All the Way (2016) - full transcript

He's gone.

Lyndon.

Lyndon.

Wake up, honey.

We're about to land in Washington.

Okay.

Did you hear from Bobby?

He'll be waiting on the tarmac.

There will be
reporters there, too.

You'll be expected to make a
statement, something short.

Thank you.



I wanna reach out
to the leadership

as soon as we hit the ground.

I wanna talk to each
and every one of them.

You call Rose Kennedy?

I did.

My Lord, what that woman
has been through.

Your lipstick.

- What?
- Fix your lipstick.

Oh.

How did John
Connally's surgery go?

Doctors are optimistic.

Ah.

Thank God for that.

Jackie?



She won't change her clothes.

Says she wants them to see
what they have done to Jack.

You see the way she stared at
me before I took the oath?

- She's upset, honey.
- We're all upset, Bird.

We're all upset.

Walter, a televised address
to both houses of Congress

as soon as it seems decent.

Where were you just
now, Mr President?

Accidental President.

That's what they'll say.

Well,

we'll have to change
that next November.

I keep having this dream.

I'm back in the Hill
Country in the old days,

hiding down in the root cellar

while a Comanche
war party searches

through the house
just over my head,

hunting for me.

It's so dark down
there, like a grave.

The President of
the United States.

For this terrible moment,

I wonder if I'm dead already

or buried alive.

Mr President.

I piss myself like an idiot
child crouching in the dirt,

knowing it's only a matter of time
now before they find the trapdoor,

discover me,

haul me, screaming,
up into the light,

where their knives gleam.

All I have,

I would have given gladly not
to be standing here today.

The greatest leader of our
time has been struck down

by the foulest deed of our time.

John F. Kennedy
told his countrymen

that our national work
would not be finished

in the life of this
administration,

nor even perhaps in
our own lifetime.

"But," he said,

"let us begin."

Today, I'd say to all
my fellow Americans,

let us continue.

We have talked long enough in
this country about civil rights.

We have talked for
100 years or more.

It is time now to write the next
chapter in the books of law.

I urge you lo enact President

Kennedy's civil
rights bill into law,

so that we can eliminate
from this nation

every trace of discrimination that
is based upon race or colour.

That's right.

You hear what that Negro comedian
Dick Gregory said about me?

"When Lyndon Johnson finished his

speech, 20 million
Negroes unpacked."

That was a fine
speech, Mr President.

Dear to my heart, but
I know some people

are wondering, "Did
he really mean it?"

Well, you could tell
that liberal crowd of

yours that I'm gonna
out-Lincoln Lincoln.

But you need to get behind me

because you know Dick
Russell and the Dixiecrats

are gonna fight me tooth and
nail on this civil rights stuff.

Now, not too tight in
the bunghole, Manny.

And give me some extra
room in my pockets there

for my stuff, my
keys and my knife,

and leave me some slack
for my nut sack.

Walter.

Walter, you let me know the
minute Dick Russell gets here

and get me Katharine Graham
from the Post, will you?

But timing is critical here,
Hubert, you understand me?

With the election only
11 months away...

If the Republicans are foolish

enough to nominate
Barry Goldwater,

you'll beat him with both
hands tied behind your back.

Well, Goldwater is
tougher than you think.

But first, I gotta win the
Democratic nomination.

Holy crap. What happened here?

You tell Lady Bird about this, and
she'll starve me for a month.

- Senator Russell.
- Oh. Yep, yep.

Give me one minute.

George Wallace is a nobody.

Well, it wasn't Wallace
I'm thinking of.

You don't have to
worry about Bobby.

Bobby Kennedy would just soon
cut my throat as smile at me.

You know how strongly I feel
about this civil rights bill.

If there's anything I can do...

Yeah, yeah, I'll keep
that in mind, Hubert.

Mr President.

Senator Russell.

Ah. Uncle Dick.

Well, well, well.

- Mr President.
- Ah. Lyndon, Lyndon, please.

No, sir. No, not any more.

Wouldn't be respectful.

Well, in public, then, but
nothing else changes between us.

Now, hell, I owe everything I have

to your good wisdom
and generosity,

and don't you think for a
second I'll ever forget it.

Well, you did throw me for a
bit of a loop last night.

A civil rights bill with
your election coming up?

For 100 years, the Democratic
Party's had a lock on the South.

It'd be a foolish thing
to throw that away.

Oh, hell, Dick, you know
I got to throw Humphrey

and the rest of those liberals a

little bit of red
meat now and again.

Yes, but...

Sir, Dr Martin Luther
King is on three.

Well, he can wait.

So last night was just
election-year politics or not?

Absolutely.

But I need you to hold the
South for me, Uncle Dick.

Party unity, it is
gonna be critical.

Well, we can talk more about it

when Lady Bird and I have you over
for dinner on Thursday, as usual.

Oh. There's no need for that now.

Oh. Our Thursday
dinners are sacred.

Well...

Hey, why don't you
bring your swimsuit

and you could paddle
your milk-white ass

around the White House
pool before dinner?

Congratulations, Mr President.

Thank you, Senator.

What the hell was she thinking?

Won't happen again, sir.

J. Edgar Hoover on four.

I mean no disrespect, but take
down that stuff over there.

- Edgar.
- Mr President.

The FBI is here to assist
in any way we can.

Oh, hell, Edgar, you're more
than the head of the Bureau.

You're my brother.

Now, if the Bureau needs anything
from me, you just let me know.

Well, in light of your
announcement last night,

I think we should have a
discussion regarding Dr King.

I recently acquired
certain information

which is deeply troubling.

Edgar, Edgar, I hate to interrupt,

but they're pulling me
six ways from Sunday.

Mr President.

I'm interested in this, and
we'll talk soon, I promise.

If I could just...

Did King screw his
sister or something?

That man's obsessed.

All right, Manny, let's
just get this over with.

What?

What is it?

Katharine Graham of The
Washington Post is on two.

- What?
- And Dr King is still on three.

Look, I don't need to be
reminded of what I already know.

God damn it, you
know, you're fired.

Go on, get the hell out of here.

Walter, get me another secretary
who knows what she's doing.

And one with a little meat on
her bones, for Christ's sake.

Not another one of these
scrawny, old Washington biddies.

Oh, God damn it, Manny.

Don't you have
anything that doesn't

make me look like a
dago undertaker?

I wanna thank you, Dr King, for
your public expression of support.

Well, we were all
very heartened by

your speech last
night, Mr President.

Well, it ain't gonna be easy.

- It's a difficult time.
- Yes, it is.

But, as you suggested,

the greatest tribute we can
pay to President Kennedy

is to enact his civil rights
bill, especially voting rights.

Yeah, well, you're preaching
to the choir there, Reverend.

Voting rights is the
meat of the coconut,

and we're gonna pass that bill,
as is, without changing a word.

But, boy, I'm gonna
have to have your help.

Well, you know you have it, sir.

Well, thank you,
Martin. Thank you.

And listen, why don't you
call next time you're up here

and any suggestions you have,

- bring them in.
- Well, actually...

Just blowing smoke up my ass.

He called for a civil rights bill
in front of Congress, Martin.

Kennedy made promises,
too, Stanley.

- He just never delivered.
- He's no George Wallace.

You sure? So deep
in Russell's back

pocket, you'd think
he was humping him.

He passed the '57
Civil Rights Act.

After he gutted it first.

That bill was like soup

made from the bones of
an emaciated chicken.

Martin, listen, he's a
Southern politician.

He's spent his entire life
trying to be president.

But he's there now.

For the first time, he can
do whatever he wants.

That's the question, isn't it?

What does Lyndon
Johnson really want?

Well, whatever it
is, 11 months from

now, he has to run
for re-election.

Like Kennedy, he damn sure is
gonna need the Negro vote to win.

Amen.

LBJ wants our support.

Okay.

But this president
is gonna have to

deliver a real civil rights bill.

And we're gonna hold his feet
to the fire until he does.

- Damn right.
- That's right.

11 months from now, he has
to run for re-election.

Like Kennedy, he damn sure is
gonna need the Negro vote to win.

Amen.

Stanley Levison.

Why is this so-called
"Reverend" Martin Luther King

taking advice from a
well-known Communist agitator?

That's a very good question, sir.

Let's see who else
King is meeting.

I want all his travel
covered from now on.

- Get started.
- Yes, sir.

I will leave the
goddamn Democratic

Party before I turn it over

to a bunch of Congolese savages.

Now, hold on a second, Strom.

This bill is just the
thin edge of the wedge.

You saw what King and his
bunch did in Birmingham.

Why, integrated buses
are just the beginning.

Now we gotta shop with them,
eat with them, work with them.

We have been oppressed and
degraded by black, slimy,

unbearably stinking niggers.

That's enough of
that kind of talk.

That's exactly what
they wanna hear,

so they can dismiss us all
as a bunch of redneck goons.

Thank you, Joles.

We have to be very careful
how we handle this.

The issue is not about race.

It's about the gravest
possible assault

on the United States Constitution,

which we are fighting to defend.

The president is actively
gathering signatures

for a discharge
petition to get the

bill out of my committee
in the House.

And what do you expect
him to do, Judge?

He's got to at least look
lively on civil rights.

When the time comes, he's
gonna do the right thing.

He'll gut the bill?

Yes. He knows who his friends are.

But if he gets the bill
out of my committee?

It still has to go through the
House, then out of Jim's committee

before it even gets
to the Senate floor.

And none of this can get
in the way of party unity.

In this election, we can
have a lock on the Senate

and a lock on the
House, and we can

elect a Southern
Democrat president.

It's about time the South
rejoined the rest of the country.

