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Lyndon Johnson

During a meeting with historians in 2011, Politico reported, President Obama said: "What you could do for me is to help me find a way to discuss the issue of inequality in our society without being accused of class warfare." For Obama, this is not an esoteric question. Rather, this is a challenge that will be integral to his campaign and, if he is re-elected, to his second term as president.

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White House pets have long pedigree in political squallsupdated: Tue May 15 2012 11:29:00

For all the headaches on the campaign trail, you would not think a candidate would be hounded by his own dog.

New Hampshire is key test for Romneyupdated: Mon Jan 09 2012 11:49:00

The New Hampshire primary will tell us a good deal more than the Iowa caucuses did about where the Republican candidates stand and how they might do in the general election against President Barack Obama.

In U.S., right to vote still threatenedupdated: Thu Dec 29 2011 18:21:00

Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder delivers a major speech on voting rights at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. The location is significant: In 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, a landmark piece of civil rights legislation that banned the worst forms of racial discrimination in American elections.

War on poverty in 2011?updated: Mon Sep 19 2011 07:31:00

America's poverty rate is now the worst since 1993, according to a shocking report last week from the U.S. Census Bureau.

What we learn from doodlesupdated: Fri Sep 02 2011 23:16:00

Humans have been doodling in snow, in sand and on cave walls for more than 30,000 years.

When natural disasters become political disastersupdated: Mon Aug 29 2011 07:15:00

As Hurricane Irene gathered force, moving its way up toward the populated areas of the East Coast, politicians in both parties scrambled to prepare. President Obama cut short his vacation on Martha's Vineyard to return to Washington. Governors and mayors in all the affected states issued warnings, with mandatory and voluntary evacuations, and state officials mobilized.

Obama: It's going to be a long 72 hoursupdated: Mon Aug 29 2011 07:15:00

President Obama meets with officials at the FEMA headquarters and delivers a statement on Hurricane Irene.

What happened to dealmakers in Congress?updated: Tue Jul 05 2011 10:42:00

The troubled negotiations over the debt ceiling have offered yet another reminder of the perilous state of Congress. Republicans and Democrats have found it to be virtually impossible to reach a deal.

War powers belong to Congress and the presidentupdated: Mon Jun 27 2011 09:15:00

When presidents send American troops into military conflict, it usually seems as if Congress barely flinches. Presidents no longer request that Congress declare war. Members of Congress don't insist that presidents ask them.

Are Democrats, unions really in sync?updated: Tue Mar 15 2011 12:49:00

The success of Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow Wisconsin Republicans at stripping most collective bargaining rights from public unions has triggered a fierce political backlash.

Tapes reveal Thurgood Marshall's rocky road to the Supreme Courtupdated: Thu Feb 24 2011 13:15:00

"I'm going to appoint Thurgood Marshall to the (Supreme) Court."

Johnson to Marshall: 'I have a rather big problem...'updated: Thu Feb 24 2011 09:17:00

This is an excerpt from a recorded conversation between President Lyndon Johnson and then-Judge Thurgood Marshall, released by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, which has been compiling these once-secret audio tapes.

Political Circus: Inside Obama's Harlem bachelor padupdated: Tue Feb 22 2011 11:58:00

Politics is serious business -- but not all the time.

What's wrong with presidential rankingsupdated: Mon Feb 21 2011 10:38:00

Since the late 1940s, it has been an American custom for pollsters and publications to release a ranking of U.S. presidents.

People.com: Maria Shriver's Father, Sargent Shriver, Diesupdated: Wed Jan 19 2011 08:49:00

"I watched children study famous people in history," Maria has said, "I always thought they should be studying my father"

Nation pauses to remember Tucson victimsupdated: Tue Jan 18 2011 12:22:00

President Obama remembers the victims and offers a hopeful message as he leads a memorial service Wednesday night.

Has Obama found his voice?updated: Tue Jan 18 2011 12:22:00

Barack Obama has found his voice again. America first heard him in 2004, when his address to the Democratic national convention electrified the delegates and marked the young Illinois legislator as a political comer.

Extremism is a vice, not a virtueupdated: Wed Jan 12 2011 06:05:00

The mass shooting in Arizona has raised a political challenge for the Republican Party. Party leaders have spent the last few days rebutting charges from liberals that extreme rhetoric from the right had something to do with inspiring the rampage.

