It was at the end of a nearly 40-minute televised speech that President Lyndon Johnson shocked the nation with his words: “With American sons in the field far away, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office…. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”