My friends, if we do our part,

Lyndon is gonna know who
to thank on November 4th.

And don't you worry
about the president.

I know how to handle him.

Well, the mainstream
of American politics

has carried you and me down to the
road to statism and socialism

and the destruction of the
Constitution of the United States.

And I am, for one,
am already out of

the mainstream of
American politics.

He sure gets people stirred
up, even in Milwaukee.

When we get to Atlantic City, I
will be the Democratic nominee.

But how damaged will you be?

Be plenty strong enough for
Goldwater in November.

What if Bobby smells blood and
decides to run at the last minute?

That little shit doesn't
have his brother's balls.

Still has his daddy's money.

You might win the nomination,
but if the party splits...

Oh, come on now, Dick.

All Wallace has to beat you with
is this damn civil rights bill,

and I don't, for the
life of me, understand

why you are giving him this issue.

At this point, I'm more
worried about the liberals

than I am about the Dixiecrats.

We got to give them
something this time, Dick.

- You know that.
- You got to look like

you're giving them something.

All I'm saying is,
don't work so hard

to get this bill out of the House.

I do what I can.

Now, Lyndon, you're gonna talk
poor Uncle Dick to death,

and here Zephyr's made
his favourite dinner,

- and it's getting cold.
- Saved by the belle.

Bird, you look
beautiful as always.

And you are a terrible
liar as always.

Politician's curse.

So, do you like being
the First Lady?

Well, it's been an adjustment.

- I can imagine.
- But I am enjoying it.

"Any jackass can kick a barn down,

"but it takes a carpenter
to build one."

You remember who told me that?

Sam Rayburn?

Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House.

Oh, I could've kissed
his bald head.

Thank you.

God knows I've been
kissing his ass

since the day I moved
to Washington,

trying to get him to
take notice of me.

You know what Mr Sam wanted?

- His greatest regret?
- No, sir.

A towheaded boy to take fishing.

Well, I heard that, and I did
my damnedest to be that boy.

Suck-up? Yeah.

Brown noser? Sure.

Kiss-ass? You bet.
I heard them all.

Fuck you.

Everybody wants power, Walter.

Everybody.

And if they say they
don't, they're lying.

Yes, sir.

But everybody thinks
it ought to be given

out, free of charge,
like Mardi Gras beads.

Especially to them
because, of course,

they're gonna do good with it.

Nothing comes free.

Nothing.

Not even good.

Especially not good.

When the carpenter picks up
his saw, if wood could talk,

it would scream.

You cannot cut voting rights
out of the civil rights bill.

Well, you can't pass the civil

rights bill with
it, not this year.

You told Dr King you
wanted this bill

passed without one word changed.

You don't go and sell a
horse by talking about it

being blind in one eye
and got the heaves.

They're gonna think you're
just gutting the bill, sir.

Bullshit.

It's still a damn good bill.

Public housing, access,
school desegregation...

Don't you tell me

- that ain't nothing, God damn it.
- The liberal wing of the party

- will think you've betrayed them.
- Well, those are your people.

It's your job to
bring them around.

My job?

Hell, yes. You're the great white
hope of liberals everywhere.

Well, if I'm anything
like what you say,

it's because people know I
stand by my principles.

"Principles"? Shit.

This ain't about principles,
it's about votes.

You know, that's the problem
with you goddamn liberals.

You don't know how to fight.

Mr President...

You say you're the leader
of the liberal wing

of the Democratic Party?

Then show me some
goddamn leadership.

Look out.

- I got no brakes.
- Look out.

- No brakes. Hold on.
- Jeez.

Hold on.

What in...

My... What?

I thought I was a goner.

- This is watertight.
- Well, it's an amphibious car.

- It's a car and a boat.
- I have never seen such a thing.

I wish I had a photograph
of your face. Whoo.

- I've never.
- Oh.

Do you wanna know what the ugliest
sound in the world is, Hubert?

It's the tick-tick-tick
of a clock.

All the men in my
family die young.

I nearly died of that heart
attack 10 years ago.

- A terrible time.
- Yeah.

And I ain't got much time left.

You and me, we got till
the convention in August,

while the people are still
grieving Kennedy's death,

to get this bill passed.

Now, if we don't act
now, this opportunity

to do something about civil rights

will just disappear forever.

- Now, are you in or are you out?
- Well, that...

Can you get the bill out of
the House Rules Committee?

Leave Judge Smith to me.

- And voting rights.
- Next year.

- No...
- No, no, you have my word.

Gonna be a very, very
difficult sell, Mr President.

Oh. I know. I know.

That's why I want you to be the
floor manager of this bill.

Floor manager?

I assumed that Majority
Leader Mansfield...

No, no.

Mike is a good man,

but, boy, I need someone
more personable.

And people like you, Hubert.

Hell, even Dick Russell likes you.

- Well, I wouldn't go that far.
- No, he does.

He does.

You know I'm under a
lot of pressure to

announce my running
mate for the election.

Now, you show me

that you got the guts to
push this thing through,

and you make yourself
one very real candidate

to become my Vice President
of the United States

of America.

A step away from the White House.

And as we've seen,

anything can happen from there.

There's a barn owl out there
in the live oaks hunting mice.

Is Hubert on board?

Yeah.

One heart attack in a lifetime
is plenty, thank you very much.

Why do I put up with you?

Because you would
be lost without me.

King won't be so easy.

He won't trust me now, and
I can't say I blame him.

He doesn't know you yet.

If I keep King's support, I
risk losing Uncle Dick's.

I may have, in any case.

I always thought it would
take a Southern president

to drag the South out of the past.

Shit, they're not gonna
thank me for it.

You promised this country a civil
rights bill, Mr President.

And the voting rights
component is critical.

Absolutely critical, and
we're gonna fix that.

Just not in this bill.

Right now, we're gonna take care

of segregation in public
accommodations first.

I got it. I'll get that,
Manny. Thank you.

You know every year, my
cook, Zephyr Wright...

Oh.

Best damn chicken-fried steak
you ever put in your mouth.

Well, every year, she and her
husband drive my Packard

from Washington back down
to the ranch for me.

Well...

Now, Zephyr, she can't use any
restrooms on those highways

because they're all whites only.

She got to squat in a field by the

side of the road
to pee like a dog.

Now, that's just not right, and,
by God, we're gonna fix that.

Well, nothing in this country will

ever change until
Negroes can vote.

The next bill will
be voting rights.

After President
Kennedy's election,

Eisenhower had publicly declared

that his party had taken the
Negro vote for granted.

I would hate to see the Democratic
Party make the same mistake.

If you think Barry Goldwater's a

legitimate heir to
Abraham Lincoln,

you should vote for him.

You know, civil
rights isn't the only

thing I'm interested in, Dr King.

We got people in this country
living in unbelievable poverty.

I know.

I grew up like that
in the Hill Country.

Picking cotton on
my hands and knees,

harnessed like a mule
to a road plough,

living off the bitter
charity of my neighbours.

But we're gonna change all that.

We're gonna declare
a war on poverty.

A war on poverty?

That's right.

Now, I got all kinds of
federal programs in mind

on health, education,
literacy, jobs, you name it.

We're gonna change this
country top to bottom.

That sounds extraordinary.

There you go.

And I would very enthusiastically

support legislation
to that effect.

But right now,

I need to be able to go back
to my people and tell them

that this president is
committed to civil rights,

and that this bill, even
without voting rights,

will still be a strong bill
with no further changes.

If I can't do that,
I'll lose their faith.

And in their despair, I...

I don't know what'll happen.

Is that a threat?

I don't want riots any
more than you do.

But,

in order to avoid that
type of situation,

I need to be able to
deliver meaningful reform.

Okay.

Okay.

Now here's what I need.

The bill is stuck in Judge
Smith's Rules Committee,

and I need at least eight
votes... Walter. To pry it out.

Five Republicans and
three Democrats.

Walter. Oh, good. All right, here.

Now, you get your people

in each one of these districts
here, your ministers,

your clergy, your union
guys, and what have you,

to lobby these House members
to release that bill.

And lobbying is just like
propositioning women, you know?

I knew this fellow once.

Ooh. He was a real ladies' man.

He got more pussy
than you ever saw.

And I said to him,
"What is your secret?"

And he said, "Well,
I go into a bar,

"and I ask each woman if
she'd like to fool around."

I said, "Boy, you must've
got slapped a lot."

He said, "Oh, hell yeah.

"But I also got me
a lot of yeses."

Well, now,

we only need eight yeses

to get that bill out of
Judge Smith's committee.

All right.

All right.

He said he'd get it
out of committee

and, by God, he did.

Hallelujah.

And all it cost us was the
voting rights section.

The point is we can work
with this president.

Now he's asking for our further
assistance in lobbying Congress.

What do we have to lose?

Do we have to endorse
his candidacy as well?

You still plan on voting
Republican this election, Bob?

You know, Goldwater came
out against civil rights,

purely on constitutional
grounds, of course.

Yes, personally Goldwater
deplores racism.

I just think asking
for my vote while

denying me the right
to vote is bullshit.

The bill still gives us a lot.

Unless he gives that away, too.

I have his word there will
be no more compromises.

His word? Are you serious?

I cannot support a bill
without voting rights.

I'm not asking you to.

I'm asking you to not
work against it.

The president is
planning new legislation

that will bring a huge
federal intervention

to poverty, hunger, and jobs.

Think what that will
do for our people.

- Forty acres and a mule.
- That's right.

What if he's serious?

Okay.

We will not campaign
against the bill,

but we're not gonna sit
on our hands either.

What does the visionary
Bob Moses propose?

Freedom Summer.

We are going to flood the
state of Mississippi

with hundreds of
student volunteers

to educate and
register Negro voters.

