Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 010-009
Date: Friday, September 24, 1971 at 7:15 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-009

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] How'd your day go?
[0:05] Like all of them, I'm afraid.
[0:07] Yeah.
[0:07] Oh, that's... No, we had a good day.
[0:11] You had the Foreign Relations Committee.
[0:15] Yes, sir.
[0:18] And we had a good meeting.
[0:22] Good.
[0:22] When I have lunch with the Eastern Airlines people, they're quite happy and about the progress on the lockheed.
[0:28] They're playing the music without performing anything.
[0:30] Every expectation that they had, they're feeling good about that.
[0:40] Then I met with a delegate who got into a 35-minute argument with Jimmy Roy.
[0:50] Oh?
[0:50] Well, not an argument.
[0:51] Now, a delegate.
[0:51] Well, he's one of the observers to the International Monitor.
[0:52] Oh, I see.
[0:54] Oh.
[1:19] Right.
[1:20] Sure.
[1:20] How to run the rural.
[1:20] I know.
[1:20] Good.
[1:20] Good.
[1:21] Good.
[1:21] We had a cost-living council meeting and made a little headway.
[1:24] Boy, you've had a day.
[1:27] My God.
[1:29] Well, get a good rest.
[1:34] Go to dinner tonight?
[1:42] Yeah, we're going with a boss.
[1:48] Oh, yeah.
[1:48] Right.
[1:49] I've got a...
[1:50] I'll meet, uh, meet the Japanese, uh, tomorrow night.
[2:10] We'll head to Germany, and British.
[2:11] So, about tomorrow night, we'll, you know, come out and talk to you again.
[2:12] Why do you sleep late?
[2:13] I'm gonna try, I'm not getting too much.
[2:13] Yeah.
[2:14] Uh, you're leaving for Alaska, aren't you, this morning?
[2:15] Ten o'clock, yeah, I go to...
[2:16] Montana.
[2:16] Mike's going on.
[2:18] I'm going to be doing it for him.
[2:24] Stopping in Montana for a couple of hours, looking over a couple of dams.
[2:29] Then I go to Oregon and do a little media briefing and then go to Washington and Alaska the next day.
[2:32] And I'll be back Monday night.
[2:34] Mr. President, after the meeting with Bernie this morning, I'm convinced that he's committed to...
[2:45] I am, too.
[2:45] I could see that.
[2:47] And as you know, I was playing it very cozy because I had your message.
[2:55] You didn't get to see him, so I was trying to play it loose.
[2:57] But I have no objection to the call.
[2:59] You think I should just take a half hour to see him?
[3:15] Yeah, I think you do.
[3:21] I think Burns has got himself committed, and I don't think he... Well, now, the way we do this, though, you call Arthur and say that you've recommended the president that I see.
[3:25] See?
[3:25] Let's do it that way.
[3:25] Let Arthur hear that I told you that you ought to see him, and he's going to hear you do it.
[3:31] Yep, because Arthur is, you know, he's off into the game.
[3:35] He's got his ideas.
[3:38] Nothing.
[3:39] Try to keep him getting out of line this week.
[3:52] That's going to be hard.
[3:52] Well, I don't think, I don't think, you know, if he's trying to set me up, I'm not going to let him do it.
[3:55] Of course not.
[3:55] Of course not.
[3:55] Well, he said it quite simply the other morning that what we ought to do is that we really ought to play two games.
[3:58] Two tracks.
[3:58] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[3:58] Let him play one game and the other.
[3:59] But then...
[4:00] He'll get in the press.
[4:01] That's what I'm afraid of, is being against Connolly, and I'm not going to allow that.
[4:06] That's right, and I told him, I said, Arthur, the only problem with that is he's got white ass and black ass, and I said, I don't really really feel black ass.
[4:19] That's the only problem.
[4:20] I thought you'd appreciate what I said at the cabin meeting, where I talked about old John Foster Dulles, that every time he came back from the trip, the press gave him hell and said that he failed.
[4:27] God damn it, you didn't give the star away.
[4:29] You didn't give the star away.
[4:31] I do appreciate it.
[4:33] Well, it's the truth.
[4:34] Damn it, John.
