Nixon, Connally & Wallace on Edward M. Kennedy and Shirley Chisholm

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I think it may be a bad idea to turn off the press.

and they screw up why don't we just have her go up with the press without me how's that sound yeah or do you think i have to go too oh hell no look if you go over there you've got to stand there and talk to 800 people or whatever it is throughout assassinating presidents because that's all anybody's going to talk about they're on the top of the truth well can she go ahead and do it she didn't i don't see why not she could go okay

Because the people were already there.

It would still be better if they weren't impressed.

Oh, well, you can't be impressed.

That's fine.

I didn't just go ahead and put the event, but without me there.

Mr. Bexley, please.

Go ahead.

I don't know if you've ever graciously smiled at people in the rest of the union hall of St. Christ because you're a boss.

Well, it was the same damn stuff, you know.

He fell down on the stage and his wife threw herself down on top of him and, you know.

She did?

Yeah, it's like the... That's the news story.

You see, if she gets...

I don't know.

It's kind of incongruous.

I mean, people's minds aren't going to be unmovable next year.

Nobody's going to think about it.

That's right.

Good God.

This is the kind of thing that we have to be happy about.

I wonder if we can go ahead with the common rule mark.

I think we're going to go.

Maybe somebody will know now.

Or will they?

If he lives, you know, if he's going to be all right, I think he probably can.

In fact, maybe it's good.

That's why I want him to come over.

We've got to decide that.

Well, we'll take the Wallace story to the Vietnam of the news tonight.

Too bad.

It was a good day in Vietnam.

It's ironic.

He uses, apparently, a bulletproof podium as a thing of fashion.

Why not?

He's petrified.

He's shocked.

He glanced in front of me, finished his speech, stepped out from behind the podium, started...

and i guess it was there's still a few of those but apparently it was still fun i don't know if you can see the chamber moving here in laurel laurel harlem right now nobody's going to complain about our agency

That's something I'll probably have to consider because he's the holdout.

Now he's moving the Chelskos in there.

He's agreed to stay on as Secretary of Displacement is confirmed, which is good.

He's agreed to go on the FIAAB, Academy of Foreign Affairs, just in case there's a good reason to go up there.

Then I'm going to work out with him to send him on a trip to Latin America after he leaves.

He must be going to Brazil.

His view is very, very .

He said that he leaves and says immediately, I want to support the president, and so forth.

He said he's going to indicate that, as he did last week.

But he says, I don't.

He says, I want to let the other shoe drop out.

I'll tell you frankly, I can't support him.

I can't support him.

He shouldn't be against the Democratic Party.

He shouldn't be against the Democratic platform.

Yeah.

Well, the feeling here is that I definitely shouldn't go because, you know, they just have that impression of us good spirits and so on.

And I don't want to put a damper on the party.

Well, I don't believe you.

Well, I don't know.

I just think it's so, it's just so incongruous, basically, to be, you know, they'll clap when I come in and that sort of thing.

I mean, yeah, well, you know, it's, you know, equally as you're very upset about this kind of thing because of the candidate that, and so forth, you know, that a candidate's been shot.

I should just...

They did?

Yeah.

Yes, they did.

Well... We all hope that the President could not pretend, but...

But you could still give your remarks, is there?

Oh, I see.

well whatever they apparently were fine well well at least yeah fine okay anyway uh i'll have to decide very soon but i i i mustn't i just can't be there in terms of uh

Yeah, yeah.

I know, I know.

Okay, I'll see about it.

I'll call you back.

Well, just to come over, you see, they'll all be standing at least for a second.

I appreciate all your willingness to be a very

have the occasion and of course express appreciation for all you've done.

So to get a little remark about what they've done to redecorate the lighthouse from a loss to a shot and a certain chance of dying.

I will not be able to attend the reception of this text.

I'll be glad I didn't say too bad about it.

It might not be a bad thing.

In other words, not just go in the morning immediately, just to go over it.

Well, he should.

Yeah.

Yeah, I wouldn't shake hands.

