A portrayal of the Lyndon B. Johnson (Sir Michael Gambon) Presidency and its spiralling descent into the Vietnam War. Acting on often conflicting advice from his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara (Alec Baldwin) and other advisers, President Johnson finds his domestic policy agenda for the Great Society overtaken by an ever demanding commitment to ending the war. It also depicts his political skills as he crosses swords with political foes such as Robert F. Kennedy (himself) and Governor George Wallace (Gary Sinise). Despite support and encouragement from stalwart friends such as Clark Clifford (Donald Sutherland), Johnson realizes his management of the war no longer has the confidence of the American people and announces that he will not seek the nomination of the Democratic party for the the 1968 election.
