and then, as ladybird wrote, kenny o'donnell, as you say, came into the room.ird wrote "seeing the stricken face of kenny o'donnell, who loved him, we knew." a moment later, another kennedy assistant comes into the room and says to lyndon johnson, "mr. president." it's the first time anyone's called him that. but he has to make decisions immediately, and the decisions you're talking about he makes immediately. they say we've got to get you back to the plane, take off and get back to washington. and he says i'm not going without mrs. kennedy. they say she won't go without her husband's body. and lyndon johnson says, well, then i'm not going until she and the coffin are aboard. in a way, that's a humanitarian thing. you're not leaving her behind. in a way, it's just what you've described, a political thing. he wants jackie kennedy beside him in the photograph as a symbol of continuity, one administration going into the other. and he wants the other kennedy people around him. and he sends out to the front cabin to have his secretaries brought in, like evelyn linco

after 40 minutes kenny o'donnell, who is a kennedy aide who loved jack kennedy, comes through the door to recall in her diary that seeing the stricken face of kenny o'donnell who loved him we knew. the moment later another kennedy aide comes into the room and says to johnson, mr. president. it's the first time anyone has ever called him mr. president. so you say for 40 minutes the man who actually probably is already president of the united states is standing there. he stands almost motionless, standing against this wall. lady bird is sitting beside him. no one knows what he is thinking, but when he is addressed as mr. president, he starts immediately giving decisive orders. >> and he orchestrates the famous photograph that we have all seen because he wants jackie kennedy to be on that plane flying back to washington. he wants the world to see that this was a peaceful transfer of power, but with the consent and in a sense the buy-in of the kennedys. >> he takes steps to do that. you also have to say, however, with lyndon johnson nothing is simple. you have to say there is another motiv

friend as well as an aide, walks in and lady bird wrote in her diary "seeing stricken face of kenny o'donnell who loved him, we knew." and a moment later another kennedy aide comes up to lyndon johnson and says "mr. psident." anit'she rst te he's been called that. >> rose: so then johnson reacts how? >> that's... he is transformed, you know? when he wrote... when he was roaming around the senate floor and he was a figure, you know, of... during the three years where he didn't have power it's like someone... the lack of power almost made him ill. he lost his great amount of weight, he had this hang dog look like this. his suits were too big on him, his steps were shorter. as he's standing there, lady bird said it was like his face turned into a bronze image. people who knew johnson knew that this was what he was like in emergencies. and by the time the secret service agents come in to tell him to get to the plane, he is in charge. >> rose: and he basically said later "i felt like every... i felt like that i had to do this because the world was looking to me." >> yes, he said "it didn't matter