Obama and LBJ cont.

Adding on to Laura's post below, I think it would be very curious to go over some of the other similarities/complications that Obama has with LBJ, who achieved the zenith of liberalism in 1965 with his "Great Society" federal spending programs.
Obama has also announced his plans for an ambitious stimulus bill that he wants congress to have drafted and "on his desk" when he assumes office on January 20th. The roughly $750 Billion bill is focused on creating new jobs, improving infrastructure, and providing relief for state governments, three things that Obama hopes will revitalize the flailing economy.
Johnson wasn't dealing with a sputtering economy, but instead spent billions on education, urban development, and federal assistance to the poor in his "war on poverty," but after the riots that plagued the country during the mid to late 60's there was a general backlash against his spending, the new scope of the federal government and the effectiveness of his programs.
Although Obama is unlikely to see such a vast backlash towards any of his programs, and will not inherit as tumultous of a country as Johnson did, he must be careful to ensure his popular support by including Republicans and Conservative Democrats in crafting his agenda, keeping this in mind he could leave the White House with an impressive legislative legacy that would both cripple Republican opposition as well as create a better playing field for Democrats in the midterm elections as well as a possible successor in 2016.
Obama also has to deal with the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, these two wars plagued the Bush Administration and the Vietnam War plagued Johnson's administration, careful oversight of both of these conflicts as well as a feeling towards de-escalation could keep Obama from falling into the same traps that Johnson fell into, and Obama can learn from the mistakes of LBJ by maintaining a sense of transparency on how the war is handled and not downplaying any mistakes the government may have made. Johnson also fell out of favor with the press, who wrote about the "credibility gap" that he had made for himself and he faced widespread criticism on how honest he was in detailing the progress of the war in Vietnam.
Obama can also learn a lot from Johnson's successes as well as his failures, and should spend a good amount of time studying the LBJ administration and what worked, and what didn't.