Johnson Bows Out of the 1968 Presidential Race

When I first met politics.

On March 31, 1968, I was 7, almost 8. That was a Sunday. I was probably sitting on the floor waiting to watch Wonderful World of Disney, or maybe Bonanza on TV.

Instead, President Lyndon Johnson interrupted “regularly scheduled programming” for a prime-time address.

I remember my mom groaning. “Why is he on?” she said. She didn’t like her TV scheduling messed up!

We watched Johnson’s address. It was mostly about the Vietnam War, which had been going for as long as I could remember.

Then Johnson dropped a bombshell.

“I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president,” Johnson said.

“Oh my god,” my mom exclaimed. “He’s not running!”

I knew this was a big deal.

Now I know everything that went into LBJ’s decision. The TET offensive in Vietnam had disrupted the Pentagon’s illusion that the U.S. was winning the war, and Eugene McCarthy had nearly upset Johnson in the New Hampshire primary.

As the incumbent, Johnson should have won New Hampshire walking away.

The next day, I heard friends’ parents talking about Johnson’s announcement. One of them said something like, “Well, that’s the way it always is. Democrats start wars and Republicans get us out of them.”

I had no idea what that meant. Now I understand it was some vague reference to the Korean War, and a prediction that a Republican would now win the presidency.

No, I didn’t understand all the implications of Johnson’s announcement, but it piqued an interest in news and politics for me.

And I was about to get a lot of it. Martin Luther King, Jr., would be assassinated in a matter of days, Bobby Kennedy in just a couple of months. The Democratic National Convention would dominate the news at the end of the summer, as would the Summer Olympics. At Christmas, Apollo 8 circled the Moon.

LBJ’s surprise announcement had introduced me to politics. Fifty-one years later, I’m still watching.

And still surprised.