It's a theoretical thing, it's the time machine/back to the future stuff. LBJ still president, etc, but we are taking our 55-60 year old minds and sticking them back in our bods in '65; the 55 year old self knows that Tonkin was a lie, that MacNamara said it was wrong, that LBJ knew it was a fool's errand, but couldn't avoid it because of domestic concerns, like he couldn't get elected in '64 by appearing to be soft on Communism.
Actually, I haven't believed a president since JFK. Ike lied, too (U-2 incident, which I think ended up destroying a summit meeting between Ike and Nicky K), but actually I think he may have been a bit underrated, and he made some
very astute observations. Question authority! I expect my government to lie to me; they have been doing it a long time. On second thought, Carter was pretty honest
TK |