That doesn't get as handy as a minute of silence standing at home with a prayer.

Ain't going to be no moment of silence.

That is just, John's out there holding me.

You want to see what he thinks?

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

No, I don't know.

Yeah, I know.

I understand that.

How's it working out?

It's okay.

How's it going?

It's all right.

So you're seeking service?

Yeah.

I had a couple of thoughts.

I think, John, that you ought to give us that God's damn academy.

If something happens to the son of a bitch, they'll say we didn't provide it.

Yeah.

So we, and I think if you ought to, if you ought to announce it yourself tonight, I mean, you could say you have, do you mind, you got a signal or anything to put this out?

I just think it's a good idea to just show that we're, we're aware of this thing.

No, I don't mind telling you.

I think I ought to get ahold of the proceedings and tell him we're going to do it.

Second point, let me ask you about one procedural point.

The present indications are that he is serious, but not credible, or we don't know whether he could be credible.

They say he's in a stable condition.

Well, he claims he can't move his legs.

Well, there was a story that he was a bullet in his spine.

Or as far as near his spine.

Well, the operation we do these days is pretty damn good.

But if he got his spine... Well, they don't know.

They don't know.

They won't know.

They've got an x-ray and the bullet's still in there.

Where were you doing the job?

Well, they came in the shoulder.

Hit your spine?

No.

Came in the shoulder, right about there.

He came out right here.

Did you go unconscious?

Oh, yeah.

I didn't follow that thing.

Of course you did, but I just didn't get that close enough to you.

I was conscious for, oh, I don't know, a minute or two.

Less than a minute.

I was conscious long enough to give a third shot.

Consciously.

I tried to, and this is when I was hit.

I was seated on the jump seat.

She was seated right in front of me.

And I was seated right in front of him.

And I heard the shock of what I thought was a shock.

and turned around, just instinctively, because he came from back over my shoulder to see if I could catch him out of the corner of my eye.

I did, looking this way, and I was in the process of turning this way, looking in the back seat when I got hit.

And, uh... Just a minute.

But you saw it all, and I was conscious, uh... Gene... Get a hold of, uh, Gene Brownlee, and let's get a detail on Kennedy tonight.

And I want to announce it over here, I think, or have Ron say that.

Yes, sir.

Or maybe if you'd have him.

I don't know.

I think we should save it, too.

I think I could slip over.

Well, then, let me get you.

Shirley Chisholm's office calls.

She's asking for protection now.

Get it to her.

Really?

How the hell do you avoid it?

I don't know how you avoid it.

Get it.

But don't take a chance.

Sometimes I'll bet you shoot her.

It's only for a brief time.

It's only a month.

A month and a half.

Well, eight weeks.

The question is whether or not we want to do Kennedy first or do two of them together.

See, I don't want this to build up so that you're forced into it.

Who else was left out?

You had Mills.

They're not active candidates.

That's what I'm saying.

It's not an active candidate.

Kennedy's asked for it, too.

They already set it up.

Kennedy asked for it, too, didn't he?

At some point.

All right, run down and let's call the chief lieutenant to be compared to one of Kennedy and Chisholm both.

All right.

I'll play a call to him.

He needs more recent information.

All right, get something, then.

Call us, will you?

See, John, that's exactly what I anticipated.

The heat would go on, and then we'd react to the heat, and I'd rather beat it to it.

Yeah, okay.

Well, in any way you know, it's only seven weeks.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, that's fine.

The other thing I was going to say is that you're still protecting Muskie.

Oh yeah.

Yes, for the lesser deacons, reduce coverage to the other farms.

I don't know.

We've got a lot of them.

We give them all over to this guy.

He told me he needs a couple of questions.

I was vice president.

I had two for eight years, even when I was in Caracas.

Well, this proves exactly the point you were talking about.

He, Wallace, had 50.

That's right.

50?

50.

Oh, hell, we've got 50 agents.

Not all at one time, but he's got a lot of agents.

You see, they have to go with him.

But I'm at 17 with him at this moment.

John, I have another thing that I, let me ask your advice on.