You crazy.

- Mississippi?
- Not just Negro volunteers.

White students, too.

If just one of your white
volunteers gets hurt,

you will do irreparable
damage to the cause.

That's right.

Whereas if one of our
Negro volunteers

gets hurt, who gives a fuck?

There may be trouble,

but if it takes some white
kid getting smacked around

to shed a little light on the
darkness that is Mississippi,

then why not?

Because people will
die in Mississippi.

Roy, people are dying
in Mississippi.

Exactly. Exactly.

- We're not asking...
- All right, all right, calm down.

Nobody in here gonna do
anything they can't get behind.

But we should respond to the
elimination of voting rights,

and Freedom Summer is the
perfect way to do that.

At the same time,
Roy, you are right.

The bill still does give us a lot.

No one in this room has your
legislative experience.

So clearly, you and
the NAACP should

lead our lobbying efforts in DC

All right?

Yes, okay.

Gentlemen.

Lord have mercy.

One of these days, Stokely and
Wilkins gonna kill each other

right there in the
middle of the room.

In that case, we
should sell tickets,

so I can stop giving speeches.

I know that's right.

First thing tomorrow,

let's reach out and
get our membership

mobilised on this new campaign.

Yeah.

You need anything else?

I'm okay.

Good night, then.

Give me a minute.

Whoo.

The sex-mad preacher.

His hypocrisy is disgusting. The
man is a flagrant adulterer.

Oh, my.

A Southern preacher who fucks his
choir. Who ever heard of that?

Oh, Edgar,

if you arrested every politician

and every preacher who ever
strayed from the marital bed,

wouldn't be nobody in
politics or the pulpit.

His moral turpitude is just
the tip of the iceberg.

Why, his Communist connections...

Edgar,

far be it from me to tell
you how to do your job.

So keep an eye on him, sure,

but the House is about to
vote on my civil rights bill.

And this

is not helpful.

- You understand me?
- Yes, sir.

As part of Freedom Summer,

the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee, or SNCC,

is recruiting and
training black and

white college students
from the North

and bussing them into Mississippi
to register black voters.

Police have confronted
the activists,

leading to violent clashes.

For two weeks, we've been training

to join other Freedom Summer
organisers in Mississippi.

But I cannot emphasise enough to
you the dangers you will face.

The federal government
will not protect you,

and the Mississippi
government will

do everything it can to stop you.

If at any time you wish to quit,

you should do so, including now.

All right. Let's get started.

Get on board

Children, children, get on board

Children, children, get on board

Children, children

Let's fight for freedom now

Get on board

Children, children, get on board

Children, children, get on board

We will now call the House
of Representatives to order

to consider House Bill 736,

the Civil Rights Act Of 1964.

- Mr Speaker.
- Can you hear that?

This bill is nothing less than
an assault on the Constitution

by the federal government.

Who are we

to tell the owner of a cafe who
he can hire or who he can serve?

Who are we to tell a state

that they may not pass
segregation laws?

As a conservative Republican,

I believe that state authority
should not be needlessly usurped.

Hear, hear.

But I also believe that the
Constitution doesn't say

that whites alone shall
have our basic rights.

Didn't see that coming.

McCulloch is just playing
to the peanut gallery.

Well...

Are you, Lyndon?

Is this just still so much red
meat for Humphrey and his gang?

People aren't gonna stand for
Jim Crow any more, Uncle Dick.

I'm not saying the Negro
hasn't been put upon.

He has been put upon
most disgracefully.

But you can't rush these things.
Look at the mess in Mississippi

with all those
agitators going down

there, getting in
people's business.

Folks are gonna get hurt.

And whose fault would that be?

Mr Speaker,

I would like to
introduce an amendment

that would exempt local businesses
in public accommodations.

For instance, if you
were a podiatrist

and had your office in a hotel.

Come on.

If I were cutting corns,
I would wanna know

whose feet I was gonna have
to be monkeying around with.

Boo.

Unbelievable.

I would want to know whether
they smelt good or bad.

God's honest truth.

Podiatrists, like other
minorities, got rights, too.

- That's nonsense.
- Yes, sir.

To force them to work

violates the 13th
Amendment's prohibition

against slavery or
involuntary servitude.

You know, if that's the best
the judge has to offer,

he should've lost his
chairmanship a long time ago.

- Lyndon.
- Mr Speaker.

I, for one, am fed
up with amendments

that suddenly or blatantly
defeat the purpose of this bill.

And to my esteemed
colleague, Judge Smith,

if you're going to trim the
stinky, smelly white corns...

you're gonna have to do the
same thing to the black ones.

That's telling him.

My goodness, man.

Call for a vote, for God's sake.

With no more amendments
to be offered,

the Speaker calls for a final
vote on House Bill 736.

- Abbitt.
- Nay.

Mr Abbitt votes nay.

- Abele.
- Yea.

Mr Abele votes yea.

- Adair.
- Yea.

- Albert.
- Nay.

Mr Andrews from Alabama.

- Nay.
- Mr Andrews votes nay.

Mr Andrews from North Dakota.

- Yea.
- Mr Andrews votes yea.

Two-hundred and ninety votes for

and 130 votes against.

The bill passes and will
now go to the Senate.

We got it, Walter. Thank you.

General Burnside thought he'd
crush Lee at Fredericksburg.

His overconfidence
cost him his army.

And only three years later, Lee
surrendered at Appomattox.

Nobody's surrendering,
Mr President.

Thank you, Matthew. Most kind.

In St. Augustine, Florida,

Negro demonstrators
were attacked today

by an estimated 500 angry whites

when they broke
through police lines.

The conflict began when
200 Negro demonstrators,

led by Andrew Young and other
civil rights leaders...

"Trust LBJ. He's one of us."

Is this the first
time a civil rights

bill made it through the House?

So the bill goes to the
Senate. All right? So what?

How many civil rights bills have
you buried in the last 10 years?

One-hundred and twenty-one.

That graveyard of yours
got room for one more?

I'm digging a hole as we speak.

Well, all right, then.

If he does get it out of
committee, what then?

Then we filibuster it to death.

We stick together, we'll be fine.

Public opinion's already
against this bill,

especially with those
riots going on.

Time is on our side.

Thank you, gentlemen.

And I see no need why
we ought to sit idly by

and see a bill pass
in the American

Senate called "a
civil rights bill"

that will destroy
individual liberty

and freedom in this country.

Wallace is running at 90 % with
whites in eastern Maryland.

If he wins that primary, the
Senate will never pass the bill.

Wallace would be dead in the water
without these goddamn riots.

He is deliberately provocative.

King is supposed to
control his people.

I put my entire political
career at risk for the Negroes,

and this is the thanks I get?

- Put more money into Maryland.
- Yeah,

beef up my schedule there.

Now, what's your plan to get our
bill out of Eastland's committee?

Discharge petition.

Oh, shit. Why, you
don't have the votes.

No, but we're very close.

Close? "Close" don't make shit.

You don't have the goddamn votes.

Fine, what's your idea?

What? I can't hear a goddamn
thing you're saying, Humphrey.

Come on over here.

I said, what's your idea?

Well, right now it's all about
the rules of the Senate.

And Dick Russell's
been studying them

since he was sucking
on his mama's titty.

Boy, I've seen him
make a fool of you

liberals with some
arcane rule of order

more times than I can remember.

Hold on.

Ah. Son of a...

You know what?

There is a way that
we can completely

bypass Eastlands committee

without a discharge petition.

And with a little luck,

Russell won't even see it coming.

He did what?

I think the president just put
over the bill out of committee.

All right.

All right, keep Jim calm.

I'll handle this.

What do you think it is, why
it tastes a little different?

Well, it's the temperature
she cooked...

Everything all right, Uncle Dick?

Just peachy.

Would you like some more gravy?

Oh, Lady Bird, it was delicious,
but I just couldn't possibly.

- No, thank you.
- Hey, what about me?

Aren't you gonna offer
me any more gravy?

Well, honey, I'd like
to, but I can't.

Bird's got me on a diet.

Got Zephyr there in the kitchen
weighing my plates for every meal.

It's ridiculous.

Your wife just doesn't want you
to get too big for your britches.

An entirely
understandable concern.

I think I'll see how Zephyr's
coming with that cobbler.

I just heard how you snuck that
bill through Jim's committee

with some bogus procedural
point of order.

A perfectly legal manoeuvre, Uncle
Dick. Just like you taught me.

I also taught you something
about party loyalty.

Well, the party's changing.

This younger
generation's not gonna

fall on their sword
for segregation.

You think every Southerner is
gonna start dancing to your tune?

Wallace almost won Maryland.

But he didn't.

Another riot and he will. And
there will be more riots.

We're gonna filibuster this
bill. It will never pass.

Are you so sure about that?

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking you're gonna cut
a deal with Senator Dirksen.

You filibuster, what
choice do you leave me?

A Democratic president
ignoring his own party

and making a deal with the Senate
Minority Leader. Shameful.

Now, don't you get all
high and mighty with me.

You have been cutting deals

with those conservative
Republicans for years,

but now I can't cross the aisle?

Shit.

We don't have to fight, Dick.

Yes, we do.

I'm coming for you, Dick.

Now, I love you more
than my own daddy.

But if you get in my way...

I'll crush you.

I regret that the president

has embraced the radical program
of the left-wing groups

that is erroneously called
"the civil rights bill".

It is still a vicious assault
on the Constitution.

And we in the Senate
intend to fight

with our boots on
to the last ditch.

Beginning today, we will
filibuster this bill.

Let the real war begin.

This ain't about the Constitution.

It's about those who got more

wanting to hang on
to what they got

at the expense of those
who got nothing.

