Beset by the public's perception that the war was lost after the Tet Offensive, poll results showing declining support for the war, and the widening credibility gap, Johnson announced in a nationally televised speech that he was halting the bombing over North Vietnam. In addition, he was sending a representative to North Vietnam to try to negotiate a peace settlement to end the war. Finally, he pledged to work for peace in Vietnam for the rest of the year. Then he dropped his bombshell, almost as an afterthought. "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President," he told an astonished audience. Almost no one was aware of his plan to step aside as president. His health was beginning to decline, and he was willing...