I think he's trying to paint himself like Johnson, who had wanted to be known for passing the kind of civil-rights legislation that Kennedy had been skittish about...but ended up being saddled with a quagmire in Vietnam.
(To complete the analogy, remember that Bush originally said he wanted to be known as the Education President, and the first bill he signed into law was No Child Left Behind.)
Personally I think he's more like that other Johnson, trying his darndest to turn back the clock on progress, but without a furious Congress of the other party willing to impeach him, even for more than just politically-motivated reasons.