Nation: Johnson & the Jenkins Case

Emerging from his presidential jet at San Diego's airport one night last week, Lyndon Johnson stopped to chat with newsmen. When one of the reporters referred to the Jenkins affair, the President suddenly exploded: "President Eisenhower had the same type of problem with his appointments secretary. The only difference is, we Democrats felt sorry for him and thought it was a case of sickness and disease, and we didn't try to capitalize on a man's misfortune. We never mentioned it." Lyndon's comment sent reporters scrambling for phones, caused many an eyebrow to arch in puzzlement—including Dwight Eisenhower's. Leaving Walter Reed Hospital...