Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 012-085
Date: Friday, October 22, 1971 at 3:14 PM
Participants: Butterfield, Alexander P.; White House operator; Holton, Linwood; Nixon, Richard M. (President)
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-085

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Are you there?
[0:02] Are you there?
[0:04] Yes.
[0:04] Okay, now I'll bring the present to this phone.
[0:06] All right.
[0:06] Okay.
[0:11] Oh, you're a doll.
[0:12] You know...
[0:33] You'll be here in about one minute.
[0:46] Thank you.
[0:47] Thank you.
[0:48] How are you?
[0:49] Governor, how are you?
[0:50] Alex Butterfield.
[0:51] Hey, Alex, how are you doing?
[0:52] Pretty good, thanks.
[0:53] Good.
[0:53] Here's the present now.
[0:54] Thank you.
[0:56] Hello?
[0:57] Hi, Mr. President.
[0:58] Well, I just wanted to call you before your press conference to tell you that I think you're pretty fortunate and that we are too to have two Virginians.
[1:06] I understand Rehnquist lives in Virginia, too.
[1:08] Yeah, that makes three because the Chief Justice is out there.
[1:11] Oh, yeah.
[1:12] My Virginia Supreme Court now.
[1:13] Well, it is.
[1:15] And I will appreciate you, of course, being a lawyer and, of course, with the unfortunate situation in Poff, if you would make a very strong statement and if you would indicate to the press that I've called you
[1:25] And I just signed the nominations this moment, as a matter of fact.
[1:30] Well, that's just tremendous.
[1:33] You really hit the ten strike.
[1:35] This guy is... You feel pretty good, do you?
[1:37] Oh, I feel outstanding, Mr. President.
[1:38] You don't know... Do you know Rehnquist?
[1:41] I do not know Rehnquist.
[1:42] He's just, frankly, he'll probably turn out to be the best man in the court.
[1:46] This may sound very...
[1:47] But he is a real legal genius and a tough, strong mind and...
[1:53] So we've got two finds.
[1:57] And of course, Powell is one of the great gentlemen.
[2:00] He was your supporter, too, wasn't he?
[2:03] Well, he couldn't do that.
[2:04] He supported you.
[2:06] He supported Eisenhower.
[2:07] But you didn't need it.
[2:08] No, that's right.
[2:09] You supported me.
[2:10] That's right.
[2:10] But he did not in any way do anything against me.
[2:14] Well, he's a great fellow, and somebody asked me last night, well, how about his age?
[2:19] I said, look, 10 years of Paul is worth 30 years of somebody else.
[2:22] Well, that's right, Mr. President.
[2:24] This fellow is a very fine, warm friend of mine.
[2:28] He and his wife have played church with Dinks and me.
[2:32] And I want you to know what he told me when I talked to him this morning, and that was,
[2:38] He says, well, you tell the president when you talk to him that he's a damn fine lawyer because...
[2:43] I was determined in my conversations with Mitchell that it's not appropriate.
[2:48] The president talked me into doing it.
[2:50] I really worked on it.
[2:52] He didn't want it.
[2:53] You and I had talked about it.
[2:55] I know, I know, I know.
[2:57] This is as clear a case of an office seeking out a man as I've ever seen.
[3:02] You can point out, incidentally, that in our conversation that I recall the fact that you had first mentioned his name to me and that I...
[3:09] and that also get in the fact of the bipartisan thing, that he's a Democrat, that this shows the president was seeking the best man regardless of party.
[3:17] Would you do that?
[3:18] I will do all of that.
[3:19] Great.
[3:20] And let me tell you that I had a very interesting telephone call this morning.
[3:23] The president of the state NAACP called me to congratulate me for getting Lewis Powell on that court.
[3:31] I didn't have a damn thing to do with it, but it does indicate the breadth of the support that this would get, I believe.
[3:37] He's just taught.
[3:40] Well, good.
[3:40] I congratulate you.
[3:42] I had to laugh when I saw the press speculating that you would go to mediocrity.
[3:47] I knew that that would happen.
[3:49] We had to get them out.
[3:51] We had to get them off on their blind trail so we'd get in the men we want.
[3:56] You've done a great job.
[3:58] The whole thing, the economic program and everything you've been doing, I'm so thrilled with it.
[4:05] You may remember I told you in Williamsburg, I felt we were on the
[4:07] the eminence of some very, very fine successes, and I think you're doing a terrific job.
[4:14] Well, I appreciate it very much.
[4:15] I'm just meeting now with Kishi, the former prime minister of Japan.
[4:18] We're trying to get that back on the track, but it's coming along.
[4:21] Remember, we had to pay a price to get the textual agreement.
[4:23] That's a tough...
[4:25] That helps in your state, too, doesn't it, the textile agreement?
[4:28] We have a couple of textiles that are in problem.
[4:32] You've also got your Pakistan thing.
[4:34] Well, that's terrible.
[4:35] I just had a long meeting with Friedlinghausen this morning, but there's nothing we can do there.
[4:39] They just hate each other.
[4:40] We're doing the best we can.
[4:42] The Middle East is shaping up, though, isn't it?
[4:45] Fairly well, yeah.
[4:46] Well, it's on ice, let's put it that way.
[4:48] But the fact that the Soviet and us are getting together, that keeps it on ice for a few more months.
[4:55] The way you've got Peking and Moscow balanced off is terrific.
[4:58] And you see the Soviet and us getting together also restrains the Indians against the Paks.
[5:03] and the Chinese was restraining the ya-ya.
[5:05] So it's all a balancing act.
[5:08] We just hope it doesn't come down.
[5:09] Right.
[5:10] Listen, one thing, I had lined up with Dwight and John and Bob Holliman at one time a little...
[5:19] the opportunity to come up and discuss some of the school situation with you.
[5:23] I didn't want to push that while the Supreme Court was under consideration.
[5:27] So I'd like to get that on the track.
[5:30] I can be helpful to you.
[5:31] Fine.
[5:31] Why don't you give a call?
[5:33] You work it out, and I'll be glad to see you anytime.
[5:35] You're close, and you can work into the schedule.
[5:39] Why don't you just talk to Ehrlichman or Haldeman, either one.
[5:44] Okay.
[5:45] Fine.
[5:45] Many thanks.
[5:46] Or Dwight.
[5:47] Anyone.
[5:47] No, Dwight's in China.
[5:48] No, Dwight's gone now.
[5:49] Ehrlichman or Haldeman, either one.
[5:51] They can make the schedules.
[5:52] I'll do it.
[5:53] And again, just the finest kind of congratulations on that outstanding pair of points.
[5:58] Well, he's a great Virginian.
[6:00] Okay.
[6:00] Virginian, and keep on.
[6:02] Make that Supreme Court a Virginia Supreme Court.
[6:04] That'll help you.
[6:05] I've been saying that all the time.
[6:07] All right.
[6:07] Okay.
[6:08] Bye.
[6:09] Bye.