turning point: the tet offensive
On January 30, 1968, the televised Tet Offensive–North Vietnamese attacks on South Vietnam–was a political failure for the U.S. The public,
“presented with the ‘facts’- the gunfire, destruction, and casualties-the result was also disbelief–disbelief in
the optimistic reports of progress that had been given by the administration for months prior."
The graphic images were presented without context, broadcasted to shock the viewers, and bombarded America's living rooms with no concern for foreign policy.
“presented with the ‘facts’- the gunfire, destruction, and casualties-the result was also disbelief–disbelief in
the optimistic reports of progress that had been given by the administration for months prior."
The graphic images were presented without context, broadcasted to shock the viewers, and bombarded America's living rooms with no concern for foreign policy.
The harrowing reality of the Vietnam War
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Feb. 28, 1968
As Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America stated: "To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe...the optimists who have been wrong in the past...we are mired in a bloody stalemate...the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion." Walter Cronkite's Report from Vietnam (1968)
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A still of Walter Cronkite's Report on the CBS Evening News
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Anti-war demonstrations increased with protesters chanting, "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" Lyndon B. Johnson, entangled by this “credibility gap” and unable to override the public consensus that U.S. was fighting a hopeless war, promised to limit war efforts and that he would not run for re-election in 1968. The media had proven itself a powerful influence on the American constituency.
"Hey! Hey! LBJ!"Minette's "Hey! Hey! LBJ How Many Kids Did You Kill Today?" (1968)
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Walt Rostow, the National Security Adviser under Lyndon B. Johnson stated, "The massive uninhibited reporting of the complex war was generally undistinguished and often biased," but he also admitted that the Administration failed to provide a "clear and persuasive picture of our involvement in Vietnam."
Since Vietnam, the government had carefully tangoed with the public, providing winning war images without revealing the brutality of war.
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President Johnson Reacts to War News: "President Lyndon B. Johnson reacts to word of new problems in Vietnam in 1964. " (Photo Credit: Corbis)
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