In this moment, it's terribly important.

It's that damn thing in the East Room.

Well, why don't you announce it that... You want me to do it?

I think you should.

Oh, all right.

Okay.

We've just got announced full Secret Service protection being offered to Senator Kennedy and to Congresswoman Chesham.

What's her first name?

Should have.

Should have, yeah.

And that others would receive the reduced cost of coverage if they so desired.

I think you should do that.

What do you see the problem?

you're going to have one you've got a debate going now on kennedy and chisholm has already asked for it she's just asked for it i i agree to announce it i'm just wondering do you want to go up there and do that maybe no i really don't think i'll do it that's right secretary of the president and the uh secretary of the president of the problem and uh

The Secretary of the United States and the President, of course, approved the Secretary's action.

How does that sound?

SECRETARY KERRY, You made that comment, or did you just say you ordered it?

SECRETARY KERRY, Yeah.

I wanted to say that the President asked the Secretary to come over.

They discussed the matter, and the President said that we should take every precaution for all candidates and for their directives.

The Secretary offered to offer Secret Service protection and protection, full Secret Service protection,

Senator Kennedy, Mr. Chisholm, and protection is necessary for others who are not the same.

Well, you can't say that Kennedy is a candidate.

You can't say that everybody knows he is.

But he's traveling around stumping and stirring people up.

Mills isn't stirring anybody up.

Nobody's going to shoot him over the head.

I think the idea is I called him up because that was exactly what happened.

I anticipated this.

I went through this over the evening when Bobby was shot.

At that time, they all provided secret service.

well then i'd rather come from you as an order because see we take the position that's right that under the law we can't we can't offer it all right we'll say that under we'll say that the president because because because senator kennedy is very active and traveling around the country uh at this time that uh the directivity would be provided i don't see the service coverage you know i mean if he decided to be offering the same just

They'll say, well, do you consider Kennedy a candidate?

What do you say?

Well, I would say that Secretary of Defense already has a legal opinion that convinces him that the senator does not qualify for the protection as a, quote, candidate.

Unquote.

But notwithstanding this, the President has directed that protection be offered.

That's right.

Because to just guard against any potential danger.

You see what I mean?

We'll say Secretary of Treasury has a legal opinion that he is not entitled to it legally, but the President directed that he... Then they'll say, well, why Kennedy and why not...

oh uh john gardner everybody take another example of uh kennedy's the only one under the congress tried to serve yes the secretary yeah forcing it but i think i i know the argument that it isn't convenient but we all know everybody in the right mind in this town knows that teddy kennedy is next to wallace is the most vulnerable of any man out there i don't want to say that all right all right may i may i brief

It's just one minute before the background on this.

Shouldn't we notify the senator's office before you do this on the press?

Yeah.

I can do that.

Yeah.

No, Rosario should do it.

Yeah.

Or the chief.

Yeah.

Yeah, we'll show up to them.

Both of us.

Riley should notify first before you do this.

That's right.

The background on this is simply that the advisory committee, which is composed of five people, Hugh Scott, Manstein, Tommy Kiefel,

carl albert and jerry ford met and they tried to write criteria that would include kennedy the law says that we afford protection for candidates for president and vice president and they tried to write a criteria to say him andrew got 20 percent

of the focus in any column, and this was written specifically to include Kennedy, even though he's not a active candidate, would be afforded protection.

We got in quite a discussion about whether or not that qualified under the law.

The law says, uses the word candidate.

We came back and we told them that we would offer, we would offer it to them if in our judgment.

The law permitted us to do so.

This is an advisory committee.

The Secretary of the Treasury has the final determination.

We came back.

We briefed it very carefully, leaned toward leniency.

But Judge Pierce said there's no question.

He's not entitled to it.

He's not a candidate.

He is a non-candidate.

He has specifically disavowed any interest as a candidate.

So we felt, under the law, we could not offer him protection.

That's the background.

Therefore, and I had written Mansfield that, and sent him a copy of the legal opinion, and wrote every member of the advisory committee that, and sent him a copy of the legal opinion.

