Masking inconsistency: The Tonkin gulf crisis

Because crises evoke images of threatening events appearing beyond control, they supercede previous rhetorical acts and assessments of them, helping to reconcile potential contradictions within an administration's stance. President Lyndon Johnson's response to the August 1964 naval skirmishes in Tonkin Gulf is a case in point. As the early months of 1964 unfolded, Johnson became convinced of the necessity of a United States intervention in Vietnam. This sentiment, however, was not reflected in his public discourse; there thus emerged a disjunction between the president's private image and public persona and between his actions and the proposed policies of Barry Goldwater—Johnson's political rival. The naval encounters in Tonkin Gulf allowed Johnson to reconcile his public persona with his private image without arousing suspicion. Tonkin Gulf, therefore, was an episode in masking inconsistency. It demonstrated how international crises permit chief executives to establish a credible and consistent public image.