Faustian Bargains: Lyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace in the Robber Baron Culture of Texas

Mellen (The Great Game in Cuba), professor of English at Temple University, takes a vicious swing at President Lyndon Johnson, positing—with limited evidence—that there is no perfidy to which Johnson did not succumb. Mellen suggests that Johnson gave orders to a shady Texas figure, Mac Wallace, to murder an individual whose knowledge of Johnson’s misdeeds would be damaging. She insinuates that Johnson was involved in seven more murders, including that of President Kennedy, and that Johnson was guilty of war crimes for abandoning U.S. Naval personnel during a 1967 incident in which USS Liberty was “mistakenly” torpedoed by Israeli forces. Mellen also claims that, while president, Johnson planned the assassination of Cambodian Prince Sihanouk to facilitate bringing U.S. troops to Cambodia to further the Vietnam War effort. There is much more here for readers interested in Mellen’s relentless attacks on Johnson’s legacy. She indicts Johnson and an advisor for “having brokered the unforgivable, the killing of least two million Vietnamese,” and reduces Johnson’s Great Society accomplishments to a “cynical ploy designed to provide him a fresh persona.” Mellen may be right about Johnson, but much of her case is based on speculation, circumstantial evidence, or testimony of dubious reliability. (Sept.)