Clinton Parallels Not JFK, But LBJ // In Life, Outlook And Focus On Place In His

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Term Paper Title	Clinton Parallels Not JFK, But LBJ // In Life, Outlook And Focus On Place In His
# of Words	1150
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.6

Clinton parallels not JFK, but LBJ // In life, outlook and focus on place in history
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    Bill Clinton is keenly interested in how history will judge him.
He began his administration with John F. Kennedy as a model and now
compares himself to Theodore Roosevelt, a president who made a great
mark on the White House and the country, though there was no war
during his administration.

    However, it is a president Clinton almost never mentions whom
he
resembles most closely - Lyndon B. Johnson. The men and their
administrations have much in common. Their domestic agendas and
failings, even their backgrounds, are surprisingly similar.
    Both men grew up in small Southern towns in relatively deprived
circumstances, with an appreciation for the suffering of the
disadvantaged.

    But the Clinton-Johnson connection is most evident in their
personalities. Johnson was, and Clinton is, the product of large
appetites for recognition and fame through politics. Like Johnson,

Clinton's vocation has always been using public affairs to make a
personal mark that would echo through history.

    Johnson was an especially grandiose character. "I understand you
were born in a log cabin," German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard told
Johnson. "No, no!" Johnson replied. "You have me confused with Abe
Lincoln. I was born in a manger."

    Clinton is not quite as grandiose. But he is intensely
preoccupied with his likely historical standing. A poll of
historians in late 1996 that ranked him as a below-average president
sent him into a snit. He still obsesses about his place in history,

expressing hopes that he will ultimately be seen as at least a
near-great leader.

    A need for public affection has echoed through the careers of
both men. Johnson couldn't stand to be criticized. Every negative
comment was a deep wound because he wanted everyone to love him. He
saw his War on Poverty and Great Society programs as almost personal
gifts to the country, for which he expected unqualified praise. The
inner-city riots of 1965-68 were thus regarded as an expression of
ingratitude. Johnson's rage toward liberals who opposed him over the
Vietnam War was palpable. "What's the difference between cannibals
and liberals?" he asked some of them. "Cannibals don't eat their
friends."

    Like Johnson, critics, especially in the media, enrage Clinton.
Clinton seems to despise the journalists who beat on him
unme...

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