[4:34] To me, it's a hell of a credit that these folks are, you know, saying, well, we didn't get into them.
[4:47] Of course we did.
[4:47] Charlie Bartlett's got a damn good story in college.
[4:54] Has he?
[4:55] They can do that same thing.
[4:55] These people have learned that it's very complimentary of you for us to do it for you.
[4:59] Well, as I said, too, it's really true that 25 years ago, 10 years, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, we could afford to give the store away, but we can't afford it anymore.
[5:21] That's all.
[5:21] That's all there is to it.
[5:26] out and try not to say anything with Japanese or shit.
[5:33] In the meantime, I'll see you probably Tuesday, huh?
[5:49] Yes, sir.
[5:49] I'm going to put off my Tuesday to Wednesday.
[5:50] Good.
[5:50] Whatever you want.
[5:50] Certainly Tuesday afternoon so we can have a chance to do this.
[5:51] Right.
[5:52] Before I make it.
[5:52] Sure.
[5:52] We're going to listen to you.
[5:53] We're going to obviously try to make them open up as much as we can.
[5:54] We'll make no connection to you.
[5:55] Until we have a chance to talk to you.
[5:56] Yeah.
[5:56] And I really think, John, you're judging me right that I shouldn't make a speech because I can make a very nice, generous, informal remarks when I welcome them all there and say all the nice things.
[6:22] That's what I mean.
[6:22] So I'm going to get to the specifics.
[6:23] No, you ought not to do a speech.
[6:24] Right, right.
[6:24] Right.
[6:25] No, I agree with you.
[6:27] I don't...
[6:27] Right.
[6:28] Well, anyway, I'm sorry you didn't know I have to go out tonight, but...
[6:32] Anyway.
[6:32] That's our fault.
[6:34] Well, that's... You got a chance.
[6:38] I just really want to talk to you.
[6:41] You got a chance to really change the course of history.
[6:44] We're going to do it.
[6:44] Oh, don't worry.
[6:45] You got great opportunities.
[6:45] You have some great opportunities.
[6:46] And we are going to play it just that way.
[6:48] We're going to be outgoing, but awful tough.
[6:53] And I also... Ha ha.
[6:59] for your information, I'm going to appoint two conservatives.
[7:06] Is that all right with you?
[7:11] We're going to put Poth in, well, at the, you know, for the Senate.
[7:15] And the reason we're going to put him in is that it's awful hard for these people to vote in this Congress.
[7:18] So that'll get him in.
[7:19] And then for the one replacing Cohen, I told Mitchell I want a conservative
[7:27] I've just got a man in mind at the present time.
[7:35] There's no damn, I mean, some people say I'm a liberal.
[7:37] The hell with it.
[7:39] I'm going to, I'm, don't, I, well, listen, I decided, I told Mitchell, there's two conservatives appointed, just like, just like Berger and Blackman.
[7:44] So we'll have four votes.
[7:46] Right like that.
[7:47] Well, I just think it's one of the golden opportunities to change this, you know, this last generation.
[8:08] Both of the men we're having in mind, you see, Pop is only 49 years old.
[8:11] The other guy we have in mind at the present time is a conservative.
[8:12] If you do find him in New York, he's 53.
[8:13] So that means you've got 20 years.
[8:14] You see, because they can stay on until they're 70.
[8:15] And by God, I'm going to stay in thermal now.
[8:18] That's where it's going to be.
[8:22] John's been in the game.
[8:24] I'd say that's where it's going to be and he's going to find it.
[8:30] You know, all this talk about the lemon thing.
[8:31] We can't find the lemon.
[8:32] It's ready yet.
[8:33] Well, it'll break up the cart, basically.
[8:34] Pearl Burger couldn't work around for one of them.
[8:35] Now, there'll come a time.
[8:37] Maybe one or two appointments later, we'll find one that's ready.
[8:41] But there isn't one now that's ready.
[8:44] Well, I hope you have a great trip through it.
[8:49] Well.
[8:49] We've got to keep the store running and going.
[8:50] And we sure as hell won't give it away.
[8:51] That's the truth.
[8:51] Well, you just stand firm.
[8:53] All right.
[8:54] Okay.
[8:54] Thank you.