Apr. 4, 1964 - President Johnson defended the moral standards of American teenagers today. During an impromptu news conference, the President was asked “as a father” to comment on the “loosening of morals of our young” depicted in recent books and articles in national magazines.
“From my observation, there’s been an improvement in morals since my day,” said the 55-year-old President, smiling broadly.
He acknowledged that there were some serious problems of school dropouts and particularly heavy unemployment among today’s young people. However, he praised teenagers generally for their “intense interest in the finer things in life and in their general conduct.”
The President was especially complimentary of his own daughters, Lynda Byrd, 20 years old, and Luci Baines, 16, and their friends.
“I think,” he said, “I would have made my parents happier if, at 16 or 18 or even 20, I had conducted myself to the same high standards of morals as my daughters apply to themselves now. I find that pretty generally among their groups.”
Mr. Johnson, however, was on the defensive about criticism of his own driving habits, especially during an Easter trip to his 407-acre ranch outside Austin, Tex. He brushed aside reports that he was seen driving his Lincoln Continental over Texas roads at speeds up to 90 miles an hour. The speed limit is 70 miles an hour.
“I am unaware that I have ever driven past 70,” the President declared.
He spurned a suggestion that he should leave all the driving chores to a chauffeur for safety’s sake. “I ride very little and drive very little — to the top of the hill — and I may actually, every three or four months, go over to a neighbor’s place,” he declared. “I want to feel free to do that.”
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments