”349 Johnson’s Americanization of your Vietnam War proceeded with regards to one to would-have-been familiar to Roosevelt. S. destroyers mere miles of North Vietnam so you can bait “unprovoked” episodes who would “lead to an american reprisal.”350 FDR couldn’t move fear and you may rage over torpedo attacks to your a good casus belli. 351 Even after Johnson safeguarded brand new Gulf coast of florida out of Tonkin Quality, the guy accompanied the new Roosevelt playbook. Similar to new guarantee FDR made in 1940 to help you mothers one “your own sons are not likely to be delivered on the one overseas battles,” from inside the October 1964 Johnson similarly bound, “We’re not going to posting Western boys 9 otherwise ten,000 faraway at home to accomplish exactly what Far-eastern boys ought getting doing on their own.”352
Fulbright’s part, you to definitely FDR is not blameless as the precedents he set allowed LBJ’s deviousness, reminds united states you to definitely an evaluation regarding constitutional leaders will be change not simply into the purposes (a great otherwise bad) wherein a chief bends the rules, also for the outcomes away from so undertaking. Finishing you to while the Roosevelt acquired the latest “a great conflict,” while Johnson put in place losing Vietnam, the newest former’s deception try carried out in a great “an excellent bring about” since the latter’s was not, brings an unfinished research.353 Regardless if one to commends Roosevelt’s deception when you look at the good end in, one to assessment need to be well-balanced against the pernicious outcome of eg deceit.