Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 003-123
Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1971 at 9:15 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-123

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] I'm not sure of that.
[0:07] I have to look at the tapes tomorrow because the people here really couldn't tell.
[0:25] They sort of wove the whole thing into an Alabama story, not as much mobile, but with the, of course, the dedication to waterways.
[0:48] But I think they used probably a good deal of mobile and mobile and golf was something to learn from, but I understand.
[0:51] I didn't see it.
[0:51] I called into Fort Allen speaking.
[0:52] It didn't play very well.
[0:52] I think CBS had three minutes in BC, except for number two in ABC about two minutes.
[0:54] So it played very well.
[0:55] The reaction amongst all of the tourists I talked to was that it was a very good day.
[1:16] Pretty hard to find.
[1:16] Well, they couldn't find us.
[1:17] Good reception.
[1:19] Well, the crowds were fantastic.
[1:19] Birmingham was an enormous crowd.
[1:20] Fantastic.
[1:21] That's what they're quoting.
[1:40] They're moving as over 100,000.
[1:40] They're moving as mobile as they can.
[1:41] 60,000.
[1:41] Well, the chief of police in Birmingham...
[1:50] And he said he gave a quote that it worked a lot.
[2:01] Yeah, they were all friendly.
[2:04] Absolutely.
[2:04] How'd they play the Wallace thing?
[2:07] You notice how close he struck to me?
[2:12] Sure did.
[2:12] That's fine.
[2:12] He had every right to.
[2:12] I think that worked out just fine.
[2:14] Sure.
[2:14] Well, I didn't cater to him either.
[2:16] I mean, I didn't cater to any of their prejudices.
[2:17] I played it, in fact, the only way.
[2:18] The remarks?
[2:28] Yeah, the remarks were put in terms of one country.
[2:37] Right, the unity thing, and that came through on the report, no?
[2:39] I thought your presentation, as the guys who were in the presentation, your reaction to your remarks to the editors just, you know, very well, you know,
[2:42] I thought it was great because the way you... Yeah, that's right, and you did it in such a relaxed way.
[2:51] You did it in such a relaxed way, and the people who listened to the tape afterwards felt that.
[2:57] It was a reflective pulling together a lot of things.
[3:03] It was an excellent job, and everyone felt that way.
[3:05] Those who were in there.
[3:09] Who was in there?
[3:17] Who covered?
[3:23] Bill Tice was in there, for example, and Doug Cornell.
[3:27] They're smart.
[3:27] Gene Risher.
[3:27] The three men.
[3:28] Right.
[3:28] And they were talking about it.
[3:29] They covered that.
[3:30] That was all covered on the record.
[3:30] On the record, yes.
[3:31] And people afterwards, for example, the people from the various states who came in were just...
[3:34] you know, asking us to make sure that we rush the transcript up to them.
[3:51] Drawing together and pulling together in a very complete, clear way, you know, the situation...
[3:54] The difficulty, of course, with the tape and that kind of presentation, generally, it sounds better than the read.
[3:57] You can see there's a lot of repetition.
[3:58] Well, that's why it was important to play the tape.
[3:59] That's why...
[3:59] But I think it'll read well, too.
[4:20] Pull the foreign policy thing together.
[4:20] The part about the unity of the country, the spirit of the country, particularly the way you wrapped it up, was really very beautiful.
[4:31] And I think the part about referring to the South, the strength of the South.
[4:53] Yeah.
[4:53] And if the...
[4:54] They're economically strong.
[4:54] They contribute to a stronger America economically and a stronger American military, but they also contribute in a spiritual and ideological way that has done them a part.
[4:58] They're patriotic and they're religious.
[4:59] Right.
[4:59] It was good to hit that religious theme.
[4:59] And it was good to hit the theme of the strong military defense and the...
[5:05] and that a unilateral reduction on either side increases the danger, and a mutual reduction reduces the danger.
[5:21] No, I thought it was a good job, and everyone I talked to, and you can sense these things, you know, where they volunteer.
[5:29] How about some of the more sophisticated, you know, the Lissago and those people?
[5:31] Well, Lissago wasn't wrong, but fellows like Courtney Sheldon, the Japanese, he knows.
[5:33] He's probably a great guy.
[5:34] Bill Matney from NBC came up to me on his own after the plane.
[5:53] Is he colored?
[5:53] Yes.
[5:53] He's a nice guy, though.
[5:54] Yes, he is.
[5:54] He's covered you for a long time.
[5:55] Yeah.
[5:55] What did he say?
[5:55] He came up to me, made a point of coming up just as you were shaking hands.
[5:56] He couldn't help to notice, too, that
[5:58] The tone was set very beautifully, very well.
[6:24] There are going to be differences, there are going to continue to be differences, but it should not sap the strength of the country.
[6:29] We are debating right now about whether to go Friday night or Tuesday night.
[6:52] The one advantage of Tuesday would be that half of the weekend is over.
[6:57] Friday, Bob
[6:58] Well, when we originally talked about it, we wanted it Thursday.
[7:18] That's our ideal day.
[7:19] We couldn't do it Thursday because we can't be centered.
[7:20] Friday starts the weekend.
[7:20] The other people do listen to television on weekends, so... Is that what you're giving us?
[7:22] My immediate reaction would be the Tuesday.
[7:23] What about missing the opportunity of... Well, in a sense, I suppose we've had a lot of news this week already on...
[7:26] I didn't have...
[7:41] This is Tuesday.
[7:43] West Point?
[7:43] Yeah.
[7:44] See, with West Point, you know, we... Might be jamming it up a bit now, the press conference party.
[7:46] My, my, my, I just have a better feeling.
[7:47] And again, I haven't talked to Barbara about all of this.
[7:48] My immediate feeling is that Tuesday, I just think Tuesday would be...
[7:50] Why don't you sit down tomorrow with Bob and get Scali in on it.
[8:05] Okay.
[8:05] What you all feel and talk about it around.
[8:35] Okay.