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
Secretary to the President of the United States had one messenger and one secretary (referred to as an amanuensis in the common parlance of the time) at his disposal, both of whose salaries were paid by the President personally. In fact, all Presidents up to James Buchanan paid the salaries of their private secretaries out of their own pockets; these roles were usually fulfilled by their relatives, most often their sons or nephews. James K. Polk notably had his wife take the role. It was during Buchanan's term at the White House in 1857 that the United States Congress created a definite office named the "Private Secretary at