Good because his mere presence, even though he personally loathed the office of the vice-presidency, was significant.

He definitely peaked as the veep. As the pres he was a total disaster, domestically and foreign.

Lyndon Johnson was not cut out for the Vice Presidency. He hated it, and he hated even more serving under John F. Kennedy, whom he considered inferior in many ways. He wanted the presidency in 1960, but the Kennedy's money and organization overwhelmed Johnson and the other contenders that year. At the time, the Vice Presidency didn't do much of anything. As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson was far more powerful. He was a masterful operator of the Senate. LBJ pushed the rules to the limit. What was his strength however was his ability to deal with people and many times bullying them into voting his way. As VP, he traveled and chaired various executive committees. No power however, which was Johnson's main pursuit. However he did become President after JFK's assassination. When he became President, he used his contacts to pass Civil Rights legislation and the Great Society anti-poverty programs. Like his programs or not, he did have a very accomplished presidency domestically. However, Johnson's desire for power destroyed him. He died a broken man. He became arrogant and that lead to hubris, particularly on Vietnam, which dominated most of his Presidency. He was too proud to acknowledge the realities on the ground. Johnson's Presidency destroyed a lot of the prestige that the Presidency had before that. Nixon damaged it a lot too, but Johnson made people trust the government less, he started the downward trend.

the most important function of the duties of a vice president is to assume the office if the president dies or is unable to function. regardless of his failures as president, after president kennedy's murder, lyndon johnson assumed the office of the presidency with honor, humility and dignity, and passed much of the legislation that president kennedy was unable to.

I have to concur with tboneya here. He had a deep hatred for the Kennedys, espescially Bobby. Perhaps it wasn't so much of a hatred for Jack as it was resentment, believing that he was more worthy of the Presidency than Jack was. Johnson did travel abroad on many trips, including one to Vietnam. He also headed up the Space Program. Despite his resentment for Jack, he was a loyal Vice President. It's just a shame that Kennedy didn't use him as a Congressional liason.