Lyndon Johnson was an iconic figure. There's the picture of him holding the beagle by the ears, a famous picture of a distraught LBJ listening to news from Vietnam, and did you ever here the phone call of him ordering pants? It's at least PG-13. Little known until recently, however, is the story of how we almost lost a second President in as many days.
In the book and subsequent documentary The Kennedy Detail, Secret Service Agent Gerald Blaine explained how he almost shot the new President just hours after Kennedy was killed. Blaine was assigned to protect Johnson's Washington home and was standing guard the night after Kennedy had been assassinated. He heard a noise. Blaine cocked his Thompson submachine gun sure that the noise would stop the potential intruder. He was surprised to hear footsteps still coming toward him. Blaine then put the gun to his shoulder and yelled for the intruder to show himself shouting, "let me see your face, you b####rd" (edited, he didn't say number sign). Just then, the new President of the United States turned the corner and reportedly turned quite pale. LBJ could not sleep and was walking about the house. Blaine said he struggled to compose himself after that. He had nearly killed the President.
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