Cur Dogs And The Presidency

Speaking of talking about a president like he was a dog, Lyndon Johnson once complained about it to Everett Dirksen, the Republican leader in the Senate when LBJ was president. But he did it as a joke and the two men laughed. He knew criticism came with the territory. It's hard to imagine a sit down between Obama and any leading Republican going down like this:

And every now and then, Everett Dirksen would call -- he was the Republican leader -- and he said, "Jack -- " you know, he had a voice that was like honey dripping over metal tiles; he'd say, "Jack, I want to see the boss later on today, and maybe we could have a drink and talk about a few things." And I'd say, "Yes, sir, Senator. The President will see you at six o'clock. How's that?" "Yes, that'd be fine."

And then he'd rise in the Senate at about three o'clock in the afternoon and accuse Johnson of every crime that the most depraved mind could be capable of committing, and then at six o'clock he'd show up, and I'd go up with him to the second floor of the mansion, and we'd sit and talk. And the President would say, "Everett, I wouldn't talk about a cur dog the way you did me in the Senate." "Well," he said, "Mr. President, you know I vow to tell the truth, so I had no choice." And then they would laugh, and then they would recount some old, long-fought battles.

I think Johnson was one of the worst president's in American history. He was also one of the most interesting. If anyone loved a political fight it was LBJ and he was a master at the game. It would never occur to him to publicly whine about being criticized and I'm sure he expected nothing less of Dirksen. Man up, Barack.