Smash Notes

Back to Robert Caro – The master biographer reflects at 91, with Robert Caro.

What Was the Source of Lyndon Johnson's Power?

Robert Caro says the source of Lyndon Johnson's power was the power behind his persuasion. When Johnson asked a senator for something, the senator knew Johnson could give or deny the things the senator wanted.

If Johnson asked for a vote on a specific issue, the senator might not agree and might not want to give him the vote. The senator still wanted a committee assignment, and Johnson had the power to give that assignment or not. The senator might want a specific law, and Johnson had the power to get that law passed or not. When Johnson put his arm around someone and leaned in, it was not just the force of his personality. Behind that personality, the senator knew Johnson had the power to do things to him or for him.

Persuasion worked because the leverage was already there. A senator who wanted to be successful needed Johnson's favor, since Johnson could promise something or threaten to withhold it.

Grokipedia·Lyndon Johnson·Robert Caro

Transcript

Robert Caro – The master biographer reflects at 91 ·

Dwarkesh Podcast

More from this episode

  1. How Does Robert Caro Get People to Talk?Robert Caro gets people to talk by refusing a no when that person is the only one who knows the story.
  2. Does America Need a Little More Robert Moses?Robert Caro says no. He does not want another Robert Moses, a builder who is ruthless and who disregards public opinion.
  3. How Did Robert Moses Lose His Early Idealism?Robert Caro says Robert Moses did change from a young idealist into a builder who would not listen.
  4. What Showed Robert Moses Had Lost Power?Robert Caro knew Robert Moses had lost power when a long interview ended and the secretary brought no telephone calls.
  5. Did Robert Moses Realize He Was Changing?Robert Caro says Robert Moses did not realize he was changing.
  6. How Did the Great Depression Help Robert Moses Build?Robert Caro says the Great Depression played a big role in what Robert Moses was able to build.
  7. Could John Kennedy Have Passed Lyndon Johnson's Laws?Robert Caro says no.
  8. Why Does Robert Caro Reduce a Book to One Sentence?Robert Caro reduces a new book to one sentence, or at most a paragraph, before he starts writing, so he still knows what he is trying to do years later.
  9. What Never Made It Into Robert Caro's Books?A lot of what Robert Caro researched never made it into his books. He had to cut so much from The Power Broker that he still thinks should have stayed.

People

More answers like this

More with Robert Caro

More with Dwarkesh Patel

Related episodes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note

Weekly highlights

One letter a week.

The notes worth hearing, with the minute they were said.