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Article: A New Message From Watts: Hope But Verify.(Nation; HOW HE DID IT 2008)(Lyndon Johnson, Barack Obama)
- Article from:
- Newsweek
- Article date:
- November 17, 2008
- Author:
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Byline: Rick Perlstein
We've been on the verge of what seemed like permanent ideological transformation before. For liberals, the most dramatic such moment came with Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory in 1964. "These are the most hopeful times since Christ was born in Bethlehem," Johnson declared while lighting the White House Christmas tree that year. He had already passed a landmark bill outlawing Southern segregation and had launched his War on Poverty. He was about to pass the first federal aid to education, Medicare, the National Endowments for the Humanities and Arts, pioneering environmental legislation and the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. The ...