How did LBJ's administration view the conflict in Vietnam, and how do the Ho Chi Minh and John Kerry sources present a different picture?

Certainly, President Johnson's (and his administration's) view of the Vietnam War differed widely from that of Ho Chi Minh and John Kerry. In my answer, I make references to Ho Chi Minh's letter to President Johnson and John Kerry's testimony to the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations.
First, we will discuss President Johnson's view of the conflict in Vietnam. In practice, Johnson continued the geopolitical policies of his predecessors (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy). All three former presidents favored a policy of containment. Briefly, containment refers to the policy of arresting the spread of communism across the global stage. Containment was actually a Cold War strategy, one focused on pushing back the Soviet Union's incursion into Asia and Eastern Europe.
When Johnson took over the reins of government from Kennedy, he continued the United States' policy of containment in Vietnam. The president was focused on driving back Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh movement, which claimed the authority to unite Vietnam under the communist banner. Interestingly, Ho had long enjoyed an alliance with the United States prior to the Vietnam conflict.
During WWII, Ho asked for American (Allied) help in efforts to expel the Japanese from Vietnamese shores. The United States, fully immersed in the war against Japan and Germany, provided that help willingly. In Vietnam, Ho's Viet Minh nationalist movement led the attacks against Japanese troops, with the full support of American special operations forces.
At this point, it is worth pointing out that Ho was a communist. In fact, he was trained in China and the Soviet Union. Ho's primary goal was to expel every occupying force from Vietnam, whether they were French, Japanese, or American. So, Ho's collaboration with the Americans during WWII was a dispassionate act of Machiavellian self-preservation. After the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces, Ho turned his attention to ejecting American forces from Vietnam.
For his part, Ho was focused on uniting Vietnam under the communist banner. Ho's ideal for Vietnam, of course, clashed with that of Johnson. As a defense hawk, Johnson was fully committed to the policy of containment. Therefore, Ho's vision for Vietnam conflicted with Johnson's ideals.
Eventually, Johnson increased American involvement in the Vietnam War. Citing unprovoked attacks by North Vietnamese troops on American ships in international waters in 1964, Johnson appealed to Congress. With the Tonkin Gulf Resolution signed into law, Johnson received broad powers to escalate American involvement in Vietnam. In retaliation, Ho's Viet Minh and Vietcong forces in South Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive in 1968.
Prior to the Tet Offensive, Ho had written to Johnson. In a 1967 letter, Ho accused Johnson's troops of committing crimes against humanity. Righteously indignant, Ho reiterated his position: he would not come to the table for talks until Johnson ceased his bombing raids against Viet Cong and Viet Minh forces. If you read the letter, you can see that Ho's perspective about the Vietnam War differed greatly from that of Johnson. While Johnson wanted to keep communist aggression from spreading across the world stage, Ho desired to strengthen the communist hold over Vietnam.
Now, for John Kerry's testimony. Kerry had another view about the Vietnam conflict. He maintained that there were no winners in the war. Both American troops and the Vietnamese people suffered greatly. Meanwhile, atrocities of great magnitude were committed not only by Viet Cong forces but also by American troops.
As for the Vietnamese people, Kerry testified that most had no comprehension of the difference between communism and Western-style democracy. However, all wanted peace and were willing to support either the Viet Minh (North Vietnamese) forces, Viet Cong guerrilla troops, or the American military. In essence, the Vietnamese people only wanted an end to all hostilities.
Kerry charged that Johnson's administration had betrayed American troops and the Vietnamese people. He maintained that American soldiers died needlessly in rice paddies, bereft of help from supposed US allies. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese people were mercilessly massacred by troops from both sides of the conflict. So, again, Kerry's perspective about the war differed from that of Johnson and Ho Chi Minh.
https://prde.upress.virginia.edu/content/Vietnam

https://www.historynet.com/how-american-operatives-saved-the-man-who-started-the-vietnam-war.htm

https://www.historynet.com/lyndon-b-johnson