Oral history transcript, Joseph Laitin, interview 3 (III), 2/13/1977, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, Joseph Laitin, interview 3 (III), 2/13/1977, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

86

Description:

Laitin’s work related to the Pope’s visit to New York and meeting with LBJ; press coverage of LBJ’s meeting with the Pope; how LBJ liked to be positioned for photographs; Yoichi Okamoto; advancing trips to visit President Truman; how LBJ treated George Reedy and pitted the staff members against each other until Bill Moyers became press secretary; Horace Busby; Bill Moyers; Laitin’s high regard for Reedy; LBJ meeting Laitin’s wife and her family; trip to the Ranch for Christmas; Jack Horner; why it would be difficult to land a [Boeing] 707 on the Ranch’s runway; LBJ’s requirements for televised appearances; LBJ’s asking his portrait artist to "touch up" a painting by another artist; LBJ leaking information; LBJ not being likeable; Jack Horner; Bill Moyers’ reputation; James Moyers; LBJ’s speedboat and amphicar; a Washington Post article about Laitin; Moyers brothers disliking Marvin Watson; Watson directing phone calls and his poor reputation; Laitin leaving his job at the White House; not being invited to the Library dedication; LBJ reading the news ticker in his office; Tony Sargent; traveling on Air Force One; Liz Carpenter’s humor group and Ben Wattenberg; LBJ’s desire to control the press in Austin; Luci’s engagement announcement; an incident where Laitin kept the press waiting until midnight for information that never materialized; the trip to the Honolulu Conference; Moyers’ opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam; Walt Rostow; advancing a trip to Korea and plans to have LBJ visit Panmunjom; Dr. Richard Morstein’s plan to end the war in Vietnam; the large crowd that welcomed LBJ to Korea; Okamoto’s photography lab and pictures LBJ didn’t want publicized; firing/evaluating/hiring staff members.

Contributor:

Laitin, Joseph

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Joseph Laitin

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details