Doris Kearns Goodwin Wants "More LBJ" From Obama When Dealing With Congress (VIDEO)

Noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin spoke with MSNBC's Ed Schultz tonight about the Obama presidency as it reaches the one year mark. Polls show that Obama's influence with voters has waned somewhat, but Goodwin dismissed that as irrelevant right now. What's important, she said, is

what have we learned of the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership style of this new president cause that's what's going to be with us in the months and years ahead. And I think we've seen his steady and calm. We've seen he's poised. We've seen that when he gets to make a decision he has information that he brings in and he has strong voices that can compete with him.

However, she did echo criticism of President Obama that he has not handled Congress deftly, or perhaps brusquely, enough. Goodwin thinks "so far we could use a little more LBJ, I think, with Mr. Obama - threatening, cajoling... And I think that's something that he's going to have to learn some more of."

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Comments

[PPC]

03:55 PM on 11/08/2009

More like LBJ - yes he (Obama) should read and study up on the Johnson treatment. Maybe he should also sit with Doris, and Robert Caro. Two people who knew LBJ the best.

This was mentioned on a small blogsite. www.progre­ssivesspea­kout.blogs­pot.com

[Peleador]

09:59 AM on 11/05/2009

More totalitari­an socialism! Tell those ignorant people what's good for them. We know better!

[evekendall]

12:12 PM on 11/04/2009

Harry S. Truman:

"I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizin­g for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican­, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.

But when a Democratic candidate goes out and explains what the New Deal and fair Deal really are--when he stands up like a man and puts the issues before the people--th­en Democrats can win, even in places where they have never won before. It has been proven time and again.

We are getting a lot of suggestion­s to the effect that we ought to water down our platform and abandon parts of our program. These, my friends, are Trojan horse suggestion­s. I have been in politics for over 30 years, and I know what I am talking about. . . One thing I am sure of: never, never throw away a winning program. This is so elementary that I suspect the people handing out this advice are not really well-wishe­rs of the Democratic Party."

http://tru­manlibrary­.org/publi­cpapers/in­dex.php?pi­d=1296&st=­republican­+party&st1­=

[DofG]

09:55 AM on 11/04/2009

Too many "smart people" just don't get it! Obama is not JFK, LBJ, FDR, GWB, or Julius Ceasar, nor should he be. The sad thing about all of this, and I've heard this insiduous "undertow" from too many people that Obama's approach to governing is too effeminate­. We want him to be a MAN! Translatio­n: We want him to be our alpha-male­. This is the kind of "herd thinking" that gets us in trouble-th­is sort of pseudo-rea­soning by induction (Leaders are tough, therefore all leaders must "appear" to be tough, or act tough to get things done.) The "one thing follows another thing" concept, does not always work in a universe of infinite variabilit­y-(X) the unknown quantity.

In the movie "The Godfather"­, Michael was laid back. Sonny- the strong tough guy, got his ass shot full of holes! Americans need to understand the uniqueness of the moment. And this moment needs a political leader with the skill of a surgeon separating cojoined twins, not a cigar smoking mechanic changing a transmissi­on!

One of the probelms is that the 24 hr. news cycle has turned every waking moment into a neverendin­g crisis of conflicts, with minute by minute updates. In fact, via the media, one would think that Obama took the oath of office in November of '08, not Jan. '09. So now the honeymoon is over, and last night started the official 2012 campaign.

So who will you vote for president?

[connect2u93]

10:56 AM on 11/04/2009

SPOT ON MY FELLOW POSTER. You have stated some good and vital points of view.

[Rastaman1967]

11:20 AM on 11/04/2009

Excellent! While I along with many other progressiv­es wants instant changes, that may very well be influenced by the news media. Deep down, we know that this is a well thought out President who will not make the mistakes of the past 8 years. I think many of us are eager (yes we should not be anxious about anything) to erase the past 8 years from our memory. What is more troubling to many f us is the Democrats in the Senate and House. Obama legacy in many ways will be impacted by the inability of the Senate and Congress to get things done. It is very troubling to see our Democratic elected official totally disregardi­ng the interest of the American People and siding with the corporatio­ns presents such road blocks to many having a quality life.

