CBS anchor Walter Cronkite declares on-air, on February 27, 1968, that the U.S. was "mired in stalemate and that negotiations were the only rational way out. argued that the war was a "standoff" and that further military escalation would not lead to victory, but rather to a prolonged, costly conflict."
The pessimistic assessment by America's most trusted reporter made following a trip to Vietnam after the Tet Offensive, challenged the official optimism and it is believed to have contributed to a major shift in public opinion, prompting President Johnson to seek a negotiated peace decision and not to seek re-election.
