lbj

yesterday i took the bus down to campus to tour the lyndon b. johnson library & museum. the front desk directed me to the 10th floor where they had a pretty neat replica of the oval office during the johnson presidency. also on this floor was a nice-sized gallery dedicated to "lady bird" and white house photos during this time. when i returned down to the main floor i realized that i was just in time to catch the last showing of "lbj: the biography" in the theatre. i sat in the front, with 2 other people, ready to be amazed by the audiovisual spectacle that was lyndon b. johnson.
and let me pause here for just a moment. first of all, i understand that this library/museum is theoretically a memorial to lbj. and like most memorials, it's simple to see all of the achievements and obstacles this person overcame, yet anything falling below par or the least bit scandalous suddenly becomes cloudy and "undocumented." but i digress.
with this in mind, i watched the life and times of pres. johnson with a grain assault. so naturally when it got to the 1948 democratic senate primary, where lyndon johnson was basically caught tampering with the paper ballots, and the voice over informed it's 3 viewers that lyndon johson "magically" won the general election, i couldn't help but laugh aloud. loudly. for awhile. it was really just to much.
i don't mean to be a cynic, but come on. when a documentary spends more time on lbj and lady bird's courtship then they do on the vietnam war, you just have to wonder.
on the bright side, the rest of the exhibit was pretty interesting including the current exhibit- "signs of the times: life in the swingin' sixties." (speaking of invasions) hurray for the beatles!