Clark M. Clifford Quotes
This is madness with no end in sight.
He had just digested his predecessor’s reports and briefings as well as key interviews with senior military officers. See {637677} for his predecessor’s statement in the previous White House meeting on the War.
Clark M. Clifford, 1906-1998, U. S. Secretary of Defense (Democrat), Special Counsel to the President Statement in his first White House meeting as Secretary of Defense, 1968
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Early in the year the President asked his most experienced political strategist what was likely to happen in the Presidential election that was upcoming later that year. The Vietnam War was tearing the country apart. He had lost the South because of the Civil Rights laws he has passed. For the rest of the country, the war hardliners wanted someone more aggressive than him, and the Doves wanted us out of Vietnam. Johnson, in a great political tragedy, even though he thought the war was unwinnable, could not bring himself to be the first American President to lose a war. He soon would decide to withdraw from the race but not pull out of Vietnam. See {637677} and {637678}.
The “light at the end of the tunnel” was an analogy which is military advisors were using at the time.
The coalescing of Public Opinion against slavery in the North was punctuated by the election of Abraham Lincoln in the eyes of the supporters of slavery left them with no where to turn within the Union. Secession followed.
- Born: December 25, 1906
- Died: October 10, 1998
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Public Servant
Clark McAdams Clifford was an American lawyer who served as an important political adviser to Democratic presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. His official government positions were White House Counsel (1946–1950), Chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (1963–1968), and Secretary of Defense (1968–1969); Clifford was also influential in his role as an unofficial, informal presidential adviser in various issues. A successful Washington lawyer, he was known for his elite clientele, charming manners, and impeccable suits.