- And feel good about it.
- Yeah.

But the way he frames it, draping
himself in the Stars and Stripes,

it's compelling.

I mean, what are you fighting
for, darling, in your heart?

That's what the
people need to hear.

Look at that. Look at that.
Look at the size of his ears.

You get that?

Whoo-hoo.

Well, listen, I just wanna thank
you all for coming up here

and sharing some time with me.

I wanted to just respond
to what Senator Russell...

His decision,

unfortunate decision on
filibustering this bill.

It reminds me that when
I got out of college...

Now, the only job that I could get

was teaching first grade at this

beat-up, old elementary
school in Cotulla, Texas.

It was just a dusty, old border
town in the middle of nowhere.

Full of Mexican immigrants who
didn't have a pot to piss in.

But, God, did I love
those kids of mine.

They'd show up
hungry every morning

because most of them
hadn't had any breakfast.

But they were so on fire to learn.

It just made you feel good.

But there'd come a day

for each and every
one of them when I

would see the light
in their eyes die.

Because they had discovered
that the world hated them

just because of the
colour of their skin.

Well, some folks tell
me just to go slow.

They say the political
risk is too high.

And to that, I say, well,

if a president can't do
what he knows is right,

then what's the presidency for?

Senator Dirksen's
so-called amendments

are like putting a
Band-Aid on a cancer.

I have a real amendment to offer.

This map shows the
current concentration

of the Negro race in America.

I propose we resettle Southern
Negroes all over the country

until racial proportions are
equalised among the 50 states.

I favour inflicting on New
York and other cities

the same conditions that will
be inflicted by this bill

on the innocent people of Georgia.

Is the president caving in?

I'd ask him myself, but he's
no longer returning my calls.

Absolutely not.

My people have made every painful

sacrifice that's
been asked of them,

and the bill's still stuck.

Martin, I'm as
frustrated as you are,

but lining up votes to break the

filibuster's a
complicated process.

Dirksen's amendments
will gut the bill.

Dirksen needs to look
tough to his people.

The time for posturing is over.

It's time to act.

I've put all my
credibility on the line

telling our young people that
this president can be trusted,

but they want results.

They're down in
Mississippi right now

putting their lives at risk,

registering Negroes for a
vote they still don't have.

I want a good bill, too, Martin,

but you can't give people blood

tests for loyalty
every 15 minutes.

The president will
handle Everett Dirksen.

If this is what it takes
to move the bill,

I will start a public
fast to the death.

God, Martin, that's not necessary.

What choice do I have?

Right this way, Senator Dirksen.

Everett, what's this bullshit
about how I treat my dog?

- I'm sorry?
- My dog, Little Beagle Johnson.

Why are you being
such a shitheel with

the press about me
pulling on his ears?

Little son of a bitch loves
to have his ears pulled.

Hell, I thought you
were running the

Senate Republicans, not the ASPCA.

Mr President, I was just kidding

- with the press about that.
- Well, don't.

I'm a hell of a lot better
than you are with dogs.

Dogs and people.

I was hoping we
could talk about...

About appointing William
Macomber as ambassador, I know.

Well, yes, that among...

Get this shot. Get this shot here.

There we go.

No, no, sit on over there.
It's more comfortable.

That among other things...

Well, well talk about all
them things in just a minute.

Now, look here, Everett, we gotta
get this civil rights bill passed.

- Yeah.
- The longer this filibuster goes,

the stronger Russell gets,

and the angrier those
Negroes on the street are.

Now, how many votes are we
gonna get from your people?

Well, that's what I wanted to
talk to you about, Mr President.

There are 40 amendments
I'm proposing.

Forty?

Well, my constituents have
a number of concerns.

Now, let's not bullshit an old
bullshitter here, Everett.

Let's just cut to the
chase, shall we?

Well, I think we have to strike
equal employment altogether.

I could probably get my troops
to accept public accommodations.

But with, say, a year of voluntary
compliance before it becomes law.

Nope.

- No?
- No.

No?

There an echo in here?

The Southern filibuster cannot be

defeated without
substantial changes.

But if you're willing
to compromise,

I think that I could
deliver the necessary

25 Republican votes for cloture.

No can do, Everett.

Now, look here, either your
people vote for this bill,

or you vote with the
segregationists

and the country goes up in flames.

Now, we're making
history here, Everett.

And you have to decide how you
want history to remember you.

As a great man,

a man who changed the
course of this country,

or somebody who just likes
to hear himself talk.

Congress is not alone
in contributing

problems to the presidency.

Mr Johnson has inherited an
armed clash in South Vietnam.

President Johnson
must decide whether

to continue it in
its present form,

to enlarge it, or seek a
negotiated settlement.

Our pilot the Communists shot
down over Laos, he's alive?

As far as we know.

Well, hell, everything we can do
to get him back home, Robert.

We'll talk more about
this business in Tonkin.

Yes, sir.

And, Walter, anything
that McNamara needs,

- you make sure he gets it.
- Yes, sir.

- Is Humphrey still around?
- Hey, Daddy.

Hey, now, don't just run
off. Come give me a hug.

All right.

- Grae.
- Mr President.

Boy, oh, boy, look at you.

You're getting tall.

- No, I'm wearing heels.
- Are you?

Well, how you doing
in school, Luci?

Good, good.

- That's good.
- Yeah.

- Sir, Senator Humphrey's here.
- All right.

- That's all right. Bye, Daddy.
- Bye.

The justice says Bob Moses of
the Freedom Summer project

has asked again for
federal protection.

Things are getting pretty
violent in Mississippi.

The federal government is not
getting involved in this.

Now, you make damn sure that
the governor down there

understands that we expect him
to put a lid on his people.

Is Khrushchev still in Egypt?

Yes, sir, and the Soviets had
their first nuclear test

at their new site
in Eastern Kazakh.

All right, talk to me, Hubert.

Well, the good news is we've
got a deal with Dirksen.

And what's the bad news?

We're two votes short.

Bill.

I was just thinking about you.
Go on, take a ride with me.

It's all right, boys. I think I'm
safe with Senator Fulbright.

I'll see you up on three.

Boy, oh, boy, look at you.

- How you feeling?
- Fine, fine.

Hey, listen, I need to talk
to you about something.

Huh. Nice cufflinks, Mr President.

Oh, you like these?

- Do you?
- I do.

Well, then they are yours.

No, no, that's really
not necessary.

Well, I'd do anything
for you, Bill.

Hey, you know that
good old boy you

put down for the federal bench?

Boy, that's a pretty tough
sell for Humphrey's crowd,

but if you were to support
the civil rights bill,

they'll just grin and bear it.

Well, Mr President, I'm not sure
my constituents would approve.

Well, I understand that,

but maybe you don't have to fight

quite as hard as you
might otherwise.

I don't think...

Or maybe when the vote comes up,

you happen to be overseas
visiting our troops.

I'm sure Elizabeth
would love Europe.

You know she would. Like my wife.

Here, lookie here.

This is the seal of the
presidency of the United States.

There's only two cufflinks like
this in the entire world...

and you now own them both.

I want you to wear them
in good health, Bill.

And think about what I said, huh?

You look good, Bill. I bet you
dropped a few pounds, huh?

I'm gonna need another
set of those cufflinks.

What the hell?

Walter. Walter.

Walter.

- Gerri, where's Walter?
- Right here.

Why the hell is Senator
Engle suddenly off my list?

He's paralysed with a
malignant brain tumour, sir.

- Recovering from surgery.
- Holy shit.

- Well, is he conscious?
- I don't know, sir.

Well, find out, God damn it.

If he's conscious, he can vote.

But I know my Bible.

And the Bible does not say that we
cannot choose our own neighbour.

The Bible does not say

that we cannot build
a wall betwixt

ourselves and our neighbour.

What I need is some help
on this cloture vote.

No? Well, I'll tell you what
protects a small state, Alan,

and it damn sure isn't
a filibuster rule.

It's a strong president
who's in your corner.

What? Now where on Earth
do you get that...

Well, I don't forget these
things. You understand me?

Son of a bitch. I
thought I had him.

Now, for a man named Bible,

he sure doesn't have a
handle on the New Testament.

This bill will guarantee
the commercial destruction

of white people everywhere.

Senator Cannon, listen,

Carl Hayden and I
are finally putting

together the Central
Arizona Water Project.

And if Nevada wants any part
of this, I need your vote.

Yes, yes, yes, I know how
Alan Bible feels about it,

but I'm talking to you now,

combat veteran to combat veteran.

Yeah.

Yeah, it is a big damn decision,

but Democrats have to
stick together here.

Listen, now... No, Howard, just...
Howard, listen to me, will you?

Just listen to me.

Now,

we both got tough election
fights ahead of us here.

You know I'm gonna be there
for you when it counts,

and can I count on you now?

Howard, you do the
right thing here,

and you're gonna help yourself,
and you're gonna help your state,

and you're gonna
help your country.

Will you vote for cloture?

Howard, you're a good
man. Thank you. Bye-bye.

- Sixty-seven votes.
- Congratulations.

Should we let Senator Dirksen
make the public announcement?

You think there's any
way we can stop him?

We believe all men are entitled
to the blessings of liberty.

Yet millions are deprived
of those blessings.

Not because of their own failures,

but because of the
colour of their skin.

This cannot continue.

Our Constitution forbids it.

The principles of
freedom forbid it.

And the law I will
now sign forbids it.

Thank you,

and good day.

Reverend King.

We did it.

We got it done.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

There you go, Everett.

- Congratulations.
- I appreciate it.

- Thank you, Mr President.
- Dr King.

I need to see Dr King, you hear.

