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He also became the particular protege of family friend and fellow Texan Sam Rayburn, who got President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to appoint Johnson director of the National Youth Administration for Texas. Lyndon used his position as a springboard to a successful campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was then 29, and except for seven months in the Navy, he has held national elective office ever since.
Those Missing Ballots. In 1941 Congressman Johnson ran for the Senate in a special election, came in second out of 29 candidates. In 1948 he tried again —and beat former Governor Coke Stevenson in a runoff primary by precisely 87 votes out of 988,295 cast. Stevenson of course charged fraud, but couldn't prove it—the suspect ballots had mysteriously disappeared.
In the Senate, Johnson drew early attention by organizing and running the Preparedness Subcommittee after the start of the Korean war. The subcommittee saved the taxpayers $500 million by recommending changes in the tin program, another $1 billion by discovering that the Government was paying too much for natural rubber. Johnson's talent for getting his colleagues to agree was already in evidence: all 46 of the subcommittee's reports were unanimous.
Partly on that basis, but mostly at the urging of Georgia's Democratic Senator Richard Russell, Lyndon was elected Democratic floor leader in 1953. As leader of the Senate he often put in 18-hour days, and, at 6 ft. 3 in. and 200 Ibs., seemed as hale and hearty as anyone in Washington. But a massive heart attack in 1955 slowed him down temporarily, cut his smoking from three packs a day to none, and tempered his ambitions for even higher office.
Only One Boss. Johnson is now President of the U.S. because he changed his mind at the last minute about accepting John Kennedy's offer to be his running mate. At the 1960 convention, Johnson was Kennedy's strongest opponent, and Lyndon had some rather unkind things to say about Jack. But after Kennedy won on the first ballot, he asked Lyndon to take the vice-presidential nomination. At first Lyndon refused to trade "a vote for a gavel." But he finally accepted. Said he to Kennedy: "I know there is only one boss. That's you."
As candidate, Johnson helped secure Texas for the Democratic ticket, and as Vice President, he served the President well. Johnson's tongue can turn nasty. But if anyone ever heard him say anything disloyal to his White House leader, the fact is not on record.
Being Vice President, Johnson automatically became a member of the National Security Council and head of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. He also sat in at Cabinet meetings. Kennedy beefed up the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and put it under Johnson's chairmanship. Lyndon also became Kennedy's sometime emissary overseas. In 1961 he went to Southeast Asia, continued around the world. Later that year he was rushed to Berlin when The Wall went up. In 1962 he barnstormed through the Middle East, struck up his famous friendship with Bashir Ahmad, the camel driver. So far this year Johnson has been in Scandinavia and the Benelux countries.