Review of All the Way (2016) by Eduardo C — 27 May 2016

Utterly fascinating HBO bio on the first year of LBJ's presidency. To cover all of LBJ's life you would need at least a 20 hour mini-series. The film begins very chillingly- the sound of 3 gunshots fired in 6 seconds.

LBJ tells the congress, " The greatest political leader of our times has been killed in the most vile and heinous manner". How does one follow-up JFK?? By going one step further that's how.

LBJ was a very vulgar man. There's even a scene ( I don't know if it's factual) of him literally going to the bathroom in front of H.H.H. Speaking of the vice-president, he comes across as a gentle, well intentioned Liberal.

Think Walter Mondale, who was actually Hubert's protégé. LBJ says of him "He's too nice ! I don't need nice! Nice is what you say about the girl with no tits, no ass, no personality ! This is a war ! " But, though LBJ was vulgar (and in a strange endearing way) he was also a political genius ! He could play the congress the way Kissin plays the piano.

In dealing with the Congress he had no equal in political history, except perhaps Lincoln. And this film resembles "Lincoln", the film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It is about procuring the votes needed to pass the Civil Rights act of 1964.

It is a sad fact that 1964 resembles 1900- in the sense that African- Americans had few rights, and so did gay people and so did women and other minorities. It was LBJ's passion to change that. And he was smart enough to take out the voting rights part of the bill, which caused problems with MLK and the movement he was leading.

But LBJ had no choice. He knew that would have to wait until 1965. Even so, it was one HELL of a fight to pass the Civil Rights Act. The Republicans were against it. His own party led by the overtly racist Dixiecrats were against it.

So how was the votes procured? Threats, political favors, but above all appealing to the "better angels of our nature" was just some of the tactics LBJ used. It was just like the Lincoln film a case of the phenomenon of the small minds ( which is the majority) Vs.

the big mind. The small minds wish to do the will of the people, the will of their constituents. They only think about themselves, their ability to get reelected, what their immediate bosses expect of them.

The big mind sees everything- What the country as a whole needs, when it needs it, why it needs it. And above all the big mind thinks about history. What generations 200 hundred or 300 years from now will think about your actions today.

The big mind KNOWS what future generations will think and feel and want. LBJ was a big mind, so was Lincoln and FDR and Truman. There's even a scene whereby LBJ despairs about getting enough votes, thinks everyone even the country is against him, and Ladybird Johnson comforts him by comparing him to Lincoln, FDR, and Truman.

That was her way of saying they had Big minds too. Lincoln had to use all his cunning, his viles, his genius to pass the amendment to abolish slavery. The empancipation proclamation was not nearly.enough .

LBJ did likewise for the civil rights act and the Voting rights act the following year. Concerning the Vietnam war, it was like the Zika virus. LBJ felt pestered whenever McNamara or whoever forced him to make a decision.

The film makes it seem he made rash, quick decisions concerning the flow of the conflict. Maybe he did. I don't know. I know that was LBJ's tragedy. His passions were Civil rights, healthcare for the poor, and the war on poverty which he never really got to because of the eternal headache of Vietnam.