Nation: Mover of Men

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They don't all love him. An Asheville, N.C., gift-shop owner calls him "a con man with honey in his mouth." A Texas doctor denounces him as "a crook and a liar." A Wisconsin dairy farmer criticizes him for being "too fatherly."

They are awed by his domestic achievements. An Odessa, Texas, housewife says, "What he's done in Congress is miraculous." A Cedar Rapids, Iowa, advertising man says, "I don't care if he does have to tickle some Congressman's toes to get it done—he's quite a man." A Phoenix, Ariz., piano teacher says, "He's got things done that people have needed for years and years."

Most important of all to him and to his nation, a marked majority of his countrymen support his Viet Nam policies. Says a Roanoke, Va., hardware salesman: "It's ticklish and explosive, and he's handling it smart." An Indianapolis school principal says, "He's right in Viet Nam; the strongest nation must act like the strongest." Says a La Mirada, Calif., housewife, "That war's been forced on us, but he's been right."

In Motion. Right or wrong, Lyndon Baines Johnson remains a man in motion. Last week, in the midst of his historic, decision-making sessions on Viet Nam, the President appointed a new Supreme Court Justice, a new Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, and a new director of the Voice of America. He signed a bill requiring warning labels on cigarette packages, met with a delegation from the A.M.A., discussed with former World Bank President Eugene Black the U.S.'s development program in Southeast Asia, cracked jokes about how he recently outbowled Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, had coffee with a group of newswomen, gave two background briefings to White House reporters, and warmly greeted an explorer scout who had bicycled 2,800 miles from Idaho to shake the presidential hand. Then he flew off to Harry Truman's library in Independence, Mo., to sign the medicare bill, and followed that with a week-end visit to his ranch in Texas.

He is totally preoccupied with the war—and with his pursuit of peace. He sits in his office, fists clenched in front of him to illustrate his aims to aides. "I told McNamara that he's my righthand punch," he says. "I told him to take the power of this country and with it keep our word and our honor and protect the lives of our boys to the maximum extent possible. I told Rusk and Goldberg that they're my lefthand punch, and to try to get us out of the war."