The article discusses Lyndon Johnson's reflections on his presidency, particularly during his time at his Texas ranch while preparing his memoir. Despite attempts at crafting a polished image, recordings of Johnson reveal a more complicated persona that includes crass humor and moments of vulnerability. Historian Michael Beschloss later highlighted these recordings as a more authentic understanding of Johnson, although they do not fully capture his complexity. The piece suggests that Johnson's multifaceted character mirrors the broader American identity, being both genuine and flawed.
Johnson, Iâve come to believe, was far too complex a person for any facet of him to qualify, on its own, as real.
Johnson exploded: 'Goddammit! Get that vulgar language of mine out of there. What do you think this is, the tale of an uneducated cowboy?'
Years later, the historian Michael Beschloss published excerpts from a surviving transcript of the recordings, calling them 'an astonishing window on the real Johnson.'
There was a version of him, occasionally in evidence in the transcript, that does read as authentic in the ways we often talk about authenticity in American men.
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