Conversation 019-089

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Well, what's the last report?

Oh, damn good.

I talked to Colson.

He seemed to be pretty up, and McGregor seemed to be up, and Rogers is up.

Well, we're getting, I think, on the first bounce, better than we expected to get, and

Probably because they're not completely off balance.

Nobody's been able to come back with anything.

I was just watching NBC doing a special, an hour special.

And they had Fulbright on, and the worst he could come up with was that this was a good proposal to Western eyes, but it wouldn't satisfy the Viet Cong or the North Vietnamese.

Peter Dominick, who was sitting there, said, well...

is necessarily our job to satisfy them it's to work out something where we can get this thing settled you know uh good and dominic hit it pretty hard and fulbright turned it very politically he starts talking about the deficit devices and all that but that's the only uh negative note and it came through weekly and without without any any real force i've got a whole bunch of reaction things here if you want to just take a minute yeah run through some of them on the uh

congressional side uh doro was just ecstatic and uh tried to call you as a matter of fact to say how absolutely superb the talk was and all that he was really most upbeat bob spent in a long time i think good uh frank church uh uh

went on a minor negative.

He said that if it had been confined to withdrawal of forces in exchange for prison, I'd applaud without reservations.

However, the ceasefire and elections is a problem, although I hope Hanoi won't turn it down out of hand.

Bob Taft, broad, comprehensive bearer, should be recognized and believed by all Americans.

Good.

The blockie, it says he's pleased.

It set the record straight, cleared up our sincerity, makes the baddies look sick.

It's bold and dramatic.

And he thinks the President should have a dinner at the White House with the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, ABC, and CBS, and Served Crow.

There's quite a little of that kind of thing.

Olin Teague says it's all that the man could say.

That's all he could say about it.

Congresswoman Dwyer said this was the most magnificent thing.

The President could not have been more statesmanlike in delivering the talk precisely as he did.

He devastated the opposition.

Good.

Wally Bennett.

Wow, I think it was a masterful presentation.

Mature, fair, and generous should have broad acceptance at home and abroad.

Javits, the offer was very fair, and it was for peace in all of Indochina, which is good.

Obviously, it's being made public for its near-term acceptance, although the question still reverts to U.S. interests, and our U.S. interests calls for complete withdrawal.

In answer to your question, he says, I don't feel this speech is any political ploy by the president.

I feel it's his duty to disclose his farsightedness and seeking peace by every means that is in the land.

He holds faceless the charge that we didn't respond to their proposal.

Good, good, good.

Joe Wagner says, a great speech.

Hopes it'll silence the critics.

Goes a lot further than ever before.

A generous offer.

Makes a liar out of the critics.

He'll be there first thing in the morning to start working on these guys.

Good, good, good.

Lou Frye.

He says, I've never been happier to be a Republican.

The best speech I've ever heard.

I like the idea of the election and the resignation of two.

Takes the wind out of the sails of the opposition.

And that's a line we get over and over and over from our people.

Good.

I was talking to McCloskey today and told him what the president was going to do.

McCloskey responded that if the president does, it'll force him out of the election.

Congressman Bowe says, what more can he do?

A great speech solves the problems.

The world opinion should change.

Takes the wind out of the sails of the opposition.

Same line.

Sam Devine, which is interesting, who was with Clancy, Kyle, and Rowdy Bush.

He says, the most statesmanlike talk ever put to the people.

Absolutely terrific.

It really puts the cork on all these candidates.

Gail McGee, which is interesting.

I thought he very effectively pulled the rug out from these divisive fellows at home.

It was a masterful blow at those who are dividing.

It strengthens the president's hand.

I can't see it serving any force in itself to induce the other side to negotiate, but I don't think anybody in their right mind thought they would anyway.

I think it was a real expert piece.

There may be some misinterpretation saying it won't help, but what more can the man do?

Good.

What more can he do?

That's a good line.

There's a lot of that, too.

Senator Cooper, I think it's an eminently fair proposal.

While I did not know about the private negotiations, I had been informed by every chief negotiator since the talks started that the North Vietnamese had never made a favorable response to any American proposal.

This will test the willingness of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong to agree a peaceful settlement.

The President has made an offer which ought to be accepted.

Stennis, very favorable reaction indeed.

I was very much impressed.

He's gone as far as he can go.

Mansfield, the President's really gone a long way and I commend him highly.

Saxby, I was very surprised but very happy.

I think he was very wise in going public because this should push the other side off the dime.

I thought he looked great.

I thought he spoke very forcefully.

That's, uh,

sort of a roundup from the political types.

We've got some union stuff, which is kind of interesting.

The sheet metal president says, happy to hear that more has been done privately than in public.

I feel the POWIs won't change their attitude very much because they want to date certain and withdraw without condition.

The International Wine...

Union workers never believe the Hanoi propaganda, because whatever we do makes no difference to the communism.

He feels it's excellent that the facts and truth are now known.

Unfortunately, they won't accept anything less because of the heat and control in Indochina.

Labor is 100% behind the president on international questions.

Secretary-Treasurer of the United Steelworkers doesn't feel Hanoi will ever go along with free elections, but it's excellent to have everything in the open.

