The President Calling - Jennifer Hoeflich

 For the President Calling assignment, I listened to Lyndon B. Johnson's calls concerning the civil right movement. Johnson struck me as a highly effective president, at least regarding the passing of the Voting Rights Act. Collaborating with Martin Luther King Jr., he managed to sway public opinion in favor of the act by setting up a national outrage at Selma. While some may think that sending peaceful protesters into such a volatile situation was unnecessary and dangerous, Americans (and humans in general) have a long history of apathy toward human rights transgressions unless the transgressions are shoved in their faces (such as the general denial and shoving-under-the-carpet of Nazi anti-Semitic activities during the time that Ambassador Dodd spent in Berlin). Provoking a violent response was the only way the issue of voting rights would come to the full attention of the American people. On another note, I fully agree with Johnson's assessment of George Wallace. On the other hand, I felt that he was a bit too forceful with King concerning the need for African-Americans to be an active force in politics, however his points were valid, if harshly phrased. On the whole, Johnson did well in his role as president concerning civil rights.