going soft!

Ha! They're all changing
their tune now.

And old George McBundy
got with the Soviet ambassador,

got a little vodka in him!

And those Harvard types
will believe anything
out of a diplomat!

I don't believe for a minute
that Moscow wants peace.

You don't have to
take his advice if you
believe it will fail.

Don't you know anything?

Don't you know if I don't
call off the bombing,

the Kennedys will shout
from the mountaintops

that the Russians offered
a big, fat olive branch

and I snapped it in two?

And now I've missed
my chance for peace!

So how's
academic life?

Not nearly as challenging.

But I can say I've been
getting a lot more sleep.

Well, someone has
to deal with these things.

You certainly have
the floor space.

That I do.
That I do.

You know the guy
in that portrait?

James Forrestal.

That's right.

Truman's secretary
of defense.

Guy went absolutely nuts.

When Truman finally
got rid of him,

he pinned him
with a service medal.

He just stood there mute,
his throat clamped.

God knows what demons
going through his mind.

A couple days later,

he jumped out
of the 16th floor
of Bethesda Naval.

Sometimes you can
wrestle too much.

Bob,

we both came in
with Jack Kennedy.

We were around
when this started.

Vietnam started
with Eisenhower,

and neither of us
were here.

I know, and it was Kennedy
who put in all those
so-called advisors,

but I can't believe
that had he lived,

we'd be in this ditch.

You sound like you've been
talking to Bobby.

He's your friend.
What's he been telling you?

If you told the president
to stop the bombing,

he'd stop it.

We have stopped the bombing,
under my recommendation.

You've paused it.

Hanoi knows that
you're gonna start up again
if they don't agree to talk.

And they have said
a hundred times

they won't
knuckle under to that.

Now, if you told
the president

that you no longer believe
the bombing can work--

I never said I believed that.

Bobby says you told him
it's not worth a damn.

Well, that's between
Bobby and me.

And as far as my influence with
the president is concerned,

I think you
overestimate my pull.

I don't see
how that's possible.

Peace talks.

That's the only way
out of this thing now.

You stop the bombing
for 30 days.

The brass is ready
to hang me.

God, I sure hope Hanoi wants
to take the bait because...

I just don't think we're going
to be able to beat these people.

So are you going public
with your views?

I'm thinking about it.

Well, you are free to
do that now, aren't you?

Is that where
it happened?

Yep.

Incredible.

Absolutely incredible.

Johnson:
For 20 days now,

we and our South Vietnamese
allies

have dropped no bombs
on North Vietnam.

We seek neither territory
nor bases,

economic domination or
military alliance in Vietnam.

We fight for the principle of
self-determination,

for the people
of South Vietnam

to be able to choose
their own course,

choose it in free elections
without violence,

without terror
and without fear.

We have said all this,

and we have asked and hoped,

and we have waited
for a response.

None has come.

I believe that we can continue
the Great Society

while we fight in
Vietnam.

Yet there are those
who cry out,

"We must sacrifice."

Well, let us rather ask them,

"Who will they sacrifice?"

Are they gonna sacrifice
the children

who seek their learning

or the sick who need
medical care

or the families that dwell
in squalor

now brightened by the hope
of home?

Will they sacrifice opportunity
for the distressed,

the beauty of our land and the
hope of our poor?

"Vietnam has been fighting
for its independence for
4,000 years.

"We have defeated the Mongols
three times,

"and despite all of his bluster
and all his bombs,

Emperor Johnson is not nearly
as terrifying as Genghis Khan."

Ho Chi Minh's statement over
Hanoi radio this morning.

37 days.

37 days now.

Not one bomb has fallen.

This is our answer.

This is our answer.

What now, Bob?

Hanoi and Haiphong harbor.

As you can see, they're in
very concentrated areas.

The tanks and refineries

are within a short distance
of residential sections.

What about the Russian
oil ships?

They off-load
with a 250-foot
floating pipeline.

That's why we're targeting
the distribution tanks,

some 1,500 feet
from the vessels.

But still quite close
to the residential areas.

That's correct.

And I understand that they
purposely situate

strategic targets close
to neighborhoods.

What about those ships?
Can they shoot back?

No, sir.
They're unarmed.

But the tanks are protected
by surface-to-air missiles.

The Russians sent them down
during the bombing pause.

How many planes
will we lose?

20 to 25.

- How many casualties?
- 50.

50 to 300
is my estimate.

And if the bombs miss,

it could go as high
as 12,000,

with 50% of these
civilians

and 50% of those killed.

Of course, we don't plan our
strikes to miss our targets.

But they do miss sometimes.

And this time you could hit
a Russian ship.

And the bomber pilot,
it'll be a kid from
Johnson City, Texas.

And that'll be the kid that
starts World War III.

Thank you very much.

All right.

So what great things will
result from this plan?

With no oil,

their entire infiltration
effort

will grind to a halt,

from manufacturing to
transportation.

Their war-making capability
will be destroyed,

and they will have to
negotiate.

