But I thought you did beautiful, Mr. President.

[Unclear]

Criticisms [unclear] first [unclear.]

[Unclear] teleprompter [unclear] . . .[note 1] The Presidential Recordings Program revised the following section of text in 2021 for inclusion in The LBJ Telephone Tapes, a project produced by the Miller Center in partnership with the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library to commemorate the library's 50th anniversary.

Vicki McCammon, White House secretary, interrupts the office conversation and tells Bill Moyers that Mrs. Johnson is calling

Mrs. [Lady Bird] Johnson is calling, asking if she could speak to the President for a moment concerning his press conference.

[answering on speakerphone] Hello? Yeah?

You want to listen for about one minute to—

[Picks up the receiver.] Yes, ma’am.

—my critique, or would you rather wait till tonight?

Yes, ma’am. I’m willing now.

[Slight chuckle.] I thought that you looked strong, firm, and like a reliable guy. Your looks were splendid. The close-ups were much better than the distance ones.

Well, you can’t get them to do it [unclear] . . .

Well, I would say this: there were more close-ups than there were distance ones. During the statement you were a little breathless, and there was too much looking down, and I think it was a little too fast. Not enough change of pace, dropping voice at the end of sentence. There was a considerable pickup in drama and interest when the questioning began. Your voice was noticeably better, and your facial expression’s noticeably better. The mechanics of the room were not too good, ’cause although I heard you well throughout every bit of it, I did not hear your questioners clearly.

Well, the questioners won’t talk—

Some of them you could hear and . . . but in—generally, you could not hear them very well. Every now and then you need a good, crisp answer for change of pace, and therefore, I was very glad when you answered one man, “The answer to—is ‘no’ to both of your questions.”[note 2] The question concerned whether the United States would enter a trade agreement with the Soviets or possibly set trade with the Soviets on an “individual item basis.” “The President’s News Conference,” 1 March 1964, Public Papers, Johnson, 1963—64, 1:341.

You—I thought your answer on [Henry Cabot] Lodge [Jr.] was good. I thought your answer on Vietnam was good.[note 3] Johnson denied having any knowledge that Lodge might leave to join the Republican primaries. On Vietnam, he addressed why the administration was pulling out 1,000 American military “advisers” and emphasized the U.S. training role. Ibid., 1:345—46. I really didn’t like the answer on [Charles] de Gaulle, because I think I’ve heard you say, and I believe you actually have said out loud, that you don’t believe you ought to go out of the country this year.[note 4] The President and de Gaulle had been in a running battle over a summit meeting since Johnson had announced, without clearing the matter with the French leader, that de Gaulle would come to the United States. De Gaulle subsequently offered to meet with Johnson in Martinique, Mexico, and France, offers that the President declined. See Germany and Johnson, eds., The Presidential Recordings, Johnson, vol. 3, January 1964, for numerous conversations on the matter.

Well . . .

So I don’t think you can very well say that you’ll meet him anytime that’s convenient for both people.

Well, when we can—when it can be arranged. I’m not going out of this country. I didn’t say where I’d go. [Pause.] [speaking aside to aides] I didn’t say I’d go out of the country at all, did I?[note 5] Johnson had said that he “would be very happy to meet General de Gaulle any time that it can be appropriately arranged, satisfactory to both persons, and if there is anything at all that can be worked out.” “The President’s News Conference,” 7 March 1964, Public Papers, Johnson, 1963–64, 1:342.

No, I guess—

[to Lady Bird] Press says I reaffirmed that I wouldn’t go.

I see, uh-huh. Well, then, I just didn’t hear . . . didn’t get the meaning of it that everybody else did.

I think the outstanding things were that the close-ups were excellent. You need to learn—When you’re going to have a prepared text, you need to have the opportunity to study it a little bit more and to read it with a little more conviction and interest and change of pace, because you—

Well, the trouble is that they criticize you for taking so much time. They want to use it all for questions. Then their questions don’t produce any news, and if you don’t give them news, you catch hell. So my problem was trying to get through before ten minutes, and I still ran ten minutes today.

Mm-hmm.

And I took a third of it for the questions, and I could have taken—if I’d have read it like I wanted to—15 minutes.

Mm-hmm.

But I didn’t know what to cut out. Maybe I ought to cut out Mary [W. Lasker]’s heart names, but I thought that everyplace one of those names was dropped they’d call up the fellow and ask him about it, and he’d get his name in the paper and then publicize it good, and it’d help the committee.[note 6] Democratic fund-raiser and health research philanthropist Mary Lasker had lobbied Johnson to create the Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. During his statement, Johnson had announced the commission and listed out 28 of the members by name. Ibid., 1:339–40.

Mm-hmm. I believe if I’d had that choice, I would have said use 13 minutes or 14 for the statement. In general, I’d say it was a good B-plus. How do you feel about it?

I thought it was much better than last week.

Well, I heard last week, see, and didn’t see it and didn’t hear all of it. In any rate, I felt sort of on safe ground. I mean, like you had sort of gotten over a hump psychologically and in other ways. I—It’ll be interesting to hear everybody else’s reaction. And we got . . . I got . . . Well, the Thornberrys [W. Homer and Eloise E. Thornberry], anyhow, are awaiting a reasonably early dinner with us, and I got my ten o’clock date. And you do anything you want to about getting another couple or two to eat with us, and let me know. And I love you very much.

OK, good-bye.

Bye.[note 7] End of 2021 revisions.