So that's the background.

Now the president says, I don't care.

I'm ordering you to.

Well, the president can provide medical service or a secret service to anybody.

You know, the president provided his dose in one case.

Oh, yeah.

And President Johnson did this in 68.

He has provided for everybody.

That's right.

So we've got ample press report, but just say that now, notwithstanding, there was some legal question as to whether or not Senator Kennedy was entitled to it.

President, now, Mr. Speaker, let's have five minutes.

President, President, President, President.

Incidentally, John, I think you ought to call Kevin.

I think you ought to call Kevin on that route.

Senator Kennedy, please, for Secretary Connors.

So I think it's, we're trying to be, I see, man-scale his questions tonight.

And I think it's, I think the President directed these, and one other bit of information, the Senate has passed a resolution.

In effect, after my letter to them and after the legal opinion, the Senate passed a resolution

In effect, putting the decision in the hands of the advisory committee and taking it out of the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury so that they could, solely for the purpose of providing protection for Kennedy.

The House has not acted on it, but the President's now directing it.

You can tell John your receipts, if you will, of course, and tell the members of the advisory committee.

Thank you.

Just a minute.

This is Jerry Wallace's company.

So, Ms. Wallace, I just wanted you to know that we were terribly concerned about this shooting of your husband, and we just hope and pray that everything goes well.

I remember the time we had that nice visit down in Alabama.

Yeah, that's right.

How are things going?

But they don't have the, uh, they haven't, they haven't the, uh, test on it yet, but they've gone with their X-ray and the cross.

He is conscious.

Yeah.

How's his spirit?

Yeah.

Well, you tell him to just keep his spirit and tell him that all of us people in politics have got to expect some dangers and that Mrs. Nixon and I both send our very best wishes so that he'll be sure to remember our thoughts and our prayers.

And you'll tell him to write as I call.

Will you please?

Oh, yeah.

Right.

I've got to say one thing to him.

He's a fighter.

That's right.

You remember, you remember, you can tell him a little history.

Theodore Roosevelt was shot when he was campaigning as a third party candidate in the final election.

And he went on and finished the speech.

Of course, he wasn't, he wasn't going to be shot down, no, he wasn't going to show this.

So tell him that, tell him that the politicians are too tough to meet other people.

All right, thank you.

She's laughing.

She says he'll probably be out there running against you in November.

This will give him a big boost.

Oh, God.

He's a celebrity now.

If he ever was before, I don't think he'd let go of the gun on his arm.

He would have had some very sinister thoughts about this old man.

He probably did deliver it.

Yeah.

But not if it went, not if the guy shot him.

Well, part of all of that is, they thought it was going to be bad.

But it has to be.

It's not what Schubert lodged against his time.

He said he doesn't have much room in his.

like so that may be just you know how it is in georgia great action oh yeah michigan too you think you win that one probably after this

John feels you should go over and do the thing that you said.

And that you and Mrs. Nixon both ought to leave.

and then just let clinton let the guests mingle around unless unless you get some word it's not that he's all right if he's all right i think you might think about staying but i people aren't going to know that but they aren't going to know that we aren't going to know no not around people he has to stay with him he's got to talk to all those people they're all going to laugh about assassinating miles and all too i don't want to be i don't want to be mr laughing well that's the point

Yeah, I would do it.

I would, frankly, I would walk in and have a very brief statement, just as you were talking to me.

And tell them, some of them may not know what happened.

But you, Mr. Secretary, for your work, this is open for full press coverage.

Yeah.

But that's fine.

They didn't go ahead and just say it didn't work.

They just said it didn't work.

Mike, you said we were planning every Sunday of the day, but you know, Dr. Wallace is, you know, I want to give you a report that I just told Mrs. Wallace and he is resting comfortably.

We will not have a final.

But we're, of course, concerned.

We're greatly concerned.

And, uh, this and that.

And, uh, we, we're running out of reception, but you, Mr. Vaughn, we would like for all of you to, to, uh, to view the room, and, uh, but this next guy will, will not attend.

