Part 4 Chapter 28 Summary

LBJ had suffered a myocardial infarction, the death or damaging of heart muscle resulting from arterial blockage. He was sedated for forty-eight hours and whenever lucid, he pumped Lady Bird for information on his condition. It was grave. On the fourth day, the press was told LBJ was resting comfortably and would not return to the Senate until January. Journalists wrote off his chances for the White House and even questioned his future as Senate Leader.

LBJ fell into deep depression and responded neither to medication nor to his mother's presence. He refused to speak. Aides clamored for access. Sam Rayburn visited with tears in his eyes. Baker pledged to follow him if he chose to resign his seat and run the radio station. The malaise ended when LBJ decided that the avalanche of letters coming to his office had to...