美国国家公共电台 NPR Remembering 1968: LBJ Surprises Nation With Announcement He Won't Seek Re-Election

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Fifty years ago this week, President Lyndon Johnson shocked the nation when he announced he would not seek a second term as president. It was a decision that would change the course of the Vietnam War, and it was a moment in a string of events in 1968 that continue to shape our lives.

(SOUNDBITE OF 1ST MICHIGAN COLONIAL FIFE AND DRUM CORPS¹' "WASHINGTON'S ARTILLERY² MARCH MEDLEY")

GARCIA-NAVARRO: When we want a history lesson, we turn to NPR's senior political editor, Ron Elving, our own professor Ron.

RON ELVING, BYLINE³: It was a Sunday evening in early spring when the president interrupted regular network programming to make a speech to the nation. The speech he was to give was about the war in Vietnam, a national preoccupation in March of 1968. President Lyndon B. Johnson told the nation he would pause the intense U.S. bombing in Vietnam to encourage peace talks. But what would be remembered most of the 40-minute televised address was another kind of bombshell that came at the very end.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LYNDON B. JOHNSON: 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 day of my time to any personal partisan⁴ causes or to any duties other than the awesome⁵ duties of this office, the presidency⁶ of your country.

ELVING: Tens of millions of viewers suddenly came to full attention. What did he just say? What could that mean?

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHNSON: Accordingly, I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination⁷ of my party for another term as your president.

ELVING: With that, the man who won a landslide⁸ of epic⁹ proportions in 1964 was stepping away from the office and the destiny he had spent his life pursuing. But what the country could not have known at the time was that LBJ had been agonizing¹⁰ over this decision for more than six months. A series of health problems had plagued him in 1967 - repeated surgeries, a serious respiratory infection, heart issues.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: NBC News presents "Viet Cong Terror."

ELVING: Then came the Tet Offensive.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Two hundred thirty-two GI's killed and...

ELVING: North Vietnamese and communist guerrillas attacked key targets in South Vietnam, including even the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Military police got back into the compound of the 2-and-a-half-million-dollar embassy complex at dawn. Before that, a platoon of Viet Cong were in control...

ELVING: LBJ's approval rating fell to the mid-30s, his handling of the war to the mid-20s. In that moment, New Hampshire held its presidential preference primary.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: By any political measure, President Johnson has suffered a major psychological setback¹¹ in New Hampshire.

ELVING: Upstart Democratic candidate Eugene McCarthy, a little known senator from Minnesota, came embarrassingly close to beating the president on an anti-war platform.

EUGENE MCCARTHY: Well, I think I can get the nomination. I'm ahead now.

(APPLAUSE)

ELVING: Days later, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy jumped into the race.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY: I do not run for the presidency merely to oppose any man...

ELVING: He was the younger brother of the president whose assassination¹² had first elevated Johnson to the Oval Office.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KENNEDY: I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous¹³ course...

ELVING: The time to give that withdrawal¹⁴ speech had finally come.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHNSON: Let man everywhere know, however...

ELVING: Hardly anyone had been forewarned. LBJ left his options open up to the final moments, telling some that he had made his final decision only after beginning the speech. The president had told a handful of aides, a speechwriter, a typist. He had told his daughters and his wife, Lady Bird. But she had heard him muse¹⁵ about quitting for years. As Johnson delivered the live version, White House aides were calling members of his cabinet to make sure they were watching and knew what was coming. Media reaction to Johnson's self-sacrifice was overwhelmingly positive.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Well, now I think we will probably see - we should probably see a great turn around.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: Lyndon Johnson is a man who was far more interested in uniting the American people...

ELVING: His polling went from 57 percent disapproval¹⁶ to 57 percent approval virtually overnight.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: This is a man who is doing what he believes to be best for the unity¹⁷ of all the country in a very difficult period. And for this, I think he deserves the thanks of all of us.

ELVING: But that was April, and the tragedies that defined the year 1968 were only beginning. Ron Elving, NPR News, Washington.

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

5 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

9 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

10 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

11 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

12 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

13 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

14 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

15 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

16 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

17 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。