LBJ in retrospect

Re “Why LBJ bowed out,” Opinion, March 30

This article stirred my memories of that troubled era. I have to admit that at the time, I nearly loathed President Lyndon Johnson, watching him mire himself in the Vietnam mess that overshadowed his brilliant domestic agenda. I was delighted that he declined to run for another term. I was, like most Americans, oblivious to the opportunity it would give Richard Nixon.

Since then, I have come to admire Johnson and what he accomplished for the poor of America. As LBJ biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin explained so well, this was a flawed but good man who loved his country and the people in it. Thanks to James R. Jones for his well-written and insightful “back story” on a historic event.

Robert Helfman

Los Angeles