Oral history transcript, McGeorge Bundy, interview 1 (I), 1/30/1969, by Paige E. Mulhollan
Title:
Oral history transcript, McGeorge Bundy, interview 1 (I), 1/30/1969, by Paige E. Mulhollan
Number of Pages:
44
Description:
LBJ's knowledge of, and experience with, foreign affairs; LBJ's decision-making process; LBJ's vice presidential trip to Berlin; Walt Rostow and Bundy supporting LBJ as vice president; how Bundy was able to meet influential people through LBJ; LBJ's return to Washington, D.C. following JFK's assassination and his transition into the presidency; LBJ's desire to have his staff always with him; LBJ's perceived lack of openness with the press; LBJ trying to control the press; Bundy's decision to leave government work; Bundy's DePauw University speech; LBJ's view of the Kennedys, specifically Bobby; Bundy's relationship to the Kennedys; the Washington D.C. cocktail circuit and its effect on public opinion; LBJ's accessibility; how the staff went about giving LBJ advice that he did not like; Bundy's growing job fatigue by 1965; the work of national security advisers for JFK vs. LBJ; LBJ's diplomacy toward Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Charles de Gaulle; the importance of cabinet members vs. White House staff members and their work; communication between LBJ, Robert McNamara and Dean Rusk; the ratio of foreign policy initiatives originating in the State Department vs. the White House; crisis staffing, such as during the Six Day War; LBJ's unpredictable interest in issues; the adviser's duty to know how to report information to a president; decisions made at the Tuesday lunch meetings; preparing foreign policy messages for a president; Bundy's involvement in speechwriting; LBJ's speech about the Dominican Republic.