Walk out, please.

That's fine.

Whatever the president says will be heavily pledged.

Well, that's what I said, Mr. President.

That's the point I was making.

Okay.

Thank you.

See you then.

Sorry, John.

Only ten minutes.

I don't think so.

He's right in the middle of it.

He asked if you'd mind if he finished first.

I'm sorry?

He's got a Georgetown cool hat over there that he's in the middle of.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, I beg your pardon.

I'm a little dull.

I didn't hear the Georgetown routine yet.

Well, I ended it fast.

I'm exhausted.

Thank you.

Oh, she's a real bitch.

Great.

Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with that kind of press coverage.

I think it's great.

It's your, yeah, it's a way to get yourself on.

It won't be on the news, so it won't matter.

It's just going to move on then.

I think I just can't take over.

No, no.

It's over.

I think it's over.

I'll say it.

We usually bring in a review of the committee's previous condition.

It's an extra nine minutes.

I'll attend the reception, but we hope that you will have the opportunity to view the new rules.

Right.

Thank you very much.

I do appreciate all you've done to make this possible.

I'm grateful for all who contributed to it and so forth.

Make it look.

We know you understand that.

Should I?

Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.

uh it seems to me this obviously if anything happens this would change everything that's for tomorrow

Because, you know, as in, shall we say, a satisfactory condition, I think we go right ahead.

Is that your view?

I think so.

Otherwise, how the hell are you just going to hang on?

No, no.

And I don't... Or do you have other feelings?

No, I don't.

I think we have to... No, I think we have to be careful about overreacting now to what he said, what happened to him.

He's all right tomorrow.

Yeah.

And then... Yeah, just go ahead.

Then go ahead.

But if he's not, then we ought to...

Scrubbing for tomorrow.

Well, I had a feeling the part I heard of it will help a lot better than the reports that we've been getting here are concerned.

But you know the problem.

The media are going to crank it up, and we've been having trouble getting straight reports.

We've got your doctor over there.

Well, hell, they won't tell him at any point.

Yeah.

Because he had the medicine?

No, he went over to the Holy Cross for a long time.

The doctor told us we're offering the facilities of the dentistry if you want us to move over there.

I think I do have to go.

I think we're just going to thank them all.

I would.

I think that's... And I think I can bring a little note that I'm just talking to Mrs. Wallace.

I've been delayed.

I've just talked to her in the fall, and I'm out.

Frankly, I think that's good that you've just talked to her.

You've done what I just told you.

Our thoughts and prayers for all of America.

We hope that he will be covered, so forth and so on.

And we're here for the open.

This is something that we will not be attending every Sunday.

Well, we don't even say we're not attending the reception.

We just walk out.

Anything we should say, we're not attending the reception.

That looks like her rising near death or something.

What would you do on that, John?

Well, I think you might just say it.

I hope you will understand the business and not have a receiving mind.

Yeah, if you do not have a receiving mind tonight, we want you to enjoy the situation and hold on to the circumstances.

And that covers you that you can leave, or if he gets well, he's up having a good time, and you come back, which you won't want to do.

He won't know that.

George will stay in that damn hospital for a week.

He's smart.

He'll leave without critical bullets for a couple days.

He is.

He's smart.

I must say, though, that I

I was going to say, I mentioned Theodore Roosevelt.

I should have mentioned he didn't win.

I also should have mentioned that

He didn't know how to get any more culture.

He was shot in Irving Grove, Wisconsin, or someplace by an assassin.

And the son of a gun that was shot did that, and the old rough rider said, by God, he's the one who could take more of that than bring down a rough rider.

He stood there and finished his speech, right?

What had happened is it went through the, his manuscript was in his pocket somewhere.

It went through the manuscript.

He went ahead and handed the book straight to him.

He closed it on the page, went right on the end, handed it to him, and wrote his manuscript.

Senator, fine, Ted, I mean, I'm in the office of the President, and you, I hope you know what my situation has been with respect to protection for you.

