The Pressdency: Waging Peace

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THE PRESIDENCY

Before his death, President Kennedy had held several political strategy sessions, made it clear that he meant to base his 1964 campaign on a peace-and-prosperity pitch. Now Kennedy's successor intends to do the same thing—but with his own L.B.J. brand. That much was evident as he returned to Washington this week to deliver his first State of the Union address.

Last week, while still at his Texas ranch, President Johnson declared that this will be the year of an American "peace offensive," and he launched it while playing host to Germany's Chancellor Ludwig Erhard.

Erhard was enchanted by all the Texas trimmings—including the gift of a ten-gallon hat and a choral rendition of Tief in dem Herzen von Texas. But he was even more taken with Johnson himself. During an hourlong, deer-spotting drive through the countryside, the President confided that he had not been aware before Nov. 22 of the immense pressures involved in formulating the budget, in trying to conserve money while maintaining the world's security. The American people, he said, wanted to do what was right, but even so were growing weary of the burden of foreign aid and of keeping their armies in Europe. Erhard was impressed. That night at dinner, he said to the President: "What you told me this afternoon during our drive through the country—this has given me food for thought."

"The Truth I Feel." Lyndon provided some tougher food for Erhard to chew over. "The President," reported an aide who sat in on the talks, "said things that needed saying." Johnson bluntly told Erhard that he did not want to hear any lectures on the dangers of Communism, that Americans are fully as aware of the dangers as the West Germans. He reminded Erhard of the cries of anguish from West Germany every time the U.S. even mentions the possibility of talks with the Soviets on the Berlin question. He urged Erhard to re-examine the problems of reunification and to come up with some suggestions of his own.

The German response was positive, and gave no echo of the Adenauer era, when every American gesture toward relaxing cold war tensions was interpreted as a sellout of West Germany. Erhard understood the U.S. frustrations and seemed determined to make his country bear its full share as a partner in the Western Alliance. And he readily agreed with Johnson that West Germany itself ought to join in the search for new paths toward East-West agreements.

Erhard showed with genuine feeling that he had established a personal friendship with the President, and he was obviously moved when he made his farewell. "Together," he said, "we need not be afraid of this world: together we are strong enough to preserve peace and freedom and justice all over the world. All these questions were discussed in detail and we have been able to state full agreement and full unity of views. This is not just a diplomatic statement; it is just the truth I feel."