George Reedy
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George Edward Reedy (August 5, 1917 – March 21, 1999) was the tenth White House Press Secretary, and served under President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
from 1964 to 1965.


Life and career

Born in
East Chicago East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing act ...
,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, Reedy attended
Senn High School Senn High School is a public four-year high school located in the Edgewater neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Senn is operated by the Chicago Public Schools system and was opened on 3 February 1913. The school ...
in Chicago and graduated from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1938. Reedy was a reporter for
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
in Washington, D.C. before joining Johnson's Senate staff in 1951. He worked as an aide to Johnson during his presidential campaign in 1960, his term as vice-president, and his early months as President. When
Pierre Salinger Pierre Emil George Salinger (June 14, 1925 – October 16, 2004) was an American journalist, author and politician. He served as the ninth press secretary for United States Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Salinger served a ...
resigned as press secretary in March 1964, Reedy was named to the position. During the escalation of the American involvement in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
beginning in March 1965, press questions over the veracity of the Johnson Administration's public assessments of the war led to charges of a so-called
credibility gap Credibility gap is a term that came into wide use with journalism, political and public discourse in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, it was most frequently used to describe public skepticism about the Lyndon B. Johnson a ...
. In 1965 Reedy took a leave of absence over his disagreement with Johnson's Vietnam policies. In 1968 he returned to the White House to work as a special assistant shortly before Johnson's surprise announcement that he would not seek reelection. After Johnson left office, Reedy started a supplementary newspaper serving South America and published ''The Twilight of the Presidency'' in 1970. The book was a critical and influential look at the modern American presidency and, in particular, at the impact that war has had on the office. While the book was not specifically critical of Johnson, the former president was reportedly unhappy with its frank assessment of the presidency and refused to speak with Reedy ever again. Early in his post-
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
presidency,
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
asked his White House staff to read it.John Dean's essay on ''The Twilight of the Presidency'' In 1972 Reedy accepted an appointment as professor and dean of the journalism school at
Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
. Reedy resigned as dean in 1976, but continued as Lucius W. Nieman Professor of Journalism (1977–1990) and Professor Emeritus (1991–1996). Reedy was married to fellow journalist Lillian Greenwald from 1948 until her death in 1984. He was married to Ruth Wissman from 1988 until his death in Milwaukee in 1999.


Works

* ''The Twilight of the Presidency: An Examination of Power and Isolation in the White House'' (1970, rev. 1987) * ''The Presidency in Flux'' (1973) * ''Lyndon B. Johnson: A Memoir'' (1982) * ''The U.S. Senate: Paralysis, or a Search for Consensus?'' (1986) * ''From the Ward to the White House: The Irish in American Politics'' (1991)


References


External links


John Dean's essay on ''The Twilight of the Presidency''Oral History Interviews with George Reedy, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reedy, George 1917 births 1999 deaths People from East Chicago, Indiana University of Chicago alumni White House Press Secretaries