Oral history transcript, Mary Lasker, interview 2 (II), 7/19/1978, by Michael L. Gillette

The genesis of the Heart, Cancer and Stroke Commission; Dr. Michael DeBakey; goals of funding national clinical research; influence of the American Medical Association and the National Institutes of Health; Dr. James Shannon; LBJ's interest in the commission's work; the Kennedy Center; Samuel Rosenman; a national health insurance program and President Truman; getting LBJ's approval for the commission after President Kennedy's death; desalinization of water; Senator Lister Hill; health and research facilities bill; Lasker's and Mrs. Johnson's involvement with beautification; Highway Beautification Bill; the East-West Center in Hawaii; John J. Roone; Lasker's support of LBJ on Vietnam; John Gardner; getting funding for medical research; George Mahon; trying to interest LBJ in China; an Eye Institute separate from the National Institutes of Health; community Mental Health Centers and Mike Gorman; the Family Planning Services Act; Adlai Stevenson's relationship with LBJ; Robert Kennedy; assessment of LBJ's personality and what issues he might have affected if he'd lived; LBJ's negotiation and persuasion skills; LBJ in his retirement; Mrs. Johnson's influence on LBJ; Florence Mahoney and Head Start; Mrs. Johnson and the Austin Town Lake area.