It was not a matter of reflection of personal desire, but what our people thought was interpretation of the language.

But the President asked me to come over here a minute ago.

He said he doesn't really care what the hell the law is.

provides as far as our council is concerned.

He thinks that you're traveling around the country.

He thinks that of all the people who are susceptible to some nut, you are probably more than anybody except Jerry Wallace.

And he would like reception from all of you.

the full Secret Service protection.

And I'm calling to tell you that, and it's available to you.

And it'll be available as of tonight if you want it to.

And you wait for the city, and we'll offer it to you.

It's there.

So you don't have to ask for it.

That's the point I'm making.

And so he wanted you to know that, and I wanted you to know that.

And the president was very thoughtful about it.

And actually, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before he did.

He called you.

We didn't refer you.

We got real quick.

fine i'll get you or see if you're cheaper i'll let you call you are you at home now we will announce it here at the present

All right, what do you want to do?

And I think for the most part, and now that it's done, we don't want to do it without you knowing it.

We don't want to do it.

We'll keep you full of dirt.

I think you're going to go to hell.

It's just, very frankly, I don't know that they can save you, but...

But it's a damn good chance that good son of a gun came up.

And I said, you ought not to be reluctant about it.

And I know you're not akin to talking like that.

So you're exposed.

And I've known it all along.

And I damn good about it.

So we were claiming the trust that you were very strongly about it.

And you can tell the press that we insisted that you take it.

But I think you .

All right.

Well, you did all right.

That's fine.

Well, that's fine.

And obviously, we're going to do what you want to do.

But we just want you to know, we don't want you to be in a position of asking for anything.

And you're not.

OK?

Thank you, Ted.

All right, sir.

Thank you, Ted.

You said, well, why don't we do that on a temporary basis?

And it has connotations to the family and all, as you know.

That's fine.

We'll take it that way.

Oh, yeah.

Thank you.

Well, the Secretary of Commerce called me.

Yeah.

The thing about this sort of thing that everybody knows is it's contagious.

It's like, I have no question about this.

One guy takes a bottle, then somebody else takes a bottle.

See, that's why it has to be.

If we can't have this false blood in our hands, it's conscious.

This is a problem.

Now all the others, all of them,

Well, no, I'm not McCartney.

You know the streets.

But you talk to the Rousey and the Alderside.

We might put two or three of them on board.

Just the three of them.

I'll say the others in case anybody else is the only one.

I'm just very short on this, and I know that sales have to come.

I know what I'm saying.

That's all you need.

And Jackson.

I'm going to read this statement.

SECRETARY KERRY, Yes, sir.

The President has ordered that she be given protection.

You can put out a statement on her.

You can put out a statement from the Treasury over there to the President.

Thank you.

I just can't.

I can't.

I don't know if you can call over there and say, oh, yeah, it'll be 15 minutes late.

I can't do that.

Humphrey's on his way to the hospital to see Wallace, and McEverett's leaving the admission to go to the hospital to see him.

My God, maybe I should go to the hospital.

No, no, no.

Tomorrow.

I think I've got to carry on.

All right.

I just can't create my own, you know.

I set my mind up for that, so you don't have to worry about it, so you don't have to worry about it.

It can't be good.

You don't have to worry about us for you.

So, I'm going to let you tell me, so you can make use of this time.

You don't have to look at it.

How can you make a cause for that?

That's all.

You can't do that.

You can't announce that over here at this party.

That's all you ought to do now.

Because if you do much more, they're going to accuse your grandson.

You can't, you can't, you can't hurt them going up there.

You can't put so many out there.

Lucas is there scrubbing up to do the work, serve the operation.

Wallace has three wounds, right elbow, upper chest, and lower chest.

Lower chest wound is the one we heard earlier is an abnormal one.

He pierced the liver and swaggered his spine.

They can't tell if his spine is severed, but he is now paralyzed on the waist down.

Is it now or not?

Is.

Blood pressure and pulse are holding.

Secret service agent's wound is in the neck.

The bullet lodged in his arm.

This condition is critical.

