Anyone with an interest in the United States presidency should delight in this brief telephone conversation between clothier Joe Haggar and President Lyndon B. Johnson in August of 1964.
LBJ is on the hunt for some lightweight slacks, so he calls up Haggar to order some. He needs them about half an inch bigger in the waist than what he had before, and President Johnson goes into some detail about what he needs.
For example, in addition to a little more slack in the waist, the president wants longer pockets because “my money and my knife just fall out.”
The president especially needs more “stride in the crotch,” as Mr. Haggar politely puts it. Johnson puts it more crudely when he asks for more room in the crotch, and even more crudely when he asks for more room in the seat.
The recording is only a few minutes long, and the accompanying transcript makes it easy to follow along. Oh, and listen keenly, or you’ll miss a great, mid-sentence presidential belch.
(Photo by Yoichi R. Okamoto, from the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum. Photo ID c909-18-wh65.)
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