Dean?

The Chinese and Soviets
will step up aid.

And we could lose the support
of Canada, Japan,

and the Chinese representation
issue at the UN.

If a Russian ship is sunk,

we just don't know.

The Chinese may
send in troops.

But as Bus said,
this could end it.

What if it doesn't?

What if, by God's grace,

we don't have a million Chinese
and nuclear war?

They still won't quit?

What will you be asking me
to hit next?

Strategic targets closer to
the center of Hanoi.

The Paul Doumer Bridge.

Four major rail lines
cross it.

The power plant, industry,

all within five miles
of downtown.

Bob,

are you for this?

It might work.

So you're for it.

- Uh, Mr. President.
- Walt?

Since taking over
for Mac Bundy,

I've had a chance to
evaluate our bombing policy,

and, uh, well,
I believe that

our continued delay
in attacking Hanoi

is causing Russia and China
to underestimate our resolve

and that that may actually
encourage World War III.

Clark?

As always, I support
any measure

that has a chance of
ending this.

Anyone else?

George? Nothing to add?

This will not affect
North Vietnamese manpower,

which has proved to be
limitless.

It will be hard for the Russians
and the Chinese to take.

I'm concerned, as always,

about the escalating level
of violence,

but maybe this will finally
satisfy the hawks in Congress.

If we have to do it,
let's do it now.

You know, George,

you remind me of
a country schoolteacher.

Asked if he believes the world
is flat or round,

he says, "I can teach it
either way."

Hmph.

Hmph.

How soon do we go?

( piano playing,
people chatting )

It's the same as mine,
you know.

I'd just as soon forget
about those 13 days.

He had them made
at Tiffany's, didn't he?

He gave one to Jackie, too.

She joked it's the only thing
he ever gave her from there

that wasn't ordered straight
out of their catalog.

A trying time.

You speak as if
it's in the past.

What?

The trying time.

Thank you.

Dick. Clark.

...Johnson wasn't much
of a poker player,

but he loved
the political conversation.

Can a whiskey
convert a man, Clark?

Look at 'em.

You know what they
remind me of?

A flock of buzzards
sitting on a fence

discussing the price
of carrion.

Buzzards.
George.

You could have had Bundy's job.
What was it, Clark?

You haven't socked away
enough dough yet?

Oh, that's unbecoming
of you, George.

The basement office? What?

You know I'd lose
my freedom

to advise him
on his presidency

if I took a cabinet post.

George, the president
wants to get out of Vietnam

just as much as you do,
in principle.

Principle?

There's a word that's been
tossed about

more than a dollar whore
in a port of call.

How's this for
principle:

"150 more killed last week.
What a waste."

You know who said that?

No.

McNamara. To me.

For all the principle
around here,

we're in one hell of a mess,
don't you think?

Look at him.

His wife's got an ulcer,
his kid's got an ulcer.

Everybody's got Bob McNamara's
ulcer but Bob McNamara.

Sometimes I think
it's all just a goddamn
academic exercise to him.

George,

you mustn't give up
on this, George.

Oh, Christ, Clark!

Marny.

George.

Good evening,
Mr. and Mrs. Clifford.
How are you?

We're fine, dear.

I'd like you
to meet Charles Robb.

Clark Clifford.

Anyone who still thinks we
ought to be in Vietnam

should take a detour from
work and drive by

Arlington Cemetery every day
for a week.

I don't think
I'd trust anyone

in a policy-making position
to do that.

To do what, Bob?

To face the
consequences of his counsel?

Who needed a reminder
of what war was all about?

A reminder of what?

Our jobs in World War II,
in the rear?

I pushed paper
just like you, Walt.

We were all
too damn smart.

I must've been sitting on my
brains, then, up in that B-25.

Two years in prison camps.

That's right. Nick's the only
one here who saw combat.

You were probably picking
his targets, Walt.

As I remember,
we won that war.

Yeah, well, you can tell that
to the 50,000

dead men, women,
and children of Dresden.

- Dresden--
- Is anyone ready for dinner?

Dresden was bombed
for the rail lines.

Dresden was bombed to terrorize
the hell out of those people,

which is precisely what our
B-52s are doing in Vietnam.

And if this keeps up,
in another year,

we'll have dropped more there
than on all of Europe.

Isn't that right, Bob?

Let's go inside, darling.

Isn't that what you told me
the other day? In private?

Among some other things?

Such as the fact that
we've destroyed so much
of that country,

they can't even grow
enough rice to feed themselves,
the rice bowl of the world.

- George.
- We've created
so many refugees

that if we had
the same proportion

out of their homes
in this country,

there'd be 30 million people
on the streets.

Isn't that right?

Bob? Isn't that
what you said?

What was it Tacitus said about
the Romans at Carthage?

You have made a desert
and call it peace.

If you still can't reach him,
then get whosever on call.

We need a doctor here.

Christ, Marny.

I'll be all right.
It was the liquor.

