20. Lyndon Johnson became one of the most hated Presidents in American history
When Lyndon Johnson assumed the Presidency upon the murder of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, he was immediately popular, a stance which he exploited to win election to the office in 1964 in one of the greatest landslides of US history. Within four years that popularity was squandered, and Johnson chose not to attempt re-election in 1968. He was hated by liberals for his support of the Vietnam War and the draft. Conservatives hated his prosecution of the war as being too limited. They also hated the Civil Rights Act which he pushed through Congress and the Voting Rights Act which followed. His support of desegregation and civil rights brought him additional hatred, not only in the Deep South but in liberal bastions such as Boston. Supporters of law and order thought his administration was too soft on crime, especially regarding the civil rights demonstrations in the South. “Hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” became a protest chant heard daily. Johnson was not driven to lose the Presidency, he simply abandoned it.