January 24, 1973
Page 2097
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, Lyndon Johnson was, in many ways, larger than life. In a political career spanning nearly four decades, he exemplified so many of the attributes commonly associated with his beloved State of Texas – flamboyance and pride, coupled with enormous charm and a canny perception of the frailties and strengths of those with whom he worked.
All of us who worked closely with him marveled at his energy, respected his vigorous dedication and were amazed by his tenacity and persuasive qualities. During his 12 years as majority leader, we could be sure that when Lyndon Johnson promised a night-long session, we would be at our desks through the night. He was totally absorbed in his work, and I suspect that if it had been within his power, he would have created 25-hour work days.
His personality enveloped the Senate, and it will be a rare leader who will run the Senate Lyndon's way again.
He proved here that he was master in the art of the possible, but he also demonstrated that he had dreams and the courage and talent to make many of those dreams reality.
After the tragedy in Dallas, Lyndon Johnson was thrust without warning into the Nation's highest office. He met the challenge with characteristic energy, vision, and remarkable strength of leadership. And he presided with great personal dignity over the most tumultuous and troubling period in recent American history.
He understood that continuity was vital to the country and the world, vital to demonstrate the durability of our institutions and the stability of our society and our political mechanisms.
President Johnson's first message to Congress began with the ringing:
We shall continue.
And he did continue. His mastery of the intricacies of the Senate and Congress' responsiveness to programs begun by President Kennedy provided some momentum, but his ultimate success came from his own deep commitment to the American system and to its political institutions.
Lyndon Johnson was a big man: in body, in vision, and in ambition. His ambition stretched far beyond himself to his country. He dreamed not just of a new society, but of a Great Society, one that dealt justly and shared its riches widely with all its citizens.
The simple, inescapable fact was that this big man cared, and he cared intensely, about the farmer in Iowa, the fisherman in Massachusetts, and the rancher in Texas, and the disadvantaged of all colors, all of whom shared the same hopes and harbored the same fears. It was the task of political leaders, Johnson said in 1964, to make Americans aware of their fundamental unity of interest, purposes and belief. And it was his highest ambition "to satisfy the simple wants of the people." He demanded a better quality of life for those Americans he saw ringed into ghettos of indifference, of prejudice, of ignorance.
A distinguishing quality of a great free society is its freedom to experiment, freedom to make mistakes, freedom to change direction, to back away from failure and to enlarge on success. President Johnson had the courage to risk uncertain results in his determination to find bold new ways of reducing domestic problems of staggering complexity and magnitude – problems stemming from quiet words – poverty – hunger – education – opportunity.
Most importantly, Lyndon Johnson made a commitment to those American society had treated unfairly. "We shall overcome." he said. And he put those words into action, enacting sweeping civil rights reforms which America is still building on today in order to make this a truly just society.
When history judges Lyndon Johnson, I am certain that that effort will not be forgotten.
All of us who knew him have personal recollections of his unique personality. I came to know his bite and his bark, his warmth and his charm, his icy disapproval and his overgenerous praise. He was the most fascinating human being I have known in my political life.
So many of us shared with him the tragedy of the war which marked his presidency so indelibly. I was always conscious of his agonizing desire to know what was right; and now history must write the final judgment.
and I will miss him.