Hello.

Mr. Secretary,
it's Major Wolfson
of the Command Center.

We just got a call
from CINCPAC

saying the weather
around Hanoi has cleared

and the fighter-bombers
are on their way.

Bob, it's me.

McNamara:
Mr. President,
the operations we discussed

will be going tonight.

They have perfect conditions.

Now-now, Bob,

these-these-these pilots

are said to be
the cream.

They're the best the Navy and
Air Force have, Mr. President,

and they know you're
counting on them.

All right, Bob.
Thank you.

I'm going to
the Pentagon now.

I'll call as soon as I have
word, Mr. President.

Thank you.

Forgive me for
ventilating so freely.

I believe that you are
only so worried

because you feel foolish

having waited so long
to take this action.

If you did it a year ago,

instead of using kid gloves

and giving them an extra month
in which to resupply,

it would have followed
quite naturally.

But now it seems to you
like one step too many.

The problem is,
my good sir,

each step has been
inches instead of yards.

We have been going to war
by inches!

Tiptoeing apologetically

when we should be
striding through

with our heads held high
like Americans!

Why don't we hear from 'em?!

Yeah. Bob.

McNamara:
Mr. President,
they had some weather.

You said it was clear!

I'll call you the moment
I know anything.

Johnson:
Bob...

my life's in
your hands here.

Yes, sir.

Our Father...

Our Father...

Our Father...

who art in heaven...

Who art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name.

Johnson:
Hallowed be thy name.

Well, if you admit her,

you could run some tests
on her, can't you?

God damn it--

Officer:
Mr. Secretary,
Exec-com on one.

You can see there that she's
in a hell of a lot of pain.

- Thy kingdom come.
- Thy kingdom come.

Pastor:
Thy will be done.

I'm sorry.

- On earth...
- I'm sorry.

- On earth...
- On earth...

- As it is in heaven.
- As it is in heaven.

- Give us this day...
- Give us this day...

- ...our daily bread.
- ...our daily bread.

Pastor:
And forgive us our trespasses.

Johnson:
And forgive us our trespasses.

Pastor:
As we forgive those
who trespass against us.

As we forgive those who
trespass against us.

Pastor:
Lead us not into temptation.

Johnson:
Lead us not into temptation.

But deliver us
from evil.

Deliver us from evil.

Pastor:
Amen.

Johnson:
Amen.

( voice on walkie-talkie,
indistinct )

Go ahead.

Mr. President, I just
talked with Honolulu.

All the primaries were hit,
and no ships were struck.

Now, we did lose
two aircraft to antiair.

No Russian ships?

We didn't hit any
Russian ships?

No, but as I say,
two pilots are down.

I won't know about
civilian causalities
until we have the photos.

Now, if the weather holds,
we can send the RFs in

to see just what
collateral damage--

All right, Bob.
Thank you.

Thank you.

Man, on TV:
Pentagon sources
tell "CBS News"

that General Westmoreland
has been granted

even great authority
over the use of B-52s

in Vietcong-controlled areas
in the south.

With the recent escalation of
bombing over North Vietnam

aimed at destroying
the heart of the enemy's

urban industrial capacity,

the U.S. clearly wants
to force a change

in Hanoi's will
to continue the war.

Last year, the rate of
Rolling Thunder missions flown

reached 1,500 per week.

Since then the rate of
sorties has doubled.

Mr. President, it appears
that the air strikes

have had no effect on
the enemy's war-making
capability.

The attacks were
not successful?

Well, while we did
destroy nearly 100%

of their oil storage
capacity

in our follow-up attacks
throughout the summer,

a large portion of their
stock was put into barrels

and dispersed in anticipation
of our strikes.

They've retained enough to
meet ongoing requirements.

Their buildup
is continuing.

And Westmoreland is
requesting additional men.

How many?

The Program Three forces
will bring us up

to 431,000
by the middle of '67.

What about the bombing?

We're looking at heavier B-52
strikes in the southern DMZ,

and in North Vietnam,
targets in the restricted zones.

Downtown Hanoi.

Yes, sir, and Haiphong,

and in the buffer zone
with China.

The good news,
Mr. President,

is that the naysayers
were wrong.

Peking and Moscow
stood still,

and they will very
likely stand still

even with intensified
activity.

Hmm.

Are you recommending some of
these new targets for me today?

Yes, I am. You have the
evaluation sheets before you.

I have some
photographs here.

Number 72:
the Van Dien truck depot.

That the one with
the school up the street?

As a matter of fact, yes,
the Polish Friendship School

across the highway,
a half a mile up.

Mr. President,
as you may recall,

in order to avoid
a tax increase,

we did not budget
for the war beyond
this fiscal year,

which has cost us
20 billion

as opposed to
the 12 billion projected.

We are over by eight billion?

Eight billion?

Mr. President,
if you approve
these new forces,

constraints on
domestic programs

will no longer be
avoidable.

It's all in a memo I
sent over to you today

along with some
recommendations.

