Compare and contrast Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in their ability to exercise political clout to accomplish their programs.

In terms of demonstrating political clout between both
presidents, it is difficult because of the small amount of time that Kennedy occupied
the Presidency.  Kennedy was seen as possessing political clout.  His fateful trip to
Dallas in November of 1963 was made to heal a potential fracture between Texan
Democrats, indicating that he held a great deal of sway in the party.  Johnson was seen
as holding much more clout because he was able to use it for a longer period of time. 
Especially in the domestic legislation realm, Johnson demonstrated a greater amount of
clout than his predecessor, who showed a greater proclivity for foreign affairs than
domestic ones.  Johnson was much more brazen with his clout on passage of domestic
policy.  This was seen in his Great Society initiatives as well as the passage of the
Civil Rights Act.  He was able to parlay this clout in moving the United States deeper
into the quagmire of Vietnam.  In fact, Johnson only started losing his political clout
when Vietnam grew into a more vague and ambiguous conflict.  In this point, Johnson
might be seen to be the logical extension of what Kennedy might have faced had he lived
long enough.