1996 State of the Union Address: Lyndon Johnson's Great Society

    1996 State of the Union Address: Lyndon Johnson's Great Society

      When Johnson became president after the Kennedy assassination, he launched a series of domestic programs designed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.

      Historians have dubbed Johnson's domestic agenda "the Great Society," from a speech he gave at the University in Michigan in 1964. (Source)

      Johnson started more government programs than there are Rocky sequels. Enduring programs like Medicare and the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities are still around today. Other acts provided more funding for public education and nature preservation. Factor in defense spending during the Vietnam War, and you can understand how "the era of big government" Bill Clinton talked about in 1996 arguably began with Johnson.

      He's also responsible for this hilarious bit of unintentional comedy.