--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lyndon Johnson is still the most…" description: "\"Lyndon Johnson is still the most formidable, fascinating, frustrating, irritating individual I think I've ever known in my entire life. He was huge, a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_character_lyndon-johnson-is-still-the-most-formida_3217484.png" --- # Lyndon Johnson is still the most formidable, fascinating… ![“Lyndon Johnson is still the most formidable, fascinating, frustrating, irritating individual I think I've ever known in my entire life. He was huge, a huge character, not only standing six feet four, but when you talked to him, he violated the normal human space between people. He was a great…” quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_character_lyndon-johnson-is-still-the-most-formida_3217484.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_character_lyndon-johnson-is-still-the-most-formida_3217484.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_character_lyndon-johnson-is-still-the-most-formida_3217484.png) > “Lyndon Johnson is still the most formidable, fascinating, frustrating, irritating individual I think I've ever known in my entire life. He was huge, a huge character, not only standing six feet four, but when you talked to him, he violated the normal human space between people. He was a great storyteller. The problem was that half his stories, I discovered, weren't true.” [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Johnson was a towering, charismatic figure whose presence and storytelling were compelling, yet many of his tales were fabricated, revealing a complex mix of charm and deceit. **In simple terms:** A charismatic leader can also be deceptive. Key Takeaway Beware of charisma masking truth. Themes leadership charisma deception storytelling personality Mood critical reflective Type historical biographical When to use this quote - political speeches - personal interviews - historical biographies Key Concepts political power narrative control authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does personal magnetism affect your judgment? - When should you question a compelling storyteller? A Different Perspective Charisma can obscure factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Entire life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entire-life/) [Fascinating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascinating/) [Fascinating Frustrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascinating-frustrating-3277999/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Formidable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formidable/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Frustrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrating/) [Great Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-storyteller-302899/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [Huge Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge-character-3303448/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Irritating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritating/) [Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johnson/) [Johnson Formidable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johnson-formidable-6035686/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lyndon johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyndon-johnson/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space between](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-between/) [Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyteller/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [What's so fascinating and frustrating and great about life is that you're constantly starting over, all the time, and I love that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-crystal/what-s-so-fascinating-and-frustrating-and-great-about-life-is-that/) [Billy Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-crystal/) > [One of the things that I love so much about the character of Sally Bowles is that she is such a huge character -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barrett-wilbert-weed/one-of-the-things-that-i-love-so-much-about-the-character-of-sally/) [Barrett Wilbert Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barrett-wilbert-weed/) > [Improv is such a huge part of my background, and a huge part of character discovery is really being inside the character and trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-rothwell/improv-is-such-a-huge-part-of-my-background-and-a-huge-part-of/) [Natasha Rothwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-rothwell/) > [Aquaman has the ability to be a huge character, and I think we really brought him to a new level in comic books, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/aquaman-has-the-ability-to-be-a-huge-character-and-i-think-we-really/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Reed Richards in 'Fantastic Four,' to me, was a huge character departure from, like, 'That Awkward Moment' or anything that I'd just done before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-teller/reed-richards-in-fantastic-four-to-me-was-a-huge-character-departure/) [Miles Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-teller/) > [I think with Lyndon Johnson, the most important thing I learned was that he never had the sense of security that comes from inside.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-think-with-lyndon-johnson-the-most-important-thing-i-learned-was/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [It took me five years on Lyndon Johnson, ten years on the Kennedys, six years on the Roosevelts. Inevitably, you get shaped by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/it-took-me-five-years-on-lyndon-johnson-ten-years-on-the-kennedys-six/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“For better than thirty years, as a working historian, I have written on leaders I knew, such as Lyndon Johnson, and interviewed intimates of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/for-better-than-thirty-years-as-a-working-historian-i-have-written-on/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [My recurring nightmare is that someday I will be faced with a panel: Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson all of whom will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/my-recurring-nightmare-is-that-someday-i-will-be-faced-with-a-panel/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [ Years of concentration solely on work and individual success meant that in his retirement \[Lyndon Johnson\] could find no solace in family, in recreation,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/years-of-concentration-solely-on-work-and-individual-success-meant/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Even though Lyndon Johnson's presidency was in many ways scarred forever by the war in Vietnam, and destroyed in a lot of ways, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/even-though-lyndon-johnson-s-presidency-was-in-many-ways-scarred/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's the mark of a great storyteller, never to give away secrets in advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdiarmid/that-s-the-mark-of-a-great-storyteller-never-to-give-away-secrets-in/) [Ian McDiarmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdiarmid/) > [I look at the stories that Spike Lee tells... 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