Agent, this is Lucas.

Now they have it.

I mean, let's face it, George Wallace is a Democrat, John.

You know what I mean?

Sometimes I accept, sometimes I don't.

Kennedy did.

Bobby did.

Bobby asked for it.

He stirred up the violence.

He said the law was the enemy.

And George has it.

He stirs them up.

And that doesn't mean that some innocent people, Lincoln didn't ask for it, but others do.

But my point is, for a secret service man, that's their job.

He had a wife and two kids.

Now, that's somebody you can talk to.

Yeah, well, in the neck, that's likely to be lodged.

Wound in the neck, lodged in the jaw, in condition .

I'm presented a hospital.

I haven't had a doctor in St. Louis.

I mean, they described his condition as stable, critical, serious.

I don't know if they're going to have him.

Well, he obviously is doing well.

His blood pressure is good.

His heart and everything is good.

Or they would already have operated.

Hell, it's been some time ago.

He would have had an emergency.

So he apparently is doing fairly well.

Excellent team about to operate.

Only one unit of blood is left.

So he is bleeding, Captain.

With three wounds, no bleeding.

I don't believe that.

Well, he's obviously .

Yeah, that's .

That's bad.

.

Did you leave him here?

No, hell no.

I bled externally.

See, there's a hole in my chest big enough to put a baseball in.

You got a couple good size holes.

See, the bullet came through my chest.

I could never bring myself to read all that.

I never did.

It just repels me.

I never did read all that story.

I know you've been shot.

I've never asked anybody about it.

I've never talked about it.

Well, it's an interesting thing because

Two things saved my life.

Nellie and the proximity of a hospital, strangely enough.

But it's an incredible series.

Sometime when you've got three minutes, I'll tell you, or five minutes, it's an incredible series of coincidences.

On timing, what happened to me, the doctor, where he was, it's an unbelievable set of circumstances.

A bullet came out.

or the chest, and the left hole was not as big as a fist, but about as big as a baseball.

Almost to the top of that cup.

But the magnetic pulled me over in her lap.

Pulled me down in the hole.

And I crumpled.

And this closed up the hole.

Otherwise, you try to breathe through this hole.

See, it slipped my lung, just like you cut it with a knife.

Cut my lung right in two.

You weren't moving forward.

No.

And the doctor who operated on me is one of the pioneers of thoracic surgery in the United States of America.

He had just come back about a month or two before from Afghanistan, where he'd been for 18 months.

He was driving down Harry Hines Boulevard, parallel to the freeway, Simmons Freeway, and he saw this open limousine driving down that freeway at about 100 miles an hour, at an incredible speed.

He knew something was wrong.

He was five minutes from the hospital, or less.

He wasn't even on duty.

He happened to be on the hospital.

Did you know that?

Sir?

Did you know that?

No, I didn't know that.

But 25 years, he knew something was up, so he immediately rushed to the hospital.

and immediately walked in and started operating in the emergency room.

He went right to you?

He came right to me, not to the person, because he was dead.

Oh, yeah, I knew it.

Oh, yeah.

Mr. President, I knew he was dead before I became unconscious.

I was lying down on Nellie's lap like this, and she had her head on top of me, and I had my eyes open, and I heard that bullet hit his head.

And immediately there was brain matter held.

I know brain matter.

It was all over the car.

Chunks of brain as big as the end of my thumb.

Blood, brain tissue, and I knew he was dead.

There couldn't be any possible way he could live.

Anyway, then I blanked out and came to the hospital.

But this doctor was one of the two pioneers of thoracic surgery in the United States, 25 years before.

All over in the war, he'd operated on chest wounds.

And that's what I had.

And he said, if you hadn't crumbled, you might have suffocated.

Because in the battlefields, we used to stick a hat or a shirt or anything in the chest wound, just to close it, to keep them from breathing, from trying to breathe through the

chest, you don't get any air in the oxygen in the bloodstream.

He said, secondly, if you hadn't been, he said, sure, immediately.

