Answered from Robert Caro – The master biographer reflects at 91 · Dwarkesh Podcast · 2026-10-30
Yes. Robert Caro told Dwarkesh Patel he wished Coke Stevenson, the Texas governor known as Mr. Texas and the subject of much of Means of Ascent, had won the 1948 Senate election. Caro said Stevenson was an idealist who still knew how to get things done as governor and would have been a great senator. He sees tragedy in how Stevenson lost, never grasping what Johnson was willing to do in that election.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Dwarkesh Podcast (2026-10-30). Read the whole episode summary →