- There you are.
- Here, Mr President.

- It's for you, sir.
- It's an honour, Mr President.

Likewise. Thank you.

Hear, hear.

I'm sorry, Dick.

No, you're not.

It's not personal.
It's just politics.

It's the passing of an era.

Well, yes, it is.

It's the passing of a time
of etiquette, courtesy.

It's the passing of a time of
principles like party unity.

You know what the old
soldier said on parade?

"Hey, look, everybody's
out of step but me."

Maybe.

I am old, that's true,
and God knows I'm tired.

But the fellas coming
up behind me are

utterly without
principle of any kind,

and you'll see how you
like dealing with them.

You're gonna miss
me when I'm gone.

I still need you, Dick.

I'm still here, Mr President.

But the rest of Dixie?

I hope you haven't just
killed your election chances.

Congratulations, Mr President,
on your glorious achievement.

The Democratic Party just lost the
South for the rest of my lifetime,

and maybe yours.

What the fuck are
you so happy about?

Senator Goldwater's triumph

takes the leadership of his party

away from the eastern
liberal block

and places it with the
western conservatives

for the first time since 1936.

Clausewitz said...

Marjorie.

"Politics is war by other means."

Bullshit.

- Politics is war, period.
- Congratulations, Daddy.

Thank you.

That moderation in the pursuit
of justice is no virtue.

Let me remind you also

that extremism in the defence
of liberty is no vice.

You know how you win a campaign?

By not losing it.

Good morning, Mr President.

I only lost one
election my whole life.

The son of a bitch stole it
from me in the final seconds

with a handful of fake votes,

and I will carry the pain of
that with me to my dying day.

But I'll tell you what.

Nobody will ever do
me that way again.

That every fibre of my being...

It'll be some other way.

That nothing shall be lacking
from the struggle...

Out of the car, boys.

What's the problem, Deputy
Price? I thought we were good.

Out of the car, Jew boy.

What you looking at, nigger?

We've got a situation
in Mississippi.

Yeah?

Three young men have gone missing.

Michael Schwerner, age 25,

Andrew Goodman, age 21,
and James Chaney, 21.

They were all working the Freedom
Summer project in Meridian.

Chaney's a local Negro,

but Schwerner and Goodman were
both out-of-state volunteers,

both white.

Well, the shit will
hit the fan now.

Get me the governor
of Mississippi.

They were investigating
the burning

of a Negro church
in Neshoba County.

They've been missing
for 15 hours now.

Missing in Mississippi?

Son of a bitch.

Yeah. All right, put him through.

Governor, I'm calling
about those three boys.

You mean those three
professional agitators.

Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman.

Yeah, that come into our state
creating all kinds of problems.

Apparently,

a Deputy Price arrested
them yesterday afternoon.

For driving 35 miles
over the speed limit.

- Really?
- Yes, sir.

So they held them
for a couple hours.

Oh, see, now that's
where it gets confusing

because when their friends
called the jail down there,

the deputy said he had
never heard of them.

Well, I don't know
anything about that.

Price said he released
them at 10:00 that night.

And nobody's heard of them since.

This is clearly a publicity stunt.

Well, those boys are
off hiding somewhere,

probably having
themselves a good laugh.

And they're gonna come back in,

they're gonna claim they
were abused or something.

Well, now I'd hate to have to send

a whole bunch of federal
marshals into your state.

Well, no, you don't wanna do that.

Of course I don't.

You don't want the
publicity, and I

sure as hell don't
wanna stir up a mess

just eight weeks before the
Democratic Convention.

But there's a lot of
pressure to do something.

Now, if you'd rather,

I guess I can get a few FBI
agents to look into the thing.

FBI?

Well, it's a damn sight better

than the federal marshals
and the US Army, isn't it?

Well, yes, I guess that would.

Yeah, you know, I think you got
the right idea there, Governor.

Let this be Hoover's
problem, not ours.

Hopefully, you're right
about the whole thing,

and these boys will turn up
quick, and we can all just relax.

Christ's sake, we got
an election to win.

Hoover will just drag his feet.

Not if I light a
fire under his ass.

Mr President.

Edgar,

the governor of
Mississippi wants the

FBI to look into
these missing kids.

Well, I'd be happy
to, Mr President,

but there's a
jurisdictional problem.

Well, I'm not gonna tell
you how to run your shop,

but the governor
asked specifically

for the FBI to investigate.

I tried to put him off,
but, well, I suppose

I could get some third
party involved.

I know Senator Jim Eastland wants
Allen Dulles investigating.

CIA? Oh, no, Mr President.

I don't think Dulles
is a good idea.

This is very clearly
an FBI matter.

Well, if you're sure.

I mean, the last thing I would
want is Dulles down there

acting like he was
running the FBI as well.

I'll tell you what, let's
say Eastland is my problem.

I'll just deal with him.

You get your agents down
there to Neshoba County,

and you just wrap this
thing up quick, yeah?

When did you talk to Eastland
about Dulles going down there?

Oh, I made that part up.

The problem here is there's
three sovereignties involved.

There's the Untied States, there's
the state of Mississippi,

and then there's J. Edgar Hoover.

The burned-out station waggon
was discovered in the woods

20 miles from Philadelphia,
Mississippi,

a small town in which
Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney

had been arrested for
speeding during the day.

They were released late at
night by a deputy sheriff

and were last seen driving away
in the blue station waggon.

We have to assume those
young men are dead.

There were no bodies
in the car they found.

Well, then they're probably
on vacation, huh, Mr Wilkins.

I mean, I always set my car on
fire before taking a weekend off.

How many voters have you
actually registered?

Twelve hundred, give or take.

Five hundred beaten and
arrested, 35 churches burned,

30 Negro homes and businesses
dynamited for 1,200 votes.

It's not just about the votes.

For the first time,
black people are

building a new political party.

The Mississippi Freedom
Democratic Party, I heard.

Hold on. We tried to play by the

rules of the regular
Democrat Party,

but they kept us out.

Fine. So we built our own Democrat
Party, but with a difference.

Open to everybody, white or Negro.

Well, don't you think that
America ought to have

at least one political
party that isn't racist?

It's a waste of time.

We send our delegates
to the convention

where they challenge the legality

of the segregated Mississippi
delegation on national TV

and dare LBJ not to seat us.

Children playing with dynamite.

Are you so desperate
for their approval

that you would sanction
this mass suicide?

Those young men went down
to Mississippi and died

doing the work the government
hasn't been willing to do

for 100 years.

We've got to take a stand.

I grieve for those young men.

Don't use their funeral pyre to
burn what's left of the movement.

How can I help, Bob?

- Come to Mississippi.
- Don't be ridiculous.

Show the people that you are
behind the Mississippi Freedom...

You might as well
paint a target on

his back and declare open season.

Martin, you have not been to
Mississippi in over a year.

He's been busy.

Death threats, jail, shot at.

You don't own a monopoly
over suffering.

I never said that I did.

Let somebody else carry
this one, Martin.

Please.

Of course I'll come.

FBI was acting on a tip about
a farm in rural Mississippi,

and they just found two bodies
buried there in an earthen dam.

Jesus. Are they sure it's them?

Schwerners draft card in his back

pocket. Goodman's
body right below his.

It appears they had both
been shot once in the chest.

And they're still
digging for Chaney.

God damn.

Bless those boys.

The minute McNamara gets
here, you send him in.

Gentlemen, we need to pick up this
conversation some other time.

I'm sorry.

It's obvious that this Deputy
Price was involved in that.

Probably the sheriff, too.

Oh, Lord.

Well, this whole mess
is in my lap now.

If I don't charge these bastards,

then King yells that I'm letting
them get away with murder.

But if I do charge them, then
all the Southerners scream

about how I'm taking
orders from the Negroes,

and all this two weeks before the
start of the goddamn convention.

Mr President, I'm sorry
to have to tell you,

but the word is Governor Wallace
has offered himself to Goldwater

as the Republican vice
presidential candidate.

That little weasel would sell
his mother to get a leg up.

And Strom Thurmond is
formally switching parties.

That motherfucker.

Is anybody gonna follow him?

- Well, I don't know.
- Well, find out.

You bet I will.

God damn it.

You see her on TV?

- Who?
- The...

The dead kid's wife, Schwerner.

Rita, Rita.

Wife. Widow, I mean.

- Christ.
- Terrible.

Mr President, we have word.

No, no. Come on.

Yeah. Sit there.

All right, Robert.

Captain Herrick of the USS Maddox

reports a potential
sighting last night

of two possibly
hostile unidentified

vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin.

And some somewhat
contradictory sonar evidence

of actual torpedo attack.

"A potential sighting"? What the
hell's a potential sighting?

A visual sighting not confirmed
by mechanical means.

And this torpedo attack,
this actually happened?

Still awaiting confirmation.

Well, were any of our ships hit?

No, sir.

- Were there any explosions?
- No, sir.

Then how the hell do we
know we were attacked?

We don't, for sure.

We have contradictory
sonar readings.

For God's sake, Robert.

Give me something I
can work with here.

Officially, this is a
very delicate subject.

Oh, Humphrey can know.

Mr President, the limited air
strikes you ordered pre-selected

in case of another
attack are good to go.

Air strikes?

- Shall we order them in?
- Surely, this is a situation

about which we ought to be
more confident before we act.

There's no sense in
pretending last night's

event didn't happen, not any more.

- What do you mean?
- There's been a leak somewhere.

- Who? Who leaked it?
- We're tracking it down.

I want his fucking
head in a basket.

The point is, the press
has got to it somehow.

God damn it.

Now there are domestic
considerations as well.

Yeah, Goldwater.

Don't retaliate,

he will play all the
angles against you.