He's had two sons in Vietnam, and he's neither a hawk nor a dove.

You get a lot of businessmen things, and they all say, you know, he's blunted the American criticism.

Re-election helped substantially.

McGillicuddy, a man over trust, terrific.

The president laid it all on the table, disarming his critics, reestablished credibility, firm and forceful, not backing down.

Oscar Byers says, deeply moved by revelation of length we've gone to in the quest for peace in Asia.

How can anyone dispute this humanitarian attempt to peace?

Answers all the objections that could possibly be advanced.

And Ash Shriver, extremely proud of the president.

Looked younger and better in the light suit.

Completely humanitarian.

The POWs must be ecstatic.

Philadelphia National Bank, conditioned by the forecast.

Oh, yeah.

This guy's the chairman of the Philadelphia National Bank.

Says, I was conditioned by the forecasters wondering about the politics and was this orchestrated.

The president dispelled this in his eight points and the revelation of his efforts in the past 30 months.

Very pleased to see him tick off the various points.

Plan is sound and flexible.

I believe any reasonable person would agree we've gone all the way.

Good.

A magnificent job.

The president filled in the credibility gap.

Entire matter very hopeful.

I'm just picking...

lines out of the Weyerhaeuser.

The explanation of the eight points was very clear and excellent speech.

And some academics that Hagen Smith at Caltech, very good, straightforward.

Others can now see why the silent majority has continued to support the president.

Still many more people have more fully realized his sincerity tonight.

Engineering Dean of Penn State, very good.

Even our own critics have to agree that it was a generous office.

National Science Foundation research director.

Concerned whether Hanoi knew of the announcement.

Will this put them in a strong position of defensiveness?

Marvelous idea.

Great to hear that we've offered all that the detractors have been demanding and degrading the president about.

Foreign Policy Research Institute at University of Pennsylvania.

First rate.

Drakovich at Hoover Institute.

This is interesting because the conservative thing has been good.

I was afraid they might bounce the other way, but your close is so strong there that

But he said, fantastic speech, totally behind the president's proposal.

Big question is how Hanoi will react.

Excellent move psychologically to put them on the defensive and force them to reject, not us.

Anxious to see reaction of Democratic contenders.

Happy that many detractors were exposed as dupes through propaganda.

That comes through, too.

And he did a beautiful job on that, saying that it wasn't their fault that they were taken in.

That's right.

They didn't know.

Yeah, they didn't know.

Michigan State, the message is beautifully designed as a domestic diffuser and will help with the POW lines.

It would be humiliating for Q to step down, yet his willingness to go along demonstrates the credibility and sincerity of the office.

Then we've got a group of them from the Armed Forces Association.

The Air Force Association, most forceful, endorsed it 100%.

Jewish war veterans support the president's position, commend his initiatives.

I wonder if we could get out.

A whole raft of those.

They are.

Yeah, but we ought to just put out a whole raft of those.

Disabled American veterans, very impressed, shows deep commitment to the POWs.

He supports it.

The President has handled it well.

American Legion, as far as the President's action, will issue a statement in the morning.

Reserve Officers Association, very courageous, forthright, practical.

The President is very logical in saying he hopes the American people are behind him.

Commandant of the Marine Corps League, agrees with the President as far as any reasonable head of government can go.

Retired Officers Association, great statement of what we've tried to do, most spectacular thing you've done, really brought it to a head.

National Guard Association, very revealing, sensational, will make POW wives happy.

On the press stuff, getting some of the, around the country, Bob White out in Mexico, Missouri, says this was a great stroke.

The president laid it on the line with a record that can't be disputed.

The other side will come up with some junk, but the public will recognize it as junk.

Martin Hayden says this is more exciting than the China announcement.

He does it again.

The fact that he's been working on this since August 69 is impressive.

This makes the president's opponents look like horse's asses.

Good for him.

Mike O'Neill at the New York Daily News.

This was a real blockbuster.

I have normally been halfway on most of the president's statements.

This was solid, and it makes a terrific news story.

It disarms many of the president's critics.

I do think the president may have to do it all again in six months to remind the American people where we stand.

She's right.

Jim Copley, it was clear to me the president has proven we're doing our best to gain peace.

This was an excellent presentation, and I agree with the moves the president's made.

Lou Guzzo at the Seattle Post.

Intelligence, sir, a great speech for a newsman.

There's a lot of meat in it.

I think you'll get reelected with this speech.

Nashville Banner, Ken Morrell.

The president went the extra mile to end the war that's not his.

He pulled the rug out from under the critics.

I don't see how the country can expect any more in the way of officers.

George Healy in New Orleans.

If this doesn't quiet the critics, I don't know what will.

Put the monkey on Hanoi's back.

Fred Marquardt at the Phoenix Gazette.

An amazingly well-kept secret that should surprise Jack Anderson and put the president in a very strong position to mend the conformance.

Don't see how politicians in foreign countries who have been criticizing the president may continue to do so.

I suspect Hanoi thinks there's more advantage to continuing the war than anything else.

It occurs to me that we might make a little telephone poll