Editing Richard Helms (section)

===Johnson withdraws===
[[File:L B Johnson Model Khe Sanh.jpeg|thumb|President Johnson during the Vietnam War, February 1968]]
In America, what became the Vietnam War lost domestic political support, and seriously injured the popularity of the Johnson administration. In the spring of election year 1968, following the unexpected January [[Tet offensive]] in Vietnam, the war issue reached a crisis.<ref>Joseph Buttinger, ''Vietnam. The unforgettable tragedy'' (1977) pp. 101–103.</ref><ref>Ranelagh (1986) pp. 462–467.</ref> In March, Helms prepared yet another special CIA report for the President and arranged for CIA officer George Carver to present it in person to Johnson. Carver was then the CIA's Special Assistant for Vietnam Affairs (SAVA).<ref>Powers (19779) p. 213 re SAVA.</ref>

Helms writes, "In his typically unvarnished manner, George had presented a bleak but accurate view of the situation and again demonstrated that the NVN strength in South Vietnam was far stronger than had been previously reported by [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam|MACV]]." Carver "closed by saying in effect that not even the President could not tell the American voters on one day that the United States planned to get out of Vietnam, and on the next day tell Ho Chi Minh that we will stick it out for twenty years. With this LBJ rose like a roasted pheasant and bolted from the room." But Johnson soon returned.<ref>Helms (2003) pp. 331–332, quote at 332.</ref><ref>Powers (1979) p. 220.</ref><ref>Ranelagh (1086) p. 467.</ref> Helms described what happened next.

<blockquote>The President, who was a foot and a half taller and a hundred pounds heavier than George, struck him a resounding clap on the back and caught his hand in an immense fist. Wrenching George's arm up and down with a pumping motion that might have drawn oil from a dry Texas well, Johnson congratulated him on the briefing, and on his services to the country and its voters. As he released George, he said, 'Anytime you want to talk to me, just pick up the phone and come over.' It was a vintage LBJ performance.<ref>Helms (2003) p. 332.</ref></blockquote>

Earlier, a group of foreign policy elders, known as [[The Wise Men (book)|The Wise Men]], having first heard from the CIA, then confronted Johnson about the difficulty of winning in Vietnam. The president was unprepared to accept their negative findings. "Lyndon Johnson must have considered March 1968 the most difficult month of his political career," wrote Helms later. Eventually, this frank advice contributed to Johnson's decision in March to withdraw from the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]].<ref>[[Walter Isaacson]] and [[Evan Thomas]], ''[[The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made]]'' (New York: Simon and Schuster 1986) pp. 676–713 (chapter 23).</ref><ref>Helms (2003) pp. 332–333 (quote).</ref><ref>Turner (2005) pp. 120–121. Turner faults Helms for not getting the frank truth about Vietnam to Johnson earlier.</ref>