All this soft-on-military
bullshit.

Christ, the Democrats
beat Hitler and Tojo.

What more do we have to do?

You want me to call in
the retaliatory strikes?

For an attack which may
or may not have happened?

Planes are ready to
go on your command.

Mr President, this puts you
in a terrible position.

You are essentially
going to have to lie.

Mr President.

Do it.

Yes, sir.

If it gets out, we'll pass it off
on our South Vietnamese allies.

- Mr President...
- What, you think I like this?

Putting my ass in a sling

- this close to the election?
- Sir...

Or maybe you think Goldwater
ought to be president.

- Is that it?
- I never said that.

That maniac wants to lob an A-bomb

into the Kremlin's bathroom
and start World War III.

- You see how you like that.
- Mr President, come on.

If Goldwater gets elected, you
can forget about poverty.

You can forget about civil
rights. Is that what you want?

Now, I'm trying to
turn this country

around and prevent a major war.

Christ, why the hell did I ever

consider you for
my vice president?

First sign of trouble,
you cut and run.

I'm not running
anywhere, Mr President.

I'm standing right
here beside you.

Precious cold comfort you are.

You know, Congress is
gonna back me on this.

It's election year.

I'll get them to pass
some kind of resolution

authorising me full
authority over there.

Then we can get back to
things that really matter.

- Sir?
- What?

They found Chaney's body.

God damn it.

The bodies of the three
missing civil rights workers,

Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman,

were found in a grave at
the base of an earthen dam

outside of Philadelphia,
Mississippi.

Their bodies were
wrapped in plastic

bags numbered one, two, and three.

They were taken to the medical
centre in Jackson for examination.

♪ Far too small ♪

♪ Love so amazing ♪

♪ Love so divine ♪

♪ Demands my soul ♪

♪ My life ♪

♪ My all ♪

♪ Amen. ♪

James Chaney gave his life

to make this country live up
to its forgotten promises

and unfulfilled ideals.

- Yes, he did.
- We all know

the terrible pain you must
be feeling in your hearts.

That's right.

But we will not live in despair.

No.

We will not surrender.

No.

We will continue

to respond to their violence
with love and forgiveness.

Amen.

As I stand here...

Who said that? Who said that?

I not only blame the people
who pulled the trigger

or dug the hole with their shovel.

I blame the state of Mississippi,

all the way on up to the people
in Washington for what happened.

- Now, that's enough of that.
- No.

It's all right.

Come on up here.

I'm sick and tired of going
to funerals for black men

who have been murdered
by white men.

Yes.

- Are you?
- Yes.

Are you sick and tired
of this stuff like I am?

Yes.

I'm not feeling sad
tonight, Dr King.

I'm not feeling forgiveness.

Preach.

I've got vengeance in my heart.

And I'm asking you to
feel angry with me.

- Yes.
- Are you angry?

Yes.

The white men who murdered James

Chaney are never
gonna be punished.

That's right.

The best way to
remember James Chaney

is to demand our rights.

If you go back home and take what
these white men are doing to us...

If you take it and don't
do something about it,

then God damn your souls.

Stand up.

- We got to stand up in Meridian.
- Yeah.

We got to stand up in Jackson.

Stand up.

And when we get to Atlantic City,

- what are we going to do?
- Stand up.

- Stand up.
- Stand up.

- Stand up.
- Stand up.

- Stand up.
- Stand up.

Stand up. Stand up.

Stand up. Stand up.

Stand up. Stand up.

One man, one vote.
One man, one vote.

One man, one vote.

One man, one vote.
One man, one vote.

You must seat the MFDP.

- Martin, it's not that simple.
- Yes, it is.

Now, you don't understand the
depth of feeling among my people.

These murders, they've
rocked the movement.

If the government does not
do what is right here,

non-violence will no
longer be an option.

You can see a largely
Negro delegation

from a Southern state appear here,

claiming to be an
alternative delegation.

It's something I don't think has

happened in the
Democratic Convention

perhaps since Reconstruction days.

And according to the Freedom
Democratic representatives,

Dr Henry, who is their chairman,

Dr Martin Luther
King, they are not

going to accept any compromise

short of having some kind of
a vote in this convention.

Well, I'll certainly take that
under consideration, John.

This delegation being
seated, and the other...

John Connally, the
governor of my own state,

just told me, "You seat
those black buggers,

"not only will Texas quit, but
the whole South will walk out."

We might as well kiss the whole
goddamn election goodbye.

What the hell do you want?

The ballot in Alabama, sir,

apparently Governor Wallace
kept your name off it.

That little piece of shit.

- Can he do that?
- Of course he can.

Goldwater must be
laughing his ass off.

And now they're just
threatening to walk

out of the whole
goddamn convention.

Son of a bitch.

Lyndon, why don't you take a
break from this for a while?

Oh, I'm fine, Bird.

Well, you certainly
don't sound fine.

When's the last time
you ate anything?

Go away, Bird.

You're giving me a
goddamn headache.

Well, honey, I'm just worried.

Would you leave me alone?

Go on, get out of here.

Go on.

Watching over every aspect

and every detail
in this process...

engaged by the Mississippi
delegation here tonight.

Oh.

Thank you.

I feel so sorry for him.

I know.

Thank God he has you, Walter.

And you.

You think he's hard on me?

Well, he's hard on everybody,
especially himself.

People don't see that.

But I do.

I see everything.

His lady friends.

But I'm the one he chose.

At the end of the day...

I'm the one he comes home to.

My money paid for his first
campaign, did you know that?

I had to face down my own daddy
over my inheritance to get it.

By God, it was the best
investment I ever made.

My lipstick okay?

You look beautiful.

No, I'm not.

But you make do with what you got.

And whatever happens,
you don't quit.

CBS News correspondent
Mike Wallace here

at the ballroom of Convention Hall

where the credentials committee

of the Democratic National
Party are in session.

And now we are hearing

from the Freedom Democratic Party
representatives of Mississippi.

Just tell the credential
committee what

happened in Mississippi,
Miss Hamer.

On January 9th, 1963,
I went to a meeting

to learn how to register
Negro voters in Mississippi.

On my way back,

I was arrested by
the Winona police

chief and taken to
the county jail.

After I was placed in a cell,

state highway patrolmen

ordered me to lay facedown
on the bunk bed, saying,

"You're gonna wish you was dead."

Now who the hell is this?

Fannie Lou Hamer, a
sharecropper's daughter.

Became one of the
leaders of the MFDP.

For Christ's sake.

And then he ordered

two male Negro prisoners to
beat me with a blackjack.

The first prisoner beat
me till he was exhausted.

And then the patrolman ordered
the second Negro to beat me.

- This is awful.
- It sure as hell is.

She could stampede the liberals
into seating the MFDP,

and the South will storm out
of the convention in droves.

Walter.

Walter, you tell the press

we got a major announcement
in the Rose Garden.

- What's the announcement?
- Hell if I know.

Anything to turn off those goddamn
cameras in Atlantic City.

I began to scream.

And one white man hit me in
my head and told me to hush.

My dress had worked up
high, so I pulled it down.

And another white man walked
over and pulled it back up.

All this

on account of we wanna
register to vote.

And if the Freedom
Democratic Party

is not seated at this convention,

I question America.

Is this America?

The land of the free and
the home of the brave

where our lives be
threatened daily

because we wanna live
as decent human beings.

All we're asking

is fair representation of this...

Hold on.

The president is going
to announce his address

at the White House in
just a few moments.

Please stand by for the
President of the United States.

Howdy.

First of all, I wanna
thank you all...

I don't understand.

- What's going on?
- It appears, Miss Hamer,

we've been pre-empted
by the President.

- I know a lot of people are...
- Come on.

Still wondering

who my vice presidential
candidate will be.

And we'll make that decision very,
very soon, I promise you that.

I think now I can
open it up, and if

you'd like to ask a few questions.

I need to know
everything that King and

that Fannie Lou
person and Bob Moses

and all those goddamn people
in the MFDP are talking about.

I want them under constant

surveillance, the
whole bunch of them.

Mr President, we don't
have any warrant.

Well, that never stopped
you before, did it?

Now, I don't care what
you do or how you do it.

In fact, it's better
if I don't know.

But everything you get, you
send it immediately to Walter.

- You understand?
- Yeah.

Uncle Dick.

You're up awful
late, Mr President.

You're gonna give yourself
another heart attack.

Well, if I do, it'll
be the Dixiecrats and

Martin Luther King
put me in my grave.

You hear of this
public telegram of

King's demanding that
I seat the MFDP?

The whole country will think

that Negroes have more power
in the Democratic Party

than the president has, and
the whole South will bolt.

I warned you about that.

You know what I think?

I think this is something
that King cooked

up with Bobby Kennedy
to embarrass me.

Now, listen, Kennedy is
gonna stab me in the back

and steal this nomination
at the last minute.

Mr President, Robert Kennedy
has no interest whatsoever

in hurting you or helping
Barry Goldwater.

Then the hell with them all.

I'm gonna go back home to my ranch
and the people who love me.

I never wanted to be president
in the first piece.

Mr President, forgive
my frankness, but

you are speaking like
a spoiled child.

You and I both know
you're not serious.

Now take a tranquilliser,
go to sleep.

Thank you.

I walked into the lion's
den, I argued fervently,

I used all the heartstrings I had.

I made no headway.

God damn it.

The least the MFDP might
be willing to accept

would be some actual votes at
the convention, a few votes.

Well, what did King say?

He's very supportive of
their leadership on this.

After everything I did for him,
he should've stood up for me.

Why didn't somebody
stand up for me?

I stood up for you, Mr President.

Somebody who matters.