Joe.

I want to start working on
the State of the Union.

You sit down with Bob
and Walt and Fowler.

Yes, Mr. President.

There's to be no mention
of the Great Society!

What is it you're
looking for?

Undersecretary of state?

I'll change the title to the
Holy Roman Emperor, right?

No, this is the best way
I can serve your presidency.

And I think Dean Rusk
would feel undercut

if you were to fill
George Ball's job

with a personal
friend of yours.

I don't give a rat's ass
what Rusk feels!

I need you
in that room, Clark.

I need someone like George with
an ability to reason and argue.

A devil's advocate.

George Ball was not
playing devil's advocate.

He believes
every word he says.

All right.

All right.

Moyers wants the job.

My press man thinks if I make
him number two at State,

I'll all of a sudden
give a shit what
he thinks about Vietnam.

And McNamara.
McNamara sends me a paper.

Says we should cap the troops,
level off the bombing.

You know what happens
if I stop bombing?

Ho Chi Minh runs five
more divisions up my ass,

that's what happens!

It was McNamara's program,
the whole thing.

Now he's talking up
a shitstorm with Bobby.

You don't know that.

I know everything.

I know who's saying what
at those fancy Georgetown
dinner parties.

I know 'cause I had
Hoover put a couple of
boys there, too.

I know.

What they say
doesn't matter.

You're not helpless
in this situation.

Your approval ratings
are down.

You need to go out there on
the stump and sell the truth.

Westmoreland is now saying

that a Communist military
victory is impossible.

You're finally winning
in Vietnam.

We're winning,
but we're losing.

We're killing 'em,
and we're losing.

We're losing because this war
goes on and on and on!

I passed twice
the number of bills

FDR got through in his
first hundred days.

200 in the last
two years!

There's never been
an era in American
history like this,

yet there's so much
left to do.

But this war has
got to end!

Five years pussyfooting
about in that miserable
little country.

$2 billion a month!

We could be
feeding these people,
educating these people!

God damn it!
Why won't that son of a bitch
let me help him?

Why?

Why won't he
lay down his arms

and stop killing off his sons
in the flower of their youth?

I do not understand.

I just do not
understand.

Mr. President...

Moyers.
Get me Moyers.

And get me
General Westmoreland
on the other line.

Can I help you,
Mr. President?

Get your bags packed.

Call the press together.
We're going to Vietnam.

Dean?

Are they ours?

I fucking hope so.

( band plays
"Hail to the Chief" )

Soldier:
Present arms!

Order... hut!

Oh.

Where you from, son?

Louisville, Kentucky, sir.

- Kentucky?
- Yes, sir.

Have you reached majority age
yet, Corporal?

I was 21 last month, sir.

My mom and my girl sent
me a big old chocolate cake,
and it came just in time, sir.

- Good.
Bill, get 'em out.
- Yes, Mr. President.

Well, they've given me
the honor, Corporal McCaffrey,

of pinning you with
this Purple Heart here.

There.

You'll be home right soon,

and on the first Tuesday
of November,

you got a congressional
election.

I want you to vote.

Yes, sir.

You'll be able to get
to your polling place?

I don't know where it is,
but I'll get a ride, sir.

All right.

Make sure you vote now.

Yes, sir.

We're all behind you, sir.

Every one of us.

We won't let you down.

All right, son.

Thank you.

And I won't let you down!

You'll get everything
you need.

I thank you.
I salute you.

May the good Lord look
over you and keep you safe

until you come home and nail
that coonskin to the wall.

Three cheers for the
president! Hip hip...

Hooray!

- Hip hip...
- Hooray!

- Hip hip...
- Hooray!

Certainly the bombing
of the north

makes the war more
costly and more difficult

and more painful for
North Vietnam.

It is a harsh punishment
indeed.

But we are not in Vietnam
to play the part

of an avenging angel pouring
death and destruction.

Kennedy, McCarthy

haven't done a thing
for this country!

Not a fucking thing!

And look at all I've done!

Kennedy:
It should be clear by now that
the bombing of the north

cannot bring an end to the war
in the south

and that indeed at
the present time

it may well be prolonging
that war.

Our troops are being killed

by the bullets and the
mines of the south.

If by ending the bombing
of the north,

we can bring peace to
South Vietnam,

we will save the lives of
thousands of...

I don't know why you're
worried about Kennedy

and your second term.

Because I don't think
your health

will survive your
first term.

Where you going?

I want to be
useful to you.

And I would listen even
as you rant and rave,

but I have worked
far too hard

and borne far too much to
watch you destroy yourself.

Kennedy:
...major political elements
of South Vietnam

to participate in their
choice of leadership...

The bridge is a major target,
and we've never hit it.

The chance of civilian deaths
will be almost zero.

I say 100 to 500,
possibly more.

Which is it,
500 or zero?

Mr. President, the Stennis
Committee is up in arms

over our holding back
on these targets.

