The former first lady of the second most important President of the 20th century died

[dsc]

and not one, single solitary word on MTP. Not one. ABC's show had the In Memoriam which she led off. There had better not be huge deals made of Reagan or Ford when they go (Ford would be OK if it is limited to her work with addiction). This is totally disgraceful and sexist to boot. Jackie O got a big send off, Lady Bird should have too. Shame on our shallow society.

[wildhorses]

1. cbs sunday morning did a segment

it was nice.

[dsc]

2. Since Face the Nation is only a half hour

I am glad they had time on CBS Sunday Morning. I have no idea of NBC covered Johnson on their Today show or not.

[MADem]

3. Shallow society? Fatboy Russert isn't our spokesman. Don't look to that BushCo stoolie for

any kind of validation, you'll be waiting for a long, LONG time.

CSPAN will rerun the funeral. Watch it, and remember a life well lived.

[rudeboy666]

4. Prezs only

It's nice to recognize the wives. There is no denying that they were probably a significant part of a president's (and our country's) life.

However, when all is said and done, they were not the presidents.

Besides, the whole concept of a 'first lady' is extremely sexist.

[Sadie4629]

5. Part of the reason--

is that she was 94 years old, her husband has been dead for more than 30 years, and she has been pretty much completely out of the spotlight for decades.

Jackie Kennedy so fascinated people that she was NEVER out of the spotlight, even though she would have liked to be.

If there is attention paid when Mrs. Ford dies, it will probably be because of her own struggles with addiction and alcoholism. If you were around at that time, you will remember what a huge "scandal" that was.

Don't know about Nancy Reagan. Guess it depends on when she dies and how much media attention she gets between now and then.

While we are on the subject, I know Bess Truman was alive into the 70's, but don't remember when she died. She must not have had much of a send-off at all. Mamie Eisenhower either.

I only know that Mrs. Truman was alive in the 70's because my social studies teacher once remarked that she still had Secret Service protection, even though she was confined to a nursing home, or something.

[UrbScotty]

23. Bess Truman died in October 1982; Mamie Eisenhower in November 1979

So says Wikipedia

[Sadie4629]

6. Second most important Prez?

Who is the most important? Reagan? :evilgrin:

[dsc]

10. FDR

[TwilightGardener]

7. I doubt that most historians would place Johnson as 2nd in importance

for the 20th century. Sorry, not seeing that. Not to tarnish his legacy and accomplishments on civil rights and poverty, but he was a mixed bag and Vietnam really took the shine off his apple.

[dsc]

11. important

isn't necessarily great. FDR is 1 and Johnson is 2 for this century in terms of importance. W is currently 3 I would think. Go ahead and name an issue that is relevent today and it is likely to go back to Johnson (aside from gay rights and abortion). It is virtually impossible to envision the last part of the 20th century or even the first part of the 21st without the programs of Johnson.

[DFW]

13. Not to nitpick, but

W didn't become president until 20 days into the 21st Century.

He's only the second president we've had in this century, and Clinton
was only president for 19 and a half days of this century (unfortunately!).

[TwilightGardener]

20. Sorry, still think he wouldn't be #2--he'd be in the top 5, maybe.

You're leaving out Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Nixon, etc--I agree with you that important doesn't = greatness, but I also don't think important necessarily = lasting government programs either. The way a President responds to, and helps shape, critical moments in history, and the way he influences the times he presides in, are for me more of a measure of importance. LBJ obviously meets that standard to some degree, for both good and bad reasons, but I'm not convinced that he was the "right man for the times"--he was an accidental President, and while he certainly had some good/lasting programs on the domestic front, how much of his Presidential legacy was really his, and how much can be traced back to JFK's vision?

[YOY]

25. I'd put Reagan into Number 2 for purposes of laying out the next 30 years

In terms of destroying us from the inside. (at least in attempt I hope...)

