Nation: THE RENUNCIATION

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Voicing Doubts. Johnson had long toyed with the idea of renouncing a second term. After his election in 1964 by the greatest popular margin in history, Johnson and his wife discussed the possibility of his retirement. According to White House Press Secretary George Christian, Lady Bird "thought it best that her husband step out after one elected term—but she didn't pressure him. She's not that kind of woman." She did nudge him from time to time. During one visit to retired Congressman Carl Vinson, who returned to Georgia after 50 years in the House, she said: "See, Lyndon, there's a man who can leave Washington and be happy."

Last spring the President mentioned to his friend of 30 years, Texas Governor John Connally, that he might not run again. He voiced a similar opinion to Robert McNamara in August. In October, Johnson dictated the bare outline of a withdrawal statement to Christian at the L.B.J. ranch. Christian took the draft to Austin to show it to Connally, who was himself considering retirement after three terms.

Crystallization Point. Plainly, the President was stung by the savagery of the criticism aimed at him. Early in his presidency, he had declared: "I want to do only one thing in this job. I want to unite this country." But a few years later, during a tour of the ranch, he showed some friends a great tree and sadly told them: "This is the tree I expect to be buried under. When my grandchildren see this tree, I want them to think of me as the man who saved Asia and Viet Nam and who did something for the Negroes of this country. Yet I have lost popularity on Viet Nam and on the Negro question." The President's aides claim that Johnson's brooding reached "a point of crystallization" some time last fall. When General William C. Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Viet Nam, visited the U.S. in November, Johnson asked how American troops would react if he refused to run for another term. The answer was that they would be surprised, but would understand.

Just before Christmas, as Johnson was about to depart for Rome on his round-the-world tour, he called former White House Aide Horace Busby, now managing a Washington consulting firm, to his compartment aboard Air Force One. "What do you think I ought to do next year?" he asked, referring to the presidential race. Busby suggested that he withdraw. In mid-January he asked Busby and Christian to draft a withdrawal statement for use in his 1968 State of the Union speech.

Before leaving to deliver that address, Johnson showed his statement to Lady Bird. She changed a few words, then kept the statement. Johnson, convinced that Congress would give short shrift to his legislative program if he announced his withdrawal at that time, had once again deferred the decision.

An Animal in the Forest. Deepening troubles at home and abroad finally persuaded the President to go through with it. He yearned, as he told visitors last week, to be "like an animal in the forest, go to sleep under a tree, eat when I feel like it, read a bit, and after a while, do whatever I want to do."