LBJ: GRIM REAPER

With civil rights and social service programs among his most noted accomplishments, Lyndon "LBJ" Johnson had another side -- he was a heavy smoker, a heavy drinker, an overeater, a womanizer who barely concealed his numerous affairs which publicly humiliated his wife, Lady Bird, was prone to explosive bouts of anger and rude and demeaning to the secret service agents sworn to protect him, treating them as "hired help." In short, despite his attitude towards the poor and downtrodden ("underprivileged" is the term used now), he would today be vilified as being on the extreme wrong side of political correctness.

In recent years, LBJ has even been linked as a co-conspirator in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The reasons and motives are numerous (read Roger Stone's book, for example) and, although the evidence is circumstantial, it is nevertheless compelling..

Perhaps Johnson's greatest misfortune was being POTUS while the Vietnam War was raging. Not surprisingly, the anti-war movement saw him as the figurehead of the "Establishment" that was responsible for the woes of the world.

The poster pictured here was used by war protesters and political activists to demonstrate their view of the state of things. This and the rest of the counter-culture movement was well represented by the media who used these images against the backdrop of a war that couldn't -- or wouldn't -- be won, thus making a visual statement stronger than any words could convey.

The "LBJ Grim Reaper" poster is 21" X 29" and was published by the International Poster Corp. in 1968. It is a parody of a famous engraving by French artist, Gustave Dore.

History has been shown time and again that U.S. Presidents all had their foibles and failures, some more than others. But, with the Shadow of Death looming over Southeast Asia and the threat of a larger Cold War, some it seems, had it tougher than others.