Announcer: Whether the riots and violence had any affect on civil rights legislation in 1967 is not certain, but civil rights legislation never did get off the ground, except for a few minor programs. But the whole LBJ Legislative Program was challenged this year by Congress, and if we had to characterize the 90th Congress, we could say with a measure of credulity that it was one of revolt.
For veteran politician. Lyndon Johnson, the 90th Congress was a tough challenge. In fact during his political life, no year has been as challenging as 1967. UPI’s Duff Thomas reports.
Duff Thomas: "The President standing with the American people dropped to an all-time low; summer riots, the lingering Vietnam War, and what was apparently disenchantment with Mr. Johnson’s personality, contributed to his drop in popularity. Congress blocked at nearly every important LBJ legislative request, and he spent the last six months fighting in vain for a tax increase he said would retard an inflationary spiral.
"He met with his Vietnam Lieutenants at Guam in the Spring, went to Glassboro, New Jersey in the summer for a summit conference with Premier Aleksei Kosygin of the Soviet Union. He would not announce his political plans for 1968, but revealed the style he might use in a race for reelection.
"He went on nationwide radio and TV in November, and gave an impressive performance of a relaxed and confident President.
"He gave the hand of his daughter, Lynda, in marriage to Marine Captain, Charles Robb, at a colorful holiday wedding in the White House, and despite his troubles in 1967, no knowledgeable political observer counted him out. United Press International picked the President as Man of the Year. Duff Thomas, the White House."
