Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

Lyndon B. Johnson US President

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Aug 27, 1908
  • Died: Jan 22, 1973

Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States, a position he assumed after his service as the 37th Vice President. Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, served as a United States Representative from 1937 to 1949 and as a United States Senator from 1949 to 1961, including six years as Senate Majority Leader, two as Senate Minority Leader and two as Senate Majority Whip. He campaigned unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1960, but ran as Vice President with John F. Kennedy heading the ticket for the 1960 presidential election. After their election, Johnson succeeded Kennedy following the latter's assassination on November 22, 1963; he completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right in the 1964 election, winning by a large margin over Barry Goldwater. He is one of four people who served in both offices of the executive branch as well as both houses of Congress.

Freedom is not enough. freedom

We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves. home

I believe we can continue the Great Society while we fight in Vietnam. society

You aren't learning anything when you're talking. learning

Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time. peace & time

I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help - and God's. best & God

We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society. society

The CIA is made up of boys whose families sent them to Princeton but wouldn't let them into the family brokerage business. business & family

To conclude that women are unfitted to the task of our historic society seems to me the equivalent of closing male eyes to female facts. society & women

One lesson you better learn if you want to be in politics is that you never go out on a golf course and beat the President. politics

I'd rather give my life than be afraid to give it. fear

Poverty must not be a bar to learning and learning must offer an escape from poverty. learning

I seldom think of politics more than eighteen hours a day. politics

I want to make a policy statement. I am unabashedly in favor of women. women

I'm tired. I'm tired of feeling rejected by the American people. I'm tired of waking up in the middle of the night worrying about the war. war

This administration here and now declares unconditional war on poverty. war

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.' history & morning

Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it. history

This is not Johnson's war. This is America's war. If I drop dead tomorrow, this war will still be with you. war

Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity. education

The Russians feared Ike. They didn't fear me. fear & history

In our home there was always prayer - aloud, proud and unapologetic. home

The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure. failure

The fifth freedom is freedom from ignorance. freedom

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025

There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. 3 quotes from John Millington Synge

3 quotes from John Millington Synge

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. 28 more quotes from William Butler Yeats

28 more quotes from William Butler Yeats

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. 27 wisdom & wit from Dave Barry

27 wisdom & wit from Dave Barry

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. 74 sayings from Winston Churchill

74 sayings from Winston Churchill