Bob's testimony is
coming up,

and it might take some
heat off him

if some of these can be
cleared up before his
appearance.

I can take the heat
without padding my resume

with more bombing missions.

This is a heavily
defended target

in a very populated area.

The photos are right here,
Mr. President.

McNamara: The photos
are meaningless.

The target is
heavily defended.

The pilots
jettison their bombs

when they're
under attack.

Now, I've been asking
for two years

why they don't come
straight up the river.

That way, if they
dump the bombs,

they go in the water and not
on the people,

and I still haven't
got an answer.

Coming in from the gulf involves
an extra turn,

with our backs to those
heavy defenses.

If it is so well defended,
should we risk the pilots?

Wheeler:
Men dying is a relative thing.

The effect of the air
campaign is cumulative.

Every blow makes the enemy
stretch his resources.

Stretching is
a relative thing.

Mr. President,
we shouldn't be bombing
for punitive reasons,

but there just
doesn't seem any point
to this anymore!

Hit it!

Hit the goddamn bridge.

What's next?

Rostow:
Uh, number 309, sir,
the, uh, railcar repair shop.

Marg?

Marg?

Oh, Jesus.
Oh, Jesus.

Come to me.
Come on.

I got you. I got you.
I got you. I got you.

I don't know what
I'm gonna do, Marg.

Rostow, the chiefs,

they're gonna drive this
thing straight to hell.

- I won't be long.
- Okay.

Protestors:
One, two, three, four,

we don't want your
fucking war!

One, two, three, four,

we don't want your
fucking war!

One, two, three, four,

we don't want your
fucking war!

One, two, three, four,

we don't want your
fucking war!

One, two, three, four,

we don't want your
fucking war!

One, two, three, four,

we don't want your
fucking war!

One, two, three, four...

Hey, hey, LBJ! How many
kids did you kill today?

Hey, hey, LBJ! How many
kids did you kill today?

Hey, hey, LBJ! How many
kids did you kill today?

Hey, hey, LBJ! How many
kids did you kill today?

Officer:
All right, take formation,
spread out!

Protestors:
Stop the war in Vietnam!

Bring the troops home now!

Stop the war in Vietnam!

Bring the troops home now!

Let's go! Let's go!
File in, move it up!

Protestors:
Hell, no! We won't go!

Hell, no! We won't go!

Hell, no! We won't go!

Hell, no! We won't go!

No rifle is to be loaded
without my permission.

I'll have the commanders
go down the line again.

Not one bullet,
damn it!

Get off me!
Let me go!

Let me go!
Just let me go!

Look at that.

There he is!
There's McNamara!

There's McNamara!

Stennis:
Secretary McNamara, on behalf
of the subcommittee,

let me thank you for your
appearance here today.

I have, from the beginning,
and do today,

fully support the objectives
of the bombing

to interdict men
and supplies

and hinder the enemy's ability
to wage war in the south.

In this I am 100% behind
the joint chiefs,

Admiral Sharp,

General Westmoreland
and his commanders,

as they are fully aware

and as the president
is aware.

We are all greatly encouraged
to hear that, Mr. Secretary.

You are the last to testify,
as you know,

and the overwhelming view

from General Wheeler
and the others

is that there has been
excessive interference
from your office--

If I'd be permitted
to finish my statement,
Senator Stennis.

There are copies available
outside the hearing room.

Our greater objective, however,
was, and remains,

to persuade the leaders
of North Vietnam

that they cannot
prevail.

In this we have been
unsuccessful.

This is due to
the fact that North Vietnam

can sustain its forces
in the south

with a mere 100 tons
of supplies a day,

85 of which they can acquire

through corrupt elements in the
South Vietnamese government.

Out of 359 targets
recommended by the chiefs,

only 57 remain unstruck.

Two are battery plants

manufacturing a total
of 600 tons a year,

not enough to fill
the corner of a Sears-Roebuck
regional warehouse.

Just a moment,
Mr. Secretary.

There's a rubber plant
producing 30 tires a day.

The service station
where I fill my car

could supply the output
of this facility.

Hitting these targets
will cost us in pilots,

planes and hard cash,

and they will kill
more and more civilians.

The military knows this.

They think it's worth it.

I do not.

Stennis:
Order!

You know what he did
to me out there?

It's like selling your house

and your son
takes the buyer aside

and tells him there's leaks
in the basement.

Now Hanoi knows we're divided,
and they'll never stop.

I've gotta get rid of that
son of a bitch.

You can't just
get rid of him.

The Republicans will
play up the disunity.

Bobby will have a field day.

Bobby's clamoring for him to
resign, don't you know,

to go public against me
for doing what he advised!

Look, we'll find a job
for McNamara

where he won't be able
to snipe at you.

I'll help you fill his post
with someone you can trust.

I'll do anything I can
for you, Mr. President.

But we have a reelection
campaign to start,

and you do not have a policy
to end this war.

Clark, you'll do
anything you can?

They're ready for you,
Mr. President.

