This was very moving. I remember the moment he said it. I was just a young kid, and it's the only thing he said that day that stuck in my memory. I'm not so sure today that he totally meant what he said, but we all felt unified while he was speaking.

It's a fairly safe bet that Johnson didn't mean it. UPDATE: By the looks of the unhelpfuls on this one, I guess I should explain myself. Johnson didn't really like Kennedy in the first place, he always felt that he was his superior in many ways. He wanted the presidency very badly, indeed he had run in 1960, but Kennedy had the Democratic primary bought up very early giving contenders like Johnson little chance of winning. He hated the vice-presidency as well; Johnson was an egotistical man used to power and this job at the time had no responsibilities. Johnson's mentor House Speaker Sam Rayburn described it as a bucket of warm spit. I'm in no way implying that Johnson played a role in Kennedy's assassination or any such thing. My point is that Johnson was a ruthless careerist who would pull all the stops to make a point. He even used Jackie Kennedy as a prop at various times after her husbands murder. She did catch on eventually though. What Johnson said was timely, but it's really questionable whether he really meant it or not. Words have to have meaning you know...

I think it's imposible to say really if he meant it or not. On one side he was probably pretty excited to become president but through the pain of a just assassinated, beloved president and more than likely a passing friend. I'd say he probably meant it at the time but I didn't actually see him speak. Only he really knows. Either way, it was a very heart felt thing to say. HardCor