Cheered by the thought of not having to campaign again for another six years, Arkansas's most famous son returned to Washington in January 1969 in a buoyant mood. Fulbright's reelection had elevated him to the top echelon of the Senate seniority system and earned him a spot on the Democratic Steering Committee. Despite the fact that Congress was in the hands of one party and the executive the other, Fulbright was cautiously optimistic concerning the prospects for a bipartisan foreign policy. The day following the election, Nixon had called Fulbright to exchange congratulations and to emphasize his intent to consult the SFRC every step of the way. Fulbright was delighted with Nixon's choice of his old friend William Rogers to be secretary of state. Rogers, an urbane New York lawyer, had handled his duties as point man for the Eisenhower administration's civil rights program with tact and skill. He had repeatedly demonstrated that he was neither a right-wing ideologue nor an inflexible cold warrior. Fulbright anticipated, somewhat naively, that, unlike the manipulation that had characterized bipartisanship under Dulles and Eisenhower, authentic cooperation would be the watchword under Rogers and Nixon. The fact that Nixon had consulted with him before naming a secretary of state pleased the chairman immensely. “A Sweet J. W. Fulbright, ” proclaimed Rowland Evans and Robert Novak in their bi-weekly column.

Four days before Richard Nixon was inaugurated, the Senate bade farewell to Lyndon Johnson. Room S-207 was packed with senators and their staffs when the president, Lady Bird, Lucy, and Linda arrived. Johnson charged into the crowd with his accustomed enthusiasm.