JFK and the Secret Serviceupdated: Mon Nov 22 2010 02:33:00

Brian Todd reports on new details of JFK's Secret Service detail and the assassination.

JFK's Secret Service agents reflect on loss of a presidentupdated: Mon Nov 22 2010 02:33:00

After mostly avoiding the spotlight for decades, many of the former U.S. Secret Service agents who were assigned to protect President John F. Kennedy are now offering their accounts of the day he was assassinated, 47 years ago Monday.

Fear voter obstruction, not fraudupdated: Mon Nov 01 2010 17:04:00

Election Day will be consequential, perhaps a nail biter. Senate control may turn on a fistful of ballots in key states. Millions of Americans will be reminded again of their ramshackle election system. Lines are long, registration lists are error-filled, machines break down, and puzzled poll workers offer little help.

CNNMoney: Bush tax cuts: Republicans stretch the truthupdated: Tue Sep 07 2010 09:32:00

Howard Gleckman is a resident fellow at the Urban Institute and editor of TaxVox, the blog of the nonpartisan research organization Tax Policy Center. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Stay vigilant to protect voting rightsupdated: Fri Aug 06 2010 15:33:00

This month marks the anniversary of many historical milestones in the continuing effort to guarantee equal rights to all Americans.

Don't give Obama blank check on warupdated: Mon Aug 02 2010 12:27:00

Despite all the questions surrounding the war in Afghanistan, congressional Democrats have not challenged the administration's policies since President Obama announced a surge of troops in 2009.

Levin: 'Mixed picture' in Afghanistanupdated: Mon Aug 02 2010 12:27:00

CNN's Candy Crowley asks Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) about the falling public's falling support for the war in Afghanistan.

LBJ's daughter Luci hospitalizedupdated: Sat Apr 17 2010 16:44:00

Luci Baines Johnson, the younger of the late President Lyndon Baines Johnson's daughters, has been hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, according to a former member of Johnson's staff.

How words can incite violenceupdated: Tue Mar 30 2010 15:40:00

Death threats and vandalism in the wake of the health care vote spark a conversation about the power of words.

Risk for GOP comes from extreme fringeupdated: Tue Mar 30 2010 15:40:00

As he stood before the delegates of the 1964 Republican Convention in San Francisco, California, Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, the party's presidential nominee, said, "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

Security threats get politicalupdated: Fri Mar 26 2010 16:17:00

Security threats become a contentious political issue. CNN's Dana Bash reports.

Health care bill anger a sign of the times?updated: Fri Mar 26 2010 16:17:00

Americans have always exercised their Democratic rights under the U.S. Constitution to speak out against the government.

Midterms could sap Obama's powerupdated: Wed Jan 20 2010 10:02:00

Scott Brown's victory over Martha Coakley in Massachusetts has sent shock waves through the Democratic Party.

Obama should heed the lessons of Vietnamupdated: Mon Dec 07 2009 10:26:00

On June 17, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson explained to The New York Times reporter James "Scotty" Reston why he had to stay the course in Vietnam by stabilizing the South Vietnamese government so that it could fight communism.

Five questions for Obama on Afghan warupdated: Tue Dec 01 2009 21:17:00

As a candidate and president, Barack Obama has distinguished himself as one of the most dynamic and enthralling orators in decades of American politics.

Obama faces risk of a wartime presidencyupdated: Mon Nov 30 2009 07:28:00

President Obama is taking a huge step in his presidency. After weeks of careful deliberation, the president has sided with military officials who have been pushing for an escalation of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Veteran reporter's 5 lessons for Obamaupdated: Sun Oct 25 2009 11:34:00

We've been watching presidents come and go for years and have come up with five key lessons for President Obama to keep in mind as he copes with the world's toughest job.

Is Kerry's role watchdog or lapdog?updated: Sat Oct 24 2009 07:00:00

During the recent interview that Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry gave to CNN, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee argued it was still too early for the United States to commit more troops to Afghanistan.

Commentary: John Kerry's role -- watchdog or lapdog?updated: Fri Oct 23 2009 19:59:00

During the recent interview that Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry gave to CNN, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee argued that it was still too early for the United States to commit more troops to Afghanistan.

Commentary: Obama should listen to Bidenupdated: Mon Sep 28 2009 09:31:00

Vice President Joseph Biden is emerging as an important voice within the White House on the war in Afghanistan.

