April 1, 1968 - LBJ Withdraws From Race, Won't Seek Re-election; Declares Decision "Irrevocable"

"I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."

With those words, President Lyndon Johnson stunned an entire nation and turned the Presidential race from a presumed contest between Johnson and presumptive Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon into a scrambling free-for-all contest of delegate seeking. Two nights before the Wisconsin primary, the President gave a 41-minute nationally televised speech with a primary emphasis on ending the war in the Vietnam, the issue that has caused so much turmoil in the Presidential contest. The speech emphasized the President's willingness to stop bombing North Vietnam in exchange for peace talks, an offer he originally made last August. He further declared he had ordered the U.S. military to engage in no attacks on Vietnam except in the area north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), where the President states that threats remain. He also called for a tax increase to help fund the war.

All of these important observations were lost, however, with the stunning announcement at the end of the speech that Johnson would under no circumstances be the party nominee.

REACTION

Reaction both home and abroad consisted of "stunned disbelief," followed immediately by praise for the President from some of his most vocal critics. Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) praised Johnson as "a great patriot" and said that the President's actions of no more bombing and withdrawal from the race were "hopeful gestures" towards peace. But because politics takes no breather, the reactions of the other candidates seeking to replace Johnson were quite interesting. Richard M. Nixon, the former Vice-President, immediately charged that "someone espousing the Johnson philosophy" would seek the nomination while Senator Eugene McCarthy praised Johnson his public service and then expressed the view that Johnson's withdrawal made McCarthy's own ascent to the Oval Office more likely. McCarthy will address the nation on television tonight regarding his own plans. The withdrawal unquestionably takes the momentum off what is expected to be a McCarthy win in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary. Senator Kennedy, now the probable Democratic front-runner, praised Johnson for his "magnanimous" decision and then promptly went on the offensive against Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, who is likely to enter the race now that Johnson has withdrawn. Humphrey was informed of the President's decision earlier on Sunday just before the Vice President departed to Mexico City.

Of course, there is no telling how the bombshell announcement will play out for either party, even as early as Tuesday. Republicans may see fewer crossovers now that the result of the Wisconsin primary has become virtually meaningless for the Democrats. 

SOURCES

"Johnson's Decision Not to Run Stuns Nation," United Press International, Kenosha News, April 1, 1968, 1. 

"RFK Praises Johnson Move," Ibid., 1.