The War: Thunder from a Distant Hill

• Share

(6 of 11)

tougher than I am" in prosecuting the war—but growing segments of the U.S. public seem to be disinclined to believe that.

In California, Don Muchmore's State Poll showed that voters there "want an end to the war in Viet Nam and no longer have confidence in the Johnson Administration's policies." Of those questioned, 59% opposed his Viet Nam policies outright and 58% called on the U.S. to enter into negotiations unconditionally. The national board of the 55,000-member Americans for Democratic Action promised its support next year to "whoever gives the best prospect for a settlement of the Viet Nam conflict"—and it was obvious that Johnson was not likely to be the choice.

Alternative Actions. Dump-Johnson movements were forming in scores of cities, aiming at blocking his renomination or at least embarrassing him with strong anti-L.B.J. showings in the primaries. In California, the names of such entertainers as Actor Robert Vaughn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and Comedian Dick Van Dyke appeared on the letterhead of the newly formed Dissenting Democrats. New York's fractious reform Democrats were seeking to run slates of anti-Johnson delegates in next June's primary. In Washington, the Conference of Concerned Democrats was preparing to challenge him. In Pittsburgh, supporters of New York's Senator Robert F. Kennedy from ten states adopted a statement urging the replacement of the present Administration with "an alternative which offers hope of bringing peace in Viet Nam."

There was even a freelance effort by California Clothier Harry Roth, who spent $7,800 on a New York Times ad urging Johnson not to seek renomination because "there is no possible way" for him to end the Viet Nam war.

Administration Democrats dismissed the proliferating anti-Johnson groups with bored shrugs. A White House staffer scoffed: "All it takes is two people with a mimeograph machine and the cooperation of the New York Times. It looks like a movement, but the moment you touch it, it dissolves into mist." Wyoming's Democratic Senator Gale McGee urged Johnson to put purely political considerations behind him and concentrate on winning the war. "The issue is so critical that if I were in a position to talk to the President," said McGee, "it would be with the suggestion that he be prepared to lose, if necessary, on Eastern Asia, rather than tack with the political winds."

Left-Footed Erratics. The winds from Capitol Hill were far from kindly. Of the Senate's 36 Republicans, at least ten, possibly 16, can be classified as doves. In the House, 52 Representatives urged a full-dress inquiry to determine "whether congressional action is desirable in respect to policies in Southeast Asia"; a year ago, no more than four or five were willing to speak out against the President's policies.

Two Republican Senators who have long been critics of Johnson's policy in Viet Nam renewed their attacks, but with a special sting to their words. Illinois Republican Charles Percy accused the President of having allowed U.S. soldiers to fight the war "while the South Vietnamese hold our coats" and declared that "a new face—any new face—can help bring about honorable negotiations" more easily than can Johnson. Noting with pleasure that the