Sting, J.K. Rowling could have been your teacherupdated: Thu Sep 03 2009 10:49:00

Students, we know you may not be all that ecstatic about seeing your teachers -- and the homework they assign -- as the school year starts up. Pay attention in class, though; you never know what hidden talents your teachers might have. Just look at all of these famous former teachers:

Commentary: Did Obama underestimate his critics?updated: Tue Sep 01 2009 09:26:00

One of the great puzzles this summer has been why President Obama seemed to have underestimated the intensity of the counter-mobilization he would face in proposing health care reform.

Commentary: Why be afraid of government?updated: Mon Jul 27 2009 09:24:00

Health care reform has gotten off track. The president's news conference fell flat. Polls show growing unease with the proposals currently in play. And Congress will not meet the deadline that President Obama imposed.

Where presidents like to playupdated: Thu Jul 23 2009 10:17:00

We're in the throes of summer vacation season, but at least one American is still on the job. While it's rumored that President Obama will follow in the footsteps of President Clinton and vacation on Martha's Vineyard, he hasn't had a chance to break out his Bermuda shorts just yet. When Obama does take off, though, he'll join in the grand tradition of presidential vacations, like these notable ones:

Robert McNamara, ex-defense secretary, diesupdated: Mon Jul 06 2009 11:27:00

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, a key architect of the U.S. war in Vietnam under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, has died at age 93, according to his family.

Commentary: Democrats should act nowupdated: Mon Jul 06 2009 10:44:00

Democrats are elated because Sen. Al Franken, former comedian and radio host, is finally coming to town. The gates of political heaven seemed to open when former Sen. Norm Coleman finally conceded.

Commentary: Polls don't make a presidentupdated: Tue Jun 30 2009 07:06:00

President Obama continues to enjoy high approval ratings.

From teacher, coach, engineer to the White Houseupdated: Mon Jun 08 2009 13:49:00

Are great leaders born, or are they made through offbeat jobs? Let's have a look.

LBJ and Reagan loyalists clash over Obama agendaupdated: Tue Apr 07 2009 21:37:00

"Who controls the past controls the future."

Obama's Great Society challengeupdated: Tue Apr 07 2009 13:10:00

Hold on to the audacity of hope but shun the arrogance of over-promising.

Commentary: A surprising model for Obama's presidencyupdated: Mon Apr 06 2009 10:55:00

While pundits have compared President Obama to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, less attention has been paid to another, perhaps more apt parallel -- Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Commentary: What Obama's 'best and brightest' should knowupdated: Tue Jan 20 2009 14:00:00

The Obama administration starts its work today with the highest of ambitions.

Commentary: Obama has 100 days to prove his mettleupdated: Mon Jan 19 2009 17:01:00

When presidents enter the White House, they have approximately 100 days to show what they are made of.

CNN Student News One-Sheet: Presidential Inaugurationsupdated: Tue Jan 13 2009 22:27:00

Use this resource as a brief history of presidential inaugurations and the traditions associated with them.

Commentary: Can McCain be Obama's friend in Congress?updated: Mon Nov 17 2008 06:44:00

President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain will meet for the first time on Monday since the election.

Commentary: What Obama should do with Bidenupdated: Tue Nov 11 2008 09:06:00

Now that he is president-elect, Barack Obama must start thinking about what to do with Joe Biden.

Commentary: New president's 100 days of pressureupdated: Tue Oct 28 2008 09:25:00

When presidents enter the White House, they have approximately 100 days to show what they are made of.

Commentary: Sitting senators become stand-up guysupdated: Wed Oct 01 2008 22:59:00

Wednesday night's vote on the financial bailout was good for future legislators who plan to run for president. For decades, the conventional wisdom has been that sitting senators make bad presidential candidates.

Early lives of 10 V.P. wivesupdated: Wed Sep 10 2008 11:14:00

As the election approaches, we're learning more than we ever wanted to know about the presidential and vice presidential candidates. You even hear a lot about the potential first ladies -- I have somehow picked up the fact that Barack and Michelle Obama saw movie "Do the Right Thing" on their first date.

VP auditionsupdated: Thu Aug 14 2008 16:21:00

CNN's Jessica Yellin reports on how the potential vice presidential contenders are performing.