Well, if you don't think
my loyalty is important...

Jesus, you are so thin-skinned.

Shit.

I depend on you,
Hubert, you know that.

Christ's sake, there's got
to be a solution here.

Well, maybe we can get

one or two of the Mississippi
regulars to agree to step aside.

They claim they're
sick or something.

All right.

You tell them that they can
have two voting delegates.

We'll call them "at
large delegates."

But one of them has to be that
white minister of theirs.

Reverend Edwin King.

That's him, that's him.

That way, ifs one white
man and only one Negro.

We'll integrate their delegation.

Who could argue with that, huh?

I'll see what I can do.

Well, don't "see" what you can do.

You do what I tell you to do.

Mr President.

What you think of Hubert?

I think he's working
as hard as he can.

Yeah.

He's nice.

Nice is what you
call a gal with no

tits, no ass, and no personality.

Nice is for kissing babies.

There's no place for
nice in a knife fight.

You get me Walter Reuther.

Mr President, what a
pleasant surprise.

Well, Reuther, I
know how important

your golden boy Humphrey is to you

and the rest of organised labour.

But if this big delegate
war comes off and

the South walks out
of the convention,

he will have no future in the
Democratic Party, you hear me?

Yes, sir, but I really must...

Now, you need to
tighten your leash

and bring King and the
MFDP in line or, by God,

Hubert Humphrey is never gonna be

my vice president
or anything else.

Sir, I...

He won't be able to get
elected dogcatcher,

and you won't have nobody in the
Senate to carry water for you.

Now you get yourself
down to Atlantic

City and fix this
mess, and I mean now.

Are you all right, sir?

I do not have the
hide of a rhinoceros.

You know me, Walter.

I have a genuine desire
to unite people,

but my own people in the
South, they're against me,

and the North is against me, and
the Negroes are against me,

and the press sure doesn't have
any damn affection for me.

It's not fair, sir, not
with all you've done.

I could drop dead tomorrow,

and there wouldn't be 10
people who'd shed a tear.

Ah, no. No, sir.
That's not true, sir.

The hell it ain't.

People turn on you so fast.

When my daddy lost everything,

people who had been
glad-handing him

just treated him like dog shit.

They humiliated him to his face,

in public.

And my mother...

The way she'd freeze him out.

That's what killed him.

You know what I think it is?

People think I want great power,

but what I want is great solace.

A little love.

That's all I want.

You have that from us, sir.

From me.

Poor Marjorie must be wondering
where the hell you are.

- Oh, she understands.
- Jesus.

How many kids you got
again? What is it, five?

- Six.
- Six.

- Two girls and four boys.
- Phew.

Right, Catholic.

I always wanted a son.

Don't get me wrong, I
love Luci and Lynda,

but a man wants a son.

I reckon you're as close
to that as I've got.

Walter, you'll be right outside?

Yes, sir.

Martin.

Mr Reuther.

Didn't expect to see you here.

Well, neither did I.

I got a call from the
president with a

generous helping of
the Texas twist.

You've got to get the
MFDP to compromise.

Well, what the president
offered was an insult.

These people have
shed their blood...

Martin, your funding
is on the line.

You've gotta get
the MFDP on board,

or there will be no more union
money for the movement,

not a single goddamn dime.

You would sabotage the entire
civil rights movement over this?

No, you would.

The number of delegates at a
convention, who gives a shit?

It's wrong.

Look, there will be a final offer.

You get your people to accept it,

or you can take your tin
cup and your principles

out onto the street and see
how far that gets you.

LBJ. LBJ. LBJ.

Will the delegates
please be seated?

- What do we want?
- Freedom.

- When do we want it?
- Now.

- What do we want?
- Freedom.

- When do we want it?
- Now.

Which side are you
on? Everybody, now

Which side are you on, Lord?

Which side are you
on? Everybody, now

Which side are you on?

Martin. Just...

Which side are you on, Lord?

I want everyone to hear this.

I'm pleased to say that we've come
up with a mighty fine compromise.

The MFDP will get two voting

delegates, Aaron Henry
and Edwin King.

And the Democratic Party will
adopt a formal rules change

to prohibit any segregated
delegation in the future.

This is a major victory.

Senator Humphrey, God did not
send us to Atlantic City

- for no two seats.
- That's right.

When all of us is tired.

This is just like the
white plantation bosses

making all the decisions for
his black sharecroppers.

Hold on, Bob.

You've won your case in the
court of public opinion.

Now you've got your
token representation.

- "Token"?
- Don't twist my words, Aaron.

What I am saying is that there's
a whole lot at stake here,

and this is a necessary
political compromise.

We are not here to bring
politics to our morality.

We are here to bring our
morality to our politics.

Dr King, what do you
think we ought to do?

If I were a Mississippi
Negro, been

through what you've been through,

- I'd vote against it.
- Right.

But the solemn commitment

to end discrimination in
all future conventions

- is a mighty big victory...
- Yes, it is.

In which the MFDP can
take real pride.

And as a Negro leader,
I'm asking...

I want you to take this.

Wade in the water

Wade in the water, children

Wade in the water

God's a-gonna trouble the water

See that host all
dressed in white?

Well done, Dr King.

Solomon himself couldn't have cut
that baby in half any cleaner.

I may lose a battle, Bob,

I personally may not survive,
but I will win this war.

All the way with LBJ.

LBJ is not the second coming.

He's just like every
other politician.

He'll do what it takes
to get elected.

But I think he really
wants civil rights.

Now, we've got a chance here, Bob.

A real chance.

Best chance in 100 years, and
I will not throw it away.

Will the delegates
please be seated?

A workable compromise
regarding at large delegates

from Mississippi has been reached.

All right.

All right, that's it.
We're leaving. Come on.

And we urge the delegates here
to approve the recommendations

- of the credentials committee.
- Jim, what the hell's going on?

LBJ screwed us over.

He's seating the niggers.

You boys just stay here.
I'll figure this out.

The credentials committee
settled on a compromise

of two voting delegates
for the MFDP,

but Mississippi and Alabama
rejected the deal and walked out.

If Georgia walks out next,

the rest of the South will follow.

Mr President?

It's Governor Sanders of
Georgia on the phone.

What, it's Georgia?

What the hell does Carl want?

Alabama and Mississippi
are walking

out, and Sanders says
he might follow.

God damn it.

Carl, what the hell is going on?

Mr President, you can't give
these people two seats.

It's gonna look like
the Negroes are

taking over the whole convention.

Oh, for Christ's sake, it's one
Negro and one white minister.

Now, it's the principle
of the thing.

Me and my delegates are about
inches from walking out.

In fact, the whole
South's about to bolt.

All right, now let's you and
me understand something here.

Those people are Democrats
just like you and me,

but those good old boys from
Mississippi, they locked them out.

Well, now they got
locked out because

they're not registered to vote.

Because they wouldn't
let them register.

They beat them and shot
them and lynched them.

Well, now you're tarring a lot
of people here, Mr President.

No, Carl, Carl, you
and I just can't

survive our modern political life

with these goddamn fellas down
there doing things the old way

and eating them Negroes for
breakfast every morning.

They got to quit that.

Mr President, you
need to remove these

so-called "delegates at large."

No, you listen to me.

You need to make up your
mind once and for all

what kind of Christian you are.

Are you a once-a-week fella, or do
you hold the Word in your heart?

And what kind of
politician are you?

You just out for yourself,

or you wanna make a better life
for all the people of Georgia?

- Well, of course I...
- And what kind of man are you?

You got the balls to do
what you know is right,

or do you just slink away?

Now, what you don't get
to do is threaten me.

So if you're gonna walk out of the

convention, then you
just do it right now.

But if not,

then I expect to see your
bright and shiny faces

wearing your big "All the
way with LBJ" hats tonight

when I take the stage.

Bird, go away and leave me be.

I can't do that, Lyndon.

I won't.

You're just like the rest of them.

You're all against me.

That is so not true.

- Oh, yeah?
- Look at me.

Look at me, Lyndon.

You are as brave a man as
FDR and Truman and Lincoln.

And there are many, many people
up there at that convention

and in this party

and in this nation who love you.

- And they are counting on you.
- I'm gonna resign.

Let somebody else deal with this.

You're not going to resign.

- Yes, I am.
- No, you are not.

When your great-grandmother
was hiding in the floorboards

while the Comanches were raiding
her house, did she flinch?

To step down now would be
wrong for your country.

Your friends would be
frozen with embarrassment,

and your enemies would jeer.

Those bastards would
love to see me down.

And are you gonna give
them that pleasure?

I don't think so.

That is not the man I married.

Sir, Governor Sanders
was just on TV,

and the Georgia delegations
not gonna walk out after all.

- What, Sanders backed down?
- Yes, sir, he did.

- So the South held?
- Yes, sir.

The honourable Lyndon B. Johnson

is nominated by acclamation

as our candidate to the office of
President of the United States,

and the honourable
Hubert Horatio Humphrey

is our candidate for
Vice President.

The dust has settled
here in Atlantic City,

and President Johnson's Democratic
Party is one big, happy family.

Hello there.

- Hubert.
- Mr President.

You look a little
down in the mouth

for being the next vice president.

It just feels different
than I thought it would.

Oh, that. Well...

You get over that pretty quick.

The American people have no
greater advocate and friend

than the man the Democratic Party
is proud to claim as our leader.

Now the man of the hour,
Lyndon Baines Johnson.

We're down five points in Georgia,
six points in South Carolina,

eight points in Louisiana.

Hell, Goldwater is beating my
ass by 60 % in Mississippi.

Now, he's getting on top.

Son of a bitch is
turning it around.

Where the hell are the ideas?

Where the hell's the solutions?