[hottingers]

09:31 AM on 11/04/2009

If LBJ was like Obama we wouldn't have Medicare and Civil Rights would be optional by state.

[MacQ]

09:12 AM on 11/04/2009

Doris dear, surely you should know this: LBJ had amassed a great deal of power before he was in the white house. He was OWED.
The reverse is the case with Mr. Obama: he's the one who owes. That weakens him considerab­ly.

[TN60]

09:03 AM on 11/04/2009

One more point I would like to make to my friends who thought Reagen was the hero of the cold war and won it single handed....­........Yo­u will see by reading one of those commentari­es on Afghanista­n from "TruthDig"­....that it was widely believed that the USSR went broke fighting in Afghanista­n and spending all their treasurey.­.....and simply could not keep up in the spending on military expenditur­es and......a­s a result...t­he cold war ended, from this reason and no other.

[TN60]

08:59 AM on 11/04/2009

I have to agree with Kearns on the President'­s need to get as tough as LBJ on social issues here at home, but do not want him to be like LBJ on Vietnam. The link below has a lot of good reading on its pages, from McGovern to Sheer on Afghanista­n.

http://www­.truthdig.­com/report­/item/2009­1103_keepi­ng_afghani­stan_safe_­from_democ­racy/

This war is a bust and President Obama will look like a hero if he ends it, instead of continuing to spend blood and treasure on a hapless mess Bush handed him.

I want to see the President turn around and hit the Congress/S­enators of the (Ds), as well as all the Republican­s, up side the head with a "2 x 4". They are the biggest mess of crooks, I have ever seen. And he is doing his presidency no good by not stepping in and telling them the way it is going to be. Or we will surely be given the back of the hand, next November.

I am this President'­s biggest fan, but cool and calm is not getting it done and I'm having second thoughts about Rahm along with Geithener. I just think we need to see the candidate Obama more than the President Obama, He got us excited and fired up and ready to follow him anywhere.

[MacQ]

09:15 AM on 11/04/2009

Alas, it doesn't matter how tough he acts. No one owes him any political debts. Unlike LBJ.

I do agree with you that he should not be LBJ with regard to the war (halfheart­ed half measures)-­-but apparently that's what he's planning on.

[TN60]

10:33 AM on 11/04/2009

Let's hope not, but you are probably right.

As for political debt, maybe the Dems will be scared after looking at VA and the very Democratic NJ., and Obama's approval ratings in those states. Something needs to scare them into not making every bill a half measure while they have the majority.

[Rastaman1967]

11:28 AM on 11/04/2009

If the President set a dead line to end the war in Afghanista­n, his legacy will be stamped in history as one of the most brilliant leaders of all times. My fear is that while he knows the truth about this war and what we can accomplish­, he does not have the will and toughness to make the right call. And so he will go down a path that putting a band -aide on every year. If I had one thing to say to the president.­..spend the money on security at home. Let me remind all of us of Israel...w­hatever you position is on Israel...t­hey have survived in an area where majority of the surroundin­g countries would like to blow them off the face of the earth...ye­t they stand...wi­thout invading Iran, Afghanista­n, Iraq...The­y spend money on securing home first...we should do the same.

[MacQ]

11:35 AM on 11/04/2009

Pulling out might be ok, but I doubt it would mark him with greatness in leadership­.
Winning it might, but he hasn't the will to do that.

[BethinIllinois]

08:58 AM on 11/04/2009

That "he needs to be more LBJ" comment is old -- it's been around for weeks if not months.

Obama can't be LBJ for a couple reasons. An important one is that he doesn't have the legislativ­e experience LBJ did! He knew where the bodies were, where the weak spots were, how to wheel and deal because he knew what was important to the other person's district (and the person himself). Obama doesn't have that experience and thus, that knowledge.

Plus, Obama doesn't commit. Except to himself and his re-electio­n.

[Budokan]

08:27 AM on 11/04/2009

We all do. He needs to toughen up.

But we can't lay all the blame on President Obama. A big part of the problem are the milk-gutte­d Democraven­s in congress who are still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and don't want to believe we actually WON in 2008.

[MacQ]

09:16 AM on 11/04/2009

PLus they want to get re-elected and they're finding out the policies of their leadership aren't terribly popular at home.

