Lyndon Johnson actually said...

After careful review with my senior advisers, I have accepted this recommendation.

I have decided to propose to the Government of Panama the negotiation of an entirely new treaty on the existing Panama Canal.

Since the first Christmas, man has moved slowly but steadily forward toward realizing the promise of peace on earth among men of good will.

The canal is growing old, and so are the treaties for its management, which go back to 1903.