Yeah. I'll be out
in a minute.

Sit down, Bob.

I'm sorry you found out
from the "Washington Post."

I'm sure Fowler told you,
or the bank people.

Nobody told me anything,
Mr. President.

I, uh, mentioned to you
in the spring

that I'd been approached
by the World Bank,

but I thought if you were
going to nominate me,

you would have
said something yourself.

Doing fine work there.
Humanitarian work.

I know that's of
interest to you.

Yes, but only if it's
what you want.

If I can no longer
be of service--

Service?

Who's been of more
service to me than you?

Why, you've served longer
than any defense secretary
in history.

Look what you've had
to shepherd us through.

The Cuban crisis--
two Cuban crisises,

Berlin, Dominican,
Middle East.

Hell, ha, that's a tough
enough job in peacetime.

And look what you've
had to deal with.

Mr. President,

the point is...

I don't have to leave
until you want me to leave.

Bob,

Joe Fowler asked me
for three nominees.

I said I only got one:
McNamara.

There were tears in the
treasury secretary's eyes

'cause he was hoping
he'd be my choice.

And with tears in his eyes,

he said he had to submit
three names to the bank.

I said, "Okay. McNamara,
McNamara, and McNamara."

You ask him.

Now, the bank directors
vote today,

but it's, uh,
it's just a formality.

Now, Bob,
I better get over

to Lady Bird's
beautification awards.

It's important to her.

Your wife's the same with her
reading program, I know.

Yes, although with
her condition,

it's been difficult.

No improvement
since surgery?

My son, uh...

he has them as well.

You deserve whatever you want
from this government.

My obligation is to help you,

and this was within my
power to grant you.

People have an obligation
to the president,

not the other way around.

"May your selfless service,
spent in defending freedom,

"bring even greater rewards

"in the larger work that
you now undertake

to promote freedom throughout
the world."

Signed, Lyndon B. Johnson,
President.

This is the Medal of Freedom,

the highest award a
president can bestow

upon a citizen of
the United States.

I award it now to a loyal,
brilliant, good man.

Robert McNamara,
the very best we have.

Thank you, Mr. President.

This is an almost impossible
situation to respond to.

You're used to
impossible situations.

Thank you.

Now, I stand here tonight
to tell you

that I regard Bob McNamara
here

as not only one
of the smartest,

but one of the most humane
men I know.

Thank you.

One: Put the men in.

Two: Call up the reserves and
extend tours of duty.

And three: expand the bombing.

Mr. President, uh--

I cannot, uh...

...find the words to express
what lies in my heart today.

And, uh...

I think I better respond
at another time.

Bob.

One question, please!

- Over here!
- Mr. Clifford!

Mr. Clifford,
does your acceptance

of the job of
defense secretary

signal your interest
in elected office?

It signals only my desire

to serve a great president
and a longtime friend.

I am 61 years old,

and I'm sure this
will finish me off.

John.

It's been observed that in
your views on Vietnam,

you've changed from
dove to hawk.

Which are you?

I am not conscious
of falling under

any of those
ornithological divisions.

I'll tell you this,
he's no ostrich.

I know of no man who will
call it as it is

with such candor and judgment
as this man, Clark Clifford.

We got a light at the end
of the tunnel now!

It's probably a small attack,
Mr. President.

The embassy compound's
been hit before.

Mr. Secretary,
it's not just the embassy.

The palace, legislature,
airport, too.

- Secretary Rusk.
- Put it on the speakerphone.

Go ahead, Ben.

Ben:
Dean, I've got the duty officer
at the embassy, Alan Brandt.

Mr. Brandt!
Mr. Brandt, can you hear me?

They're standing right outside,
Mr. Secretary.

Rusk:
Outside of
the embassy compound?

Inside.

They blew through the wall.
They're at the door.

Rostow, casualty report.

Rusk:
Do you have something to defend
yourself with, Mr. Brandt?

I'm at the window.
They're below me.

They see me.
They're looking right at me.

I've got to go.
Mr. Secretary.

Small attack?!

These are desperation moves,
Mr. President.

We've got them on the run.

It's not just Saigon.

Man, on TV:
The Vietcong have launched
surprise attacks

on 36 of the 44 provincial
capitals of South Vietnam.

From the streets of Hue
near the DMZ

to the U.S. embassy
compound in Saigon,

the casualty count on both
sides has been unprecedented.

The U.S. military says
it is successfully

beating back
the Vietcong attacks,

but clearly they are
paying an enormous price.

The enemy's well-laid plans
went afoul.

They tried to ignite a
revolution in the south,
and they failed.

If this is a failure,
God help us when they have
a success.

I've given 'em all the men,
the planes, the guns,

the bullets he said he needed.

I thought we were
winning this thing!

Now Westmoreland says he wants
206,000 more troops!

206,000!

We'll have 750,000 there.

Three-quarters
of a million men
in Vietnam.

Light at the end
of the tunnel.

Hell, we don't even
have a tunnel.

