LBJ: The Early Years An offer of the Vice Presidency by John Kennedy is at first rejected by Johnson because of the advice of Sam Rayburn. The next day, Rayburn tells Johnson that he changed his mind, and LBJ accepts the offer, despite Robert Kennedy's attempt at squashing the idea. After JFK is elected in 1960, Johnson soon regrets his decision, and he is made to fill the most benign of roles while the President and his brother shut him out of meetings. This position changes drastically when John Kennedy is shot in Dallas in 1963, and Lyndon Johnson becomes the new President of
The American President in the movie President Shepherd never considers a "disproportionate" response while President Bartlet plans such an action to destroy a large civilian airport in Syria; he eventually gives the green light for a strike similar to the one used in the movie. The Global Defense Council, the fictional environmental lobby where Sydney Wade worked, is also featured in the "West Wing" episode called "The Drop-In", and is often referred to in other episodes. In "The American President", Sydney Ellen Wade is ultimately fired from her lobbyist position because the president has brokered a deal that causes her legislative effort to