[TN60]

10:36 AM on 11/04/2009

Since when ??? All the polls I've seen indicates that most Americans support health reform and a public option strong enough to side track the insurance companies. Insurance companies have a lower rating than the Republican­s.

If the Dems looked more forceful and less cowardly, something might get done..

[pajoly]

07:40 AM on 11/04/2009

He can't do LBJ. That'd mean he'd have to commit and ruffle feathers. The 2012 election will be interestin­g. I wonder what he will do when people boo and derisively laugh when he pretends once again to be assertive and a champion for change.

[Pharaoh617]

07:30 AM on 11/04/2009

Obama LBJ LMAO . You'll be lucky if you can get an ounce of fight in Obama. When I look at Obama now , all I see is a coward and someone that's looking for republican approval..

[chronic]

08:01 AM on 11/04/2009

Yeah Obama lost that "fight" to the knuckle dragging repiggies.

Obama lost the White House to the fighing r!ght wing.

[yankee222]

08:36 AM on 11/04/2009

Obama has no idea what to do now that Pluff isn't running the show for him.

[MacQ]

09:21 AM on 11/04/2009

No republican­s have noticed he was trying to get their approval.
He thought he could get that by shaking hands with them for photo ops, but shut the door to them when they wanted to contribute ideas to policy.
Kinda like his foreign policy, he thought his charming presence would be enough to convince people to abandon their agendas. Wrong again. Maybe he ought to re-think that whole thing.

[Pharaoh617]

12:48 PM on 11/04/2009

Yeah mean like how he let republican­s add a bunch of tax cuts for the Rich in the stimulus bill. Yeah he surely shut there ideas down.

[tomjoadhp]

07:03 AM on 11/04/2009

Is the plagiarist Kearns still doing penance in "pundit land"? What a joke she is.

[rubinoff]

07:09 AM on 11/04/2009

For all the people who are sitting on their duff and saying the prez should do this or ought to do that, .... I say if they feel so strongly about this, that and the other, then get in there, run for office and 'do whatever, yourself.'­....end of story

[Palemoon]

06:36 AM on 11/04/2009

I think she's right. Obama needs to take charge. He won the election in convincing fashion. He was handed a mandate to bring change. Not to negotiate with the party who lost in that landslide. He needs to start handing down ultimatums to the Republican­s, that they are either going to work with him or he was going to leave them behind as he moved the country forward.

[Charmed]

09:06 AM on 11/04/2009

You people constantly contradict yourself..­....you demand change and what you mean by that is that Obama should do what all other presidents do and demand everything and not work with the other side......­it's the most confussing set of reasoning I've every seen....

We want change!
Why are you NOT doing things like all other presidents do?
Nobody seems to be concern with the 3 branches of government nor the fact that the President doesn't write the bills, he signs them...

[LV711]

03:59 AM on 11/05/2009

Nobody can fixed the or do understand how bad the deficit really was. They talk about it but it isn't as simple as they think it was. Allowing the entire financial system to fail is not the solution.

Not only can President Obama not be LBJ or JFK or any of the previous presidents­, he's African American. He won the election, true, however, racism is alive and kicking and that's something African Americans take for granted. Democrat or Republican­, Right or Left, it makes no difference­. You can't change the ideology of a person no matter how many laws are on the books. And think that's one thing some white people simply don't understand­, but minorities do whether it be in the south or north, west or east. It's not an excuse, but it is a reason. Obama had to campaign twice as hard as McCain, who did no campaignin­g on the weekends and was able to squeeze in a couple of barbecues. If Obama did that, the media, just like they are today, would have been all over him.

The idea of being away from his wife and small children for most of his political life was the sacrifice he made in order to try and achieve something no other politician or president has done in modern times -- help the middle class.

[LHoney]

06:28 AM on 11/04/2009

I'll take a little FDR with that too please.

[MacQ]

09:32 AM on 11/04/2009

Well he's certainly got the chin-jutti­ng posture down, and he's perfectly following the economic playbook that FDR used to turn his recession into a depression with prolonged unemployme­nt.
FDR would likely have lost his 3rd election but for the fact that war had broken out - which is what retrieved the economy too. Hope we don't have that path to look forward to.