We don't even know where
the tunnel is!

I want you to get
Westmoreland here.

Get your people together
and look at this thing.

We'll give 'em the boys
if we have to,

but on your recommendation.

You'll wait.

I'll wait,
but not for long.

If he needs 'em, what the hell
am I supposed to do?

Old friend,
get me an answer.

Give us these troops
so we can seize
the initiative!

But it will just be
more of the same!

The enemy's taken
200,000 killed,

and he'll take 200,000 more!

We've lost
a tenth that many,

and Americans are
rioting in the streets.

They should be cheering.

The Vietcong lost.
We were victorious.

That's true, Walt,
but remember

they only committed
175,000 men to this offensive,

holding enough back to
strike again.

That's right, damn it,
and it could happen at any time.

I say put the men in.

There are no more
trained men.

We would ship raw troops
and train them in the rear.

What rear? There is no
rear in Vietnam anymore.

I would hope we've at least
learned that from this victory.

With 206,000 more men,

we could go into Laos,
Cambodia, North Vietnam

and cut out their supply
routes once and for all.

We have never been given
that authority!

Excuse me, General.

Dean, you said
the enemy committed

175,000 men to the offensive.

That's right, Clark.

And General Westmoreland
says that they suffered
45,000 killed,

with a 1-to-3.5
killed-to-wounded ratio.

It's right here
in my report.

We beat the pants
off them.

Then how in hell do we
justify to the public

sending hundreds of
thousands more men?

We tell them this.

That we're within
inches of victory.

Inches.

45,000 killed,
yes, General?

Yes, sir.

And three and a half times that
number are out of action?

It's in the report,
Clark.

If there's 45,000 dead

and three and a half times
that number...

160,000.

157,500 wounded,
plus 45,000 dead...

General, according to you
and General Westmoreland,

we have killed and wounded
120% of the enemy.

It's becoming
more and more evident

that an out-and-out
military victory

cannot be achieved
with any strategy.

So, these are my
recommendations.

One: send Westmoreland
only those forces

that will satisfy
his immediate needs.

Wheeler has agreed to 22,000

plus the units
previously approved

and already scheduled
for deployment.

This would stave off
immediate defeat

while we move
to negotiations.

We realize that
the settlement will not be
favorable for Saigon,

and they would fight it.

Two: the bombing.

Wheeler, the other chiefs
and Walt Rostow

all advocate hitting
the remaining targets

in Hanoi and Haiphong

and mining and bombing
the harbors.

With the support
of everyone else,

I recommend a bombing halt.

I told you, I'm not
gonna stop the bombing.

It keeps the lead
out of our boys.

There's little evidence
to support that, sir,

and the bombing is going to be
the single greatest issue

in the presidential campaign.

The perception is
evolving out there

that Eugene McCarthy
is the peace candidate,

and you are the war candidate.

If McCarthy has a good
showing in New Hampshire,

I think Bobby will
throw his hat in.

But he can't beat you if you're
sitting at the peace table.

Peace table!

Sell out
South Vietnam?

This is your advice?

If I could lay a plan
to win the war before--

I gotta go on TV
in three weeks

and explain all this
to the American people!

And you're telling me to
cut and run, admit defeat.

That 20,000 American boys
have died for nothing!

That 20,000 American mothers
weep for nothing!

The situation
has changed since Tet.

Yes, it has!
Tet was a failure!

The enemy has failed
to overrun us.

We are poised to win,

and now it's only
you and your people

who are advising against
the extra effort it'll take

to turn three years of
miserable war into victory!

And I'm telling you there is
no victory to be had!

Not without measures that'll
tear this country apart

and bring down this
administration!

I told you to get out of Vietnam
three years ago, Lyndon--

What about two years ago,
and one, eh?

You shot down every
bombing pause,

backed every troop increase!

Don't you dare!

Excuse me, Mr. President!

My counsel has not
deviated one whit!

My every word, then as now,

has been informed solely
by my commitment

to preserve your
presidency

and establish your place in
this country's history!

I should have cleaned house
November '63.

Got rid of all of 'em.

McNamara, Bundy, Connally.

Warned me those
fucking Kennedy lovers

would be disloyal to me!

All of 'em!

They all may have
advised you, Mr. President.

You decided.

Against all your
natural instincts.

Against the whole of
your life experience.

You decided.

Man, on TV:
Senator Eugene McCarthy,
a dove on Vietnam,

who was virtually
unknown to voters of this
state two months ago,

has finished in
a virtual tie

with the sitting President
of the United States,

Lyndon Johnson.

Since polls taken
only a week ago

predicted Johnson would win
two-thirds of the vote

and McCarthy only 11%,

the senator's surprisingly
high turnout

has shocked the country.

I run because it is now
unmistakably clear

that we can change these
disastrous, divisive policies

only by changing the men who
are now making them.

I run because I am convinced
that this country

is on a perilous course

and because I have
such strong feelings

about what must be done,

and I feel that I am obliged
to do all that I can.

