Proceeding from the idea that “power reveals,” Caro argued that “once he had acquired power in the Senate, [Johnson’s] compassion shines forth.”

He used power “not only to manipulate others, but to help others,” Caro said.

Describing the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Bill as Johnson’s “greatest accomplishment,” Caro called him the greatest white champion of civil rights since Abraham Lincoln.

When asked during the question and answer session if “the means justify the ends”—if Johnson’s beneficent legislation justified the ruthless tactics he employed to attain power—Caro did not give a definitive response.

“I haven’t resolved the answer,” Caro said. “I’m still working that out. I don’t know if I’ll ever work it out.”

Audience response to the lecture seemed to be overwhelming positive.

“What struck me is I’ve attended many of these [lectures] over the years, and I’ve never seen the audience so engaged with the speaker,” Bradley P. Ware ’71 said. “He’s a very warm person.”

Caro is currently working on the fourth and final volume of his Years of Lyndon Johnson series, which focuses on his years in the White House.

When asked when the projected publication date was, the notoriously voluminous author quipped, “Whatever I said, why would you believe me?... I’m working as fast as I can.”

The lecture, cosponsored by the Institute of Politics and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, was held at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

Caro will participate in a follow-up seminar this morning at 9 a.m. at the KSG.