Rolling Thunder and Lyndon Johnson: How the Failures of a Military Operation Led to Johnson’s Decision not to Seek Re-election in 1968

Abstract

In April 1965, President Johnson announced the start of Operation Rolling Thunder, an air campaign aimed at forcing North Vietnam into submission during the Vietnam War. The operation would prove to be an absolute failure, so much to the point that in March 1968, Johnson revealed that he was not running for President. How did Rolling Thunder’s failures contribute to this decision? How did the progression of the Vietnam War affect Johnson’s public approval ratings to the point that the President did not feel like he could win the election? How did Rolling Thunder alter the course of the Vietnam War and what impact did it leave on Johnson’s legacy? Moreover, how did the foreign policy under Johnson affect his successor, Richard Nixon? This paper would attempt to answer these questions, drawing from both American and Vietnamese sources, to try and examine a war that has plagued both nations involved even to the present time.