Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 10 (X), 6/25/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Lyndon Johnson's (LBJ) concern that the 1964 presidential campaign plan was not being carried out and insistence that O'Brien get involved; O'Brien's regional campaign status meetings; how LBJ's campaign compared to Barry Goldwater's; the power of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) when a Democrat is in office compared to when a Republican is in office; the tendency of presidents to utilize the people around them, overlooking other more appropriate sources of information and help; topics discussed at regional campaign meetings, including the lack of campaign materials to distribute; speculation that O'Brien would replace John Bailey as chairman of the DNC; the likelihood that O'Brien would consider a Senate campaign of his own; O'Brien's time working in the White House as the most rewarding time of his life; why O'Brien never ran for elected office; the role of women in the 1960 and 1964 presidential campaigns; Lady Bird Johnson's 1964 whistle stop tour through the South; the excitement of election night; how women's involvement in politics has changed and expanded from the 1960s to the 1980s; how LBJ defeated Goldwater in the 1964 election; comparing Democratic and Republican views on voting rights and registration; Operation Eagle Eye; Democratic wins in 1964 congressional elections; efforts in the House to use the twenty-one-day rule so that the Rules Committee could not delay a vote; the resignation of Dave Powers, Kenneth O'Donnell, and O'Brien; O'Brien's decision to stay at his congressional liaison job until the end of the congressional session; LBJ's support for O'Brien's work and finding the best people to do congressional relations work; Robert Kennedy's support for O'Brien staying at his job at the White House.