Tapes from the Administration of Lyndon Johnson have been released that have left me absolutely dumbfounded. The Vietnam War was a central feature of my college life and I was strongly opposed to the war. There are certain moments that I remember well, one of which was the announcement by Johnson that he would not run again for the presidency in 1968. Apparently, however, he contemplated attending the Democratic Party Convention in 1968 when it was almost completely disrupted by protests to place his name in the nomination (which he likely would have received). The tapes also revealed that the Republican candidate, Richard Nixon, who ultimately won the election in 1968, sabotaged the Paris Peace negotiations between the US and North Vietnam because he feared that a successful peace agreement would prevent him from winning the election.
I’ve been studying world politics for most of my adult life, and I have analyzed many acts of treachery. But Nixon’s decision to prolong the war (and all the consequent deaths) so that he could win the election is perhaps the most despicable episode I’ve ever read about.
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