Ranking the best and worst VP picksupdated: Thu Aug 14 2008 16:21:00

When it comes to vice presidential picks, there have been some good ones and some not so good ones.

Ohio and GOP VP choices.updated: Mon Aug 11 2008 12:35:00

CNN's Ed Henry reports on what real people in Ohio are saying about the GOP choices for Vice President.

Time.com: The Veep Picks: What's the Rush?updated: Wed Jul 09 2008 02:00:00

Why waiting to announce a running mate until the conventions might be a boon for Obama -- and a liability for McCain

Time.com: How to Pick a Veepupdated: Thu Jun 12 2008 02:00:00

There's no right way to choose a No. 2. McCain and Obama have to decide what matters most: heft, diversity, party unity, regional balance, buzz -- or a combination of all five

Fear-based ads sneak into subconscious, researcher saysupdated: Sat Jun 07 2008 09:13:00

Terrorism, a slow economy and rising gas prices are issues that can keep American voters awake at night.

Time.com: McCain Sells the Caring Conservativeupdated: Fri Apr 25 2008 02:00:00

The candidate told "forgotten" America that big government isn't the answer, but his message wasn't aimed only at them

Time.com: Does Experience Matter in a President?updated: Thu Feb 28 2008 03:00:00

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are arguing that Barack Obama is too green for the job. But history shows that when it comes to the presidency, experience doesn't guarantee success

BET founder apologizes to Obamaupdated: Thu Jan 17 2008 14:16:00

The founder and former CEO of Black Entertainment Television apologized Thursday to Sen. Barack Obama for what appeared to be veiled comments this week regarding the Democratic presidential hopeful's acknowledged drug use as a teenager.

BET founder on Clinton, Obamaupdated: Thu Jan 17 2008 14:16:00

BET founder and Hillary Clinton supporter Bob Johnson speaks in Columbia, South Carolina, about Sens. Clinton and Obama.

Time.com: How Hillary Learned to Trust Herselfupdated: Wed Jan 09 2008 19:00:00

Shedding her private dismay that she's not the most charismatic candidate, Clinton allowed her humor -- and anger -- to peek through

GOP candidate defends ad depicting terrorist attackupdated: Tue Nov 13 2007 21:41:00

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo is standing by his new television ad depicting a terrorist attack on an American mall, saying it portrays a real threat.

Tancredo's unnerving adupdated: Tue Nov 13 2007 21:41:00

Rep. Tom Tancredo is running a terror themed ad. Will it help his presidential campaign? CNN's Brian Todd reports.

Time.com: National Poverty Rate Declinesupdated: Tue Aug 28 2007 13:00:00

The nation's poverty rate dropped last year, the first significant decline since President Bush took office

People.com: Former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson Dies at 94updated: Thu Jul 12 2007 13:43:00

Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady who was married to President Lyndon B. Johnson, died Wednesday, according to a family spokeswoman. She was 94.

Dobbs: New immigration plan ignores history's lessonsupdated: Tue May 22 2007 17:43:00

There are times when reason carries the mind no further, when the mind is carried from the rational across the penumbra of the absurd. That is where the leadership of the U.S. Senate now resides.

Ex-film association chief Jack Valenti dead at 85updated: Thu Apr 26 2007 18:55:00

Jack Valenti, the longtime head of the Motion Picture Association of America, died Thursday of complications from a stroke he suffered in March, his family announced. He was 85.

CNNMoney: Long-time Hollywood lobbyist suffers strokeupdated: Tue Mar 27 2007 15:55:00

Jack Valenti, who served as president of the Motion Picture Association of America for nearly four decades, has suffered a stroke and has been taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, officials said.

A poet who took on the warupdated: Mon Dec 12 2005 12:25:00

The election that made him famous, he didn't win; Lyndon Johnson did, 49 percent to 42 percent, in New Hampshire's 1968 Democratic presidential primary. But Eugene McCarthy, who died last week at 89 in Washington, had scared the sitting President by articulating a principled opposition to the Vietnam War and corralling enough idealists to turn vexation into votes.

Removing J. Edgar's nameupdated: Thu Dec 01 2005 09:14:00

On Halloween night, crusty conservative Judge Laurence H. Silberman had a scary tale to tell fellow right-wingers gathered for dinner at Washington's University Club. He told in more detail than ever before how J. Edgar Hoover as FBI director "allowed -- even offered -- the Bureau to be used by presidents for nakedly political purposes." He called for the director's name to be removed from the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington.