[malaise]

8. Lady Bird's burial is on CSpan now n/t

[Bitwit1234]

9. I bet if Nancy or Laura go

they will cancel all programming and run special after special..That liberal media, they sure like to support the republicans don't they.

[Madspirit]

12. Wow...that's all that's been on the news in Austin...where I live

Betty Ford, if you saw her on 60 Minutes recently, is to be lauded for more than just her addiction work. She supports gay marriage. She supports CHOICE. She is anti-war. She is extremely progressive. Or she was lying through her teeth on 60 Minutes.

All that has been on the news in Austin since the day Lady Bird died, is Lady Bird. Which has been fine with me. I love her. Seems to me she got a huge send-off. Everyone was there. I guess I don't watch mainstream tv enough to know what they've covered. If they didn't cover it sufficiently, shame on them.

Lee

[WHAT]

14. Wasn't Ladybird the one who...

blocked the bill boards along the highways?. I think that was one of the best actions ever! and worth a message.

[OzarkDem]

15. Also got LBJ to create Head Start

She had many accomplishments, great lady.

[Lisa]

17. yes, and a lot more stuff besides ...

http://www.wildflower.org/ladybird/

One environmental studies professor I know is convinced that Ladybird played a key role in a lot of legislation that laid the groundwork for the current interest in "sustainability" and "community-based restoration". She was at least two decades ahead of her time (way before the Brundtland Commission's report on sustainable development, in the 1980s). It was quite a radical step, to argue that the environment and social justice were linked together. Even into the 1990s some activists were still insisting that you couldn't have both -- you had to go with either environmental protection, or economic exploitation that would create prosperity -- and that urban sprawl, pollution, and the loss of habitat were regrettable things that were "necessary" to create jobs for the poor.

Ladybird also urged that beauty shouldn't be the preserve of the wealthy. It's been difficult to persuade people that aesthetically-pleasing surroundings should be viewed as a human right, and not as a "frill", or as a "reward" only for those who had made it into the upper class (and something that would be wasted on low-income communities). That may be why a lot of environmental activists have focused on the public health aspect instead (e.g. poor water quality making people sick), because it's less abstract. The billboard law, and the one about planting wildflowers along highways, were efforts to change people's attitudes about the commodification of beautiful landscapes. Perhaps more subtle than expanding public education and free libraries (other progressive movements from the 19th and early 20th centuries) -- but ultimately just as meaningful to a just and enlightened society.

[EFerrari]

19. We should put together a thread of her achievements.

She did so much and it seems that very few people are aware of it. Lyndon was such an overwhelming personality, he got the press. But she worked away, anyway. :)

[Lisa]

21. I've been thinking about it, and have decided to structure the fall course I'll be teaching ...

... to incorporate Mrs. Johnson's work. The prof I mentioned earlier is retiring, and he asked me to take over the class, which deals with landscape architecture, community planning, and natural areas management. He mentions the White House Conference on Natural Beauty in his book, but students have complained that policy analysis is boring and doesn't seem to be relevant for those who want to get involved in activism right away. I'm thinking that I can change this if I redo the course to look at the work of some key people -- Ladybird Johnson, Beatrix Potter (who helped found Britain's National Trust), Emily Carr (a local Canadian artist who helped shift our view of the forest from a hostile place that should be exploited, to a place of beauty that needed to be protected) -- and Jane Jacobs (the community planner who passed away a few years ago). Looking at the struggles they faced when trying to change things would not only give a sense of the history, but also of what still needs to be done today, and what lessons their work can teach us.

[EFerrari]

22. Sounds like a great course. I'd sign up for it!

So much buried activism.

[UTUSN]

16. K&R #1 for excellent o.p. n/t

[EFerrari]

18. It's a disgrace. Shame on them. K&R

[JI7]

24. i agree, on the day she died, you woudln't have known it watching TV News

unless you sat through the whole program. if you tuned in at the start of the hour to see what the headlines were you would not have known she died.

when i read on DU she died i turned on the tv expecting they would be running bios and memorials on her but i didn't.

just disgusting.