Walter, I want you to
change my travel schedule.

Give me more time in the
South, especially Louisiana.

And put more money into

- our TV campaign down there.
- Yes, sir.

And as for the rest
of you, what the

hell are you still
standing here for?

Get out there and do something.

Come on.

Not you, Humphrey. Stay here.

You read this bullshit Wall Street

Journal exposé about
my corruption?

Definitely planted by Goldwater.

Damn right it was.

Take a look at this. Huh?

That's disgusting.

Goldwater wants to get down into
the mud, by God, I could do that.

Listen here, I want you
to pull together a

special group separate
from the campaign

and hit him back with
everything we got.

Mr President, I don't think
sinking to their level is...

Oh, for God's sake, just do it.

Mr President, you are ahead in the
polls in most of the country.

Yeah, and so was Nixon in '60.

And some people thought
he would've beat Jack

except for a whole
bunch of dead people

voting in Chicago
at the last minute.

It ain't over until it's over.

Eight, nine...

- Nine...
- eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three,

two, one,

zero.

These are the stakes

to make a world in which all
of God's children can live

or to go into the dark.

We must either love each other,

or we must die.

Vote for President
Johnson on November 3rd.

The stakes ave too high
for you to stay home.

I want you to run this right away.

It'll be controversial.
You'll get a lot of flak.

Then, we'll only
have to run it once

and let the press
do our work for us.

I wanna see it again.

Now, Barry Goldwater
says he's not a racist.

But the government can't legislate
what people feel in their hearts.

- That's right.
- And he's right.

The law can't make
white folks love you.

But the law can prevent
them from lynching you.

Yes.

The law can prevent them
from denying you a job

and your child an education.

And the law can ensure that
you have the right to vote.

- Amen.
- Yes.

I'm not here today to tell you
fine people who to vote for.

But come election day,

let's be sure to send the
fine senator from Arizona

and his tender heart back to
the desert where he belongs.

Walter was arrested?

YMCA men's bathroom
by the DC Vice Squad.

The other man arrested was
an army staff sergeant.

No, no, no.

This must be some kind of mistake.

No, sir.

Apparently, Walter
was arrested under

similar circumstances
five years ago.

Now, why didn't I know that?

None of us knew.

This has Goldwater's
fingerprints all over it.

Goldwater will use this.

Goddamn, this close
to the election,

it could be the whole ball of wax.

There doesn't appear to be any
security compromise at all.

There damn well better not be.

Your people said they vetted him.

I have it in writing with
your goddamn signature on it.

There are some things
you can't predict.

That's your job, Edgar.

I will take care of
this, Mr President.

And why don't that make
me feel any better?

You get a hold of Walter's
Air Force Reserve records.

Goldwater was his
commanding officer.

With any luck, he signed off
on his fitness evaluations.

We get a hold of
those, and Goldwater

won't be able to say shit.

Walter will resign immediately.

You see to it that his
doctor issues a statement.

He was working too
hard and just snapped.

I've been working with
that man for 25 years

and not a clue.

How do you know when

somebody's...

Well, there's certain
signs, mannerisms.

The way a man dresses
or combs his hair.

Walks kind of funny.

Well, that's news to me.

I'm not questioning you.

I'm sure you'd know.

In your line of work, I mean.

Marjorie is just beside herself.

Can't believe it's true.

I can't believe it's true.

I am going to make a public
statement of support.

Absolutely not.

The First Lady can't
be involved in this.

None of us can be involved.

Why, he's distraught, Lyndon.

He could injure himself.

That is not my problem.

What...

He is our friend.

He was our friend, and then
he stabbed me in the back.

What, are we just never
gonna see him again?

What, you think I like this?

Now Goldwater's killing
me in the polls.

I loved Walter like a...

I'm holding this campaign together
with baling wire and spit.

And if you're not with me,
then you're against me.

I know why you think you
have to do this, darling.

But you're wrong. You
do what you must.

But I will not abandon our friend.

Now if you'll excuse me, I
have speeches to deliver.

God damn it.

In what is sure to be a very
controversial decision,

the winner of this years
Nobel Prize for Peace

is Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am deeply moved
and humbled by the

decision of the Nobel Committee

who are devoted to the
non-violent pursuit

of those rights to which
every man and woman...

How will you want to
acknowledge Dr King?

I won't.

King knows where I stand.

I don't need to get on the goddamn
rooftops and shout it out.

Movement of many peoples

who are devoted to the non-violent
pursuit of those rights...

I'm supposed to have
psychic abilities

in order to protect the president
from deviants like Jenkins,

but when it comes
to King, apparently

no warning is strong enough.

This award should be given to
the American civil rights...

Get me the sex tapes of
King with those women.

And a typewriter.

"King you know you
are a complete fraud

"and a great liability
to all of us Negroes."

Sir, are you sure the president
will be comfortable with this?

Doesn't matter.

"King, you cannot believe in God.

"Clearly you don't believe
in any moral principles.

"You could have been
our greatest leader,

"but you turned out to be
nothing but a dissolute,

"abnormal moral imbecile.

"You are a colossal fraud, and
an evil, vicious one at that,

"and you had better kill yourself

before your filthy,
fraudulent soul

"is bared to the nation."

Goldwater. Goldwater.

Goldwater. Goldwater.

Goldwater. Goldwater.

What the hell is wrong
with these people?

It's a Democratic rally,
for Christ's sake.

- Where's the governor?
- Left an hour ago.

Suddenly called out of town.

Cowardly son of a bitch.

I've had enough of this horseshit.

Let's get a move on. Move.

And now... Now let's give a
nice, warm New Orleans welcome

to the President of
the United States.

All right. All right.

You've had your say, and
now I'm gonna have mine.

My fellow Southerners, please.

I once got to know this old
senator from the South

who lamented to me

the condition of our
beloved region.

The old senator talked
about how outside forces

divided and conquered
the people of the South

by appealing to their
racial hatred.

I accept this award on behalf
of a civil rights movement

which is working to establish

a reign of freedom and
a rule of justice.

For only yesterday in Alabama,

our children, crying
out for brotherhood,

were met with water hoses,
dogs, and even death.

Now, the old senator described

what a great future
the South could have

if only we'd all work together.

Only yesterday in Mississippi,

young people seeking
the right to vote

were brutalised and murdered.

And the old senator
talked longingly

about going home one more time

and telling people the truth.

He said his poor state hasn't
heard the truth in 30 years.

All we ever hear at election time

is, "Nigger. Nigger. Nigger."

Well, I'm not gonna let
them build up the hate.

I'm not gonna let
them trick my people

by appealing to their prejudice.

I believe peoples everywhere

can have dignity, equality,

and freedom.

We have a new law of the land.

A civil rights law.

And I'm gonna enforce it

because it is the
right thing to do.

ABC News continues its
coverage of Election '64.

President Johnson, though
he's doing extremely well

in winning and carrying states,

has not yet reached the
position the polls gave him.

The figures have just come in.

Georgia, which has never
deserted the Democratic Party,

has gone for Senator Goldwater.

Senator Goldwater so far is
doing respectably in the South,

so we'll just have to wait
to judge his basic strategy.

The polls are closing right
now in New York State.

The New York Herald Tribune
put up the headline,

"Johnson Landslide."

CBS poll profile analysis.

Lyndon Baines Johnson
has been elected

President of the United States.

How about that? How about that?

- Isn't that something?
- Oh, my God.

Where's Lady Bird?

Right behind you, where
I've always been.

Oh. Sixty million votes.

You're no accident, Mr President.

Mr President, you've got a phone
call from Senator Russell.

Well, all right.

Well, go on, go on, have some fun.

I'll be with you in a second.

- Uncle Dick.
- Congratulations, Mr President.

Well, I'm just trying to do
what the old master taught me.

You know none of this
would've happened

without you, Uncle
Dick, none of it.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

My apologies about Georgia.

Well, it was disappointing, yeah.

Georgia has never voted
Republican before, not once.

Not even during Reconstruction.

Well, they'll be back.

I sure wish you was here.

Listen, Uncle Dick,

you know we got a hell of a
lot of work ahead of us.

I'm counting on you, now.

I will give it all
that I have, sir.

I know you will.

You enjoy your
party, Mr President.

I'll see you in Washington.

Congratulations, Mr President.

Yeah.

My apologies.

From our ambassador in Saigon.

A green light for Mr Johnson, a
stop light for Senator Goldwater,

and perhaps for the
right wing conservative

control of the Republican Party.

These are the numbers.

In electoral votes, it is...

96 % of the Negro vote to Johnson.

They owe us big, Martin.

Now they gotta give us
that voting rights bill.

Well, LBJ is not gonna
give us anything.

We've gotta take it.

And we're gonna start a
new campaign right away

in Alabama.

I am so glad that it's
finally over, aren't you?

"Over"?

It's just getting started.

What are you doing out
here by yourself?

Everybody's waiting for
you. Come join the party.

Your party.

In a minute.

You're goddamn right
it's my party,

and I had to drag
it into the light

kicking and screaming
every inch of the way.

Because this is how
new things are born.

Bird and I lost three
babies before we had Lynda,

and I remember the moment when
they finally let me into the room

to see my first live child.

And there on the floor

you could still see the doctor's
footprints in my wife's blood.

And I thought, "Yeah,
this is familiar.

"I know this."

But right now, we're gonna
party like there's no tomorrow

because there's no feeling in the
world half as good as winning.

But the sun will come up,

and the knives will some out,

and all these smiling faces
will be watching me,

waiting for that one first
moment of weakness.

And then they will
gut me like a deer.

You okay, honey?

I'm fine, Bird.

I'm great.

Hell, I'm president.