27. Editorial Note
On February 19, 1965, President Johnson nominated Thomas C. Mann as Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Jack Hood Vaughn as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. In recommending his successor, Mann told the President that Vaughn [Page 74] had done a “superior job” as Ambassador to Panama and had enough of a “liberal image” that “he might even be able to convert Schlesinger.” Mann also said that Secretary of State Rusk had given “no objection” to the appointment. (Memorandum of telephone conversation, January 26; Johnson Library, Papers of Thomas C. Mann, Telephone Conversations with LBJ, January 14, 1964–April 30, 1965) Mann later told the President that “we had to build up Vaughn to the Latin American Ambassadors so they will think of him as the boss and let Mr. Mann work behind the scenes.” (Memorandum of conversation, February 24; ibid.) In a meeting with Rusk on March 18, Director of Central Intelligence McCone criticized the choice, warning that “much of the good work accomplished in the last year or year and a half would be undone by Vaughn unless he was given very strong supervision and guidance by Rusk, Ball and Mann.” According to McCone: “Rusk indicated he had nothing to do with the appointment, inferred, but not mentioned, that the appointment was made by the President.” (Memorandum for the record, Central Intelligence Agency, DCI (McCone) Files, Job 80–B01285A, Memos for the Record) Vaughn was confirmed by the Senate on March 9 and assumed his new responsibilities on March 22. For additional documentation on the Vaughn and Mann appointments, see Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, volume XXXIII.