Three men on the vergeupdated: Mon May 16 2005 08:20:00

One was a wealthy Bostonian, handsome but sickly, a rakish war hero uncertain about his future.

New voter signups could make historyupdated: Mon Nov 01 2004 17:20:00

This election is very close. But that may be where the similarity between Kerry vs. Bush and Bush vs. Gore ends and the similarity to Johnson vs. Goldwater begins.

Fortune: FIDELITY COMES OUT SWINGING updated: Mon Nov 01 2004 00:01:00

ON THE MORNING OF JAN. 14, 2003, MUTUAL FUND EXECUTIVES across the country turned to the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal and promptly choked on their morning coffee. They found a piece by...

Health a chief concern for commander in chiefupdated: Thu Sep 23 2004 13:33:00

Warning: Being U.S. president may be harmful to your health.

Rules for predicting the electionupdated: Mon Sep 20 2004 12:50:00

To those of us who eat, sleep and occasionally drink politics, nearly everything that happens in a presidential campaign is interesting, but very few things are really important.

Washington awaitsupdated: Wed Jun 09 2004 07:16:00

Hours before daybreak today, mourners started lining up at the Botanical Gardens on Capitol Hill. They'll remain there all day -- swelling in number from hundreds to thousands, and eventually to hundreds of thousands -- as they wait to pay respects to Ronald Reagan, whose casket will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda starting this evening.

Mark Shields: Honor your father and motherupdated: Mon Jun 07 2004 15:29:00

The story is told of how well and, yes, brilliantly, Lyndon B. Johnson understood the political importance of a politician's relationship with his parents.

JFK assassination show to be reviewedupdated: Thu Feb 12 2004 14:07:00

The History Channel says it has assembled a panel of three renowned historians to examine a theory that President Lyndon B. Johnson was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Fortune: Power THE 25 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN BUSINESSupdated: Mon Aug 11 2003 00:01:00

The golf course has been the stage for some truly high-powered moments in business. Andrew Carnegie was on the links in 1901 when he was persuaded to sell his empire to J.P. Morgan, creating the ...

Money Magazine: Size Matters Our strange but enduring love of all things big, bigger and biggestupdated: Thu May 01 2003 00:01:00

About six years ago, as a friend and I were on a cross-country drive, we stopped in New Salem, N.D., where we visited the town's singular claim to fame: Salem Sue, a 38-foot statue billed as the Wo...

Fortune: HOW TO END WASHINGTON CORRUPTION The real problem is that too many politicians place the national interest last. Here are eight updated: Mon Dec 18 1989 00:01:00

In almost 30 years of working in Washington politics, I've not seen a time when the process has been shallower or when fewer people involved have been truly interested in the substance of national ...

Fortune: WORKFARE: A FINE IDEA IN NEED OF WORK The current welfare system failed to reach a noble set of goals. It's up to Congress to faupdated: Mon Oct 24 1988 00:01:00

-- Have we learned anything in the quarter century since the last great war on poverty was conceived? After all, that war was lost, and poverty in the U.S. is just as ugly and sprawling now as it w...

Fortune: A Long Shot in Washington, It Seems Like Old Times, Adam Smith Finds a Friend, and Other Matters. The Invincible Graysupdated: Mon Mar 28 1988 00:01:00

A fellow could get a touch of cognitive dissonance brooding over the material in Trends in Family Income: 1970-1986, the latest unsnappily titled publication of the Congressional Budget Office. The...

Fortune: LIFE AFTER XEROX Sol Linowitz had a spectacular second career, but his memoir could leave you more excited about Rochester.updated: Mon Jan 06 1986 00:01:00

Sol M. Linowitz has had a life that many businessmen surely envy. Coming from a family in straitened circumstances, he was immensely successful as a lawyer and then a corporate executive. As an ins...

Fortune: Quotas Are Forever, The Big Deal in Synonyms, A Gouge in Gotham, and Other Matters. It Was Foreseeableupdated: Mon Jul 22 1985 00:01:00

Easily the most fascinating social-policy news in the papers on June 25 was an item about affirmative action that the New York Times elected to bury on page A20, possibly because its editors did no...

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