 Lyndon Johnson was depressed and despondent at the course of recent events . The New York Times article had been released just two days before the Democratic Party ( United States ) ' s New Hampshire primary , where the President suffered an unexpected setback in the election , finishing barely ahead of Senator Eugene McCarthy . Soon afterward , Senator Robert F. Kennedy announced he would join the contest for the Democratic nomination , further emphasizing the plummeting support for Johnson 's administration in the wake of Tet . 