Oh, I was there.

I was there when you told your
brother to go into that place.

I was there.

And now I'm paying
for it,

day after day after day
while you cut me to pieces!

There's blood on your hands,
you traitor!

Our troops are being killed

by the bullets and the mines
of the south.

If by ending the
bombing of the north

we can bring peace to
South Vietnam,

then we will save the lives of
thousands of our young men

and thousands of Vietnamese.

Yes, Mr. President?

I talked to Mills.

He won't back a war surtax

unless we go on TV
and announce deep cuts.

I want you
to go up there

and talk to everybody
at Ways and Means.

I'm meeting with five of them
in the morning, sir.

Take Ackley up with you
to back up the numbers.

They don't believe anything
out of the White House anymore.

It's a good idea.

Anything else,
Mr. President?

I...

Are you all right,
Mr. President?

Uh, I'm all right, Joe.

Joe?

Senator Kennedy's speech,
who wrote it for him?

This guy Walinsky
on his staff's

been writing
a lot of his stuff.

I don't know.
Maybe Schlesinger, Sorensen.

Goodwin.

I think he was
involved, yes.

All right, Joe.
Thanks.

Yes, sir.

Dr. King, on TV:
I could never again
raise my voice

against the violence of
the oppressed in the ghettos

without having spoken
first clearly

to the greatest purveyor
of violence in the world today:

my own government.

Protestors:
How many kids did you
kill today?

Hey, hey, LBJ! How many kids
did you kill today?

Man, on TV:
The largest antiwar
demonstration yet

brought hundreds
of thousands of protesters

into the streets of American
cities.

The radicals say that since
peaceful demonstrations
won't end the war,

they're ready to move
from protest to resistance.

With talk of full-scale
rebellion sweeping the country

from college campuses
to the inner cities,

the mood is turning ugly,

and there's a dangerous sense

that the nation's
political life

is spinning out of control.

For it seems now more
certain than ever

that the bloody
experience of Vietnam

is to end in a stalemate.

This summer's
almost certain standoff

will either end in real
give-and-take negotiations

or terrible escalation.

But it is increasingly clear
to this reporter

that the only rational
way out, then,

will be to negotiate.

Not as victors,
but as an honorable people

who lived up to their pledge
to defend democracy

and did the best they could.

This is Walter Cronkite.
Good night.

Well, say what you think.

All right.

It's tough.

And effective.

But the music in it
is sad and sour to the ear.

And I don't know that
any speechwriter

could have made it sing.

I got a hundred bills
in committee.

They'll never see
the light of day.

But I think I can pass
a thousand bills.

More education,
more health care,

more rights.

But it wouldn't matter.

'Cause it seems nothing I say,
no matter how I say it,

could ever bring this country
together again.

Then perhaps
eloquence of speech

is no longer the answer,

but eloquence of action.

Mr. Secretary.

Would you be kind enough
to make sure

that the president
sees that this evening?

- Clark.
- Lady Bird.

I promised that he'd
have those budget figures
by the end of the day.

Oh, he's right inside.

No, no,
I won't disturb him.

Thank you. Good night.

Uh, Clark.

Uh, Clark, I...

I got the speech here.

I need your help with it.

You know that I'm at your
service, Mr. President.

I know, old friend.

Good evening,
my fellow Americans.

Tonight, I want to
speak to you

of peace in Vietnam and
Southeast Asia.

We are prepared to move
immediately

towards peace
through negotiations.

We are reducing,
substantially reducing,

the present level of
hostilities,

and we are doing so unilaterally
and at once.

Tonight, I have ordered our
aircraft and our naval vessels

to make no more attacks
on North Vietnam

except in the area north of
the demilitarized zone

where the continuing
enemy buildup

directly threatens allied
forward positions.

The area in which we are
stopping our attacks

includes almost 90% of
North Vietnam's population

and most of its territory.

Our purpose in this action

is to bring about a reduction

in the level of violence
that now exists.

It is to save the lives
of brave men

and to save the lives of
innocent women and children.

Now, as in the past,

the United States is ready
to send its representatives

in any forum at any time

to discuss the means of bringing
this ugly war to an end.

There is a division
in the American house now.

There is divisiveness among us
all tonight.

With America's sons in
the fields far away,

with America's future under
challenge right here at home,

with our hopes and the world's
hopes for peace

in the balance every day,

I do not believe
that I should

devote an hour or a day
of my time

to any personal partisan
causes

or to any duties other than the
awesome duties of this office,

the presidency of your
country.

Accordingly,
I shall not seek,

and I will not accept,

the nomination of my party

for another term as your
president.

But let men everywhere know,
however,

that a strong
and a confident

and a vigilant America stands
ready tonight

to seek an honorable peace

and stands ready tonight

to defend an honored cause,

whatever the price,
whatever the burden,

whatever the sacrifice that
duty may require.

Thank you for listening.

Good night,
and God bless you all.