And he said, you were bleeding so profusely that if you'd been over, if you'd been five minutes more to the hospital, you'd have bled to death.

So, I'm a lucky fellow.

Crazy damn assassins.

Did you, did anybody let her know I was coming here?

I got to get over to Maddie.

She's over at home with us for 15 years.

Give me just a second.

I want to tell her to come on over and I'll meet her over here.

Yeah, why don't you go on?

I'll be there about a quarter after anyway.

She's at the office now.

I'll just meet her.

John?

Yes?

Why don't you have her just meet you here?

Well, that's what I thought I'd do.

Just tell her to come on and I'll meet her at the diplomatic center.

Good.

Oh yeah, fine.

Good, good.

Great.

Now we've made the order.

from Afghanistan, where he'd been for 18 months.

He was driving down Harry Hines Boulevard, parallel to the freeway, Simmons Freeway.

He saw this open limousine driving down that freeway at about 100 miles an hour at incredible speed.

He knew something was wrong.

He was five minutes in the hospital, or less.

He wasn't even on duty.

He happened to be on duty.

Did you know that?

No, I didn't know that.

But 25 years later, he knew something was up, so he immediately rushed to the hospital.

And immediately walked in and started operating in the emergency room.

He went right to you?

Came right to me, not to the person, because he was dead.

Oh, yeah, I knew it.

Mr. President, I knew he was dead before I became unconscious.

I was lying down in Nellie's lap like this, and she had her head on top of me, and I had my eyes open.

And I heard that bullet hit his head.

And immediately it was brain matter.

I know brain matter.

It was all over the car.

Chunks of brain as big as the end of my thumb.

Blood, brain tissue, and I knew he was dead.

There couldn't be any possible way he could live.

Anyway, then I blanked out and came to the hospital.

But this doctor was one of the two pioneers of thoracic surgery in the United States.

25 years before, all during the war, he operated on chest wounds.

And that's what I had.

And he said, if you hadn't crumpled, you might have suffocated.

Because in the battlefields, we used to stick a hat or a shirt or anything in the chest just to close it to keep them from breathing, from trying to breathe through the chest.

You don't get any air in the oxygen in the bloodstream.

Said, secondly, if you hadn't been, he said, sure, immediately.

And said, you were bleeding so profusely, if you'd been over, if you'd been five minutes more to the hospital, you'd have bled to death.

So, I'm a lucky fellow.

Crazy man assassin.

Did you get anybody to let her go this time?

I got to get over that, and she's over it on herself.

Excuse me, just a second.

I want to tell her to come on over and I'll meet her up here.

Yeah, why don't you go on here?

I'll be there about a quarter after.

She's at the office and I'll be meeting her.

John?

Yes?

Why don't you have her at this meeting to hear it?

Well, that's what I thought I'd do, is tell her to come on and I'll meet her at the diplomat in a second.

Go ahead.

Oh, yeah, fine.

Go ahead.

Oh, look who's here.

Tell her, yeah.

All right.

Good.

She thinks fast.

Actually, I see what you're going to say.

She doesn't.

You know, I mean, now we've made the order, and I ask you over to get shaved, or something.

Grace, the name to say, be sure to look at the little ones, not the little ones I have seen.

She's, of course, raised the money.

That's all.

She's had help with the decoration.

She's had a strong hand at the decoration.

She had the ceiling control.

You could change that light fixture.

Oh, yeah.

The problem was that they really needed the same light fixture.

They had to catch it.

I just thought they'd made a mistake.

He checked out every goddamn place except the light pictures.

You do not have, you know, as I said, we've got these bars across the street.

Well, there's a candidate in the door of ours.

But in that dining room, it's the one place you do not have garish lights.

You've got low lights, right?

That's a big steel fixture coming out of this beautiful high ceiling.

And it cuts the ceiling.

So, you know.

Nixon, Connally & Wallace on Edward M. Kennedy and Shirley Chisholm

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Nixon, Connally & Wallace on Edward M. Kennedy and Shirley Chisholm

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on May 15, 1972

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Cite this conversation