Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 008-019
Date: Monday, August 16, 1971 at 9:35 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Andrews, John K., Jr.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-019

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] yeah hello yeah i think uh i would like to uh start off on a new tack on the vfw thing i uh got your your thing on the eagle thing which i think is very good but i don't think it's quite quite the appropriate thing for this point these are not a particularly sophisticated group and uh
[0:28] I mean, I think the ideas are fine, but I don't think...
[0:31] I think not.
[0:32] I'll tell you what I would like to do.
[0:33] I'd like to take the end of my talk on Sunday night, and then I'd take off from that.
[0:39] Well, first of all, sort of start with the proposition that you said that the BFW is made up of men who have fought for America abroad.
[0:51] Let's get that point in.
[0:52] Now we have a new challenge, the challenge of peace.
[0:56] And that...
[0:57] that challenge requires, first, that we keep America strong and a little on that.
[1:18] Second, that we honor America's peacetime armed forces.
[1:19] In other words, let's don't run down the military, something that out of our West Point Newport deal, you know, where it has to be proud of.
[1:23] Third, that it's necessary for America to compete and that this is going to require that, you know, their support of our
[1:26] uh, you know, our initiatives on, uh, in terms of, uh, that we don't want to build just a wall around ourselves and so forth, that, uh, that, uh, we welcome recent competition, and, uh, uh, and that this requires not only action in terms of, uh, supporting wage price and all that sort of thing, but mainly the spirit, and that there, that these, that let's, you know, be proud of this country and proud of its background and so forth.
[1:54] That's sort of the, the line I'd like to sort of, uh,
[1:57] develop, we just try something on that.
[2:00] We don't, there's no hurry on it because I won't have to see anything on it until, you know, until, we'll say, oh, Wednesday, a Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Wednesday morning is when I have to see it.
[2:23] Fine.
[2:23] And you probably ought to go along on the trip so that you can find.
[2:25] But I think if you could talk to Ray.
[2:28] Ray's got, I think, somewhat the same thought, too, that we ought to take that in.
[2:42] We're going to hit that theme in the Knights of Columbus, and I think hitting it again here, say some of the same things that we say at the Knights of Columbus, too, just sort of the same things.
[2:47] It doesn't matter if we repeat, you see.
[2:48] But I think the themes that keep America strong,
[2:50] To keep America strong, of course, we have to have a strong economy.
[3:11] And that's one of the challenges of peace, jobs, and all that sort of thing.
[3:12] And we've got to also have a strong spirit for America to be a W. Of course, the members of the people that provide that is better than anybody else.
[3:18] Okay?
[3:18] Yeah.
[3:18] Right.
[3:21] Good.
[3:22] Sort of take those themes, if you will, and sort of try a new tack on it.
[3:30] Fine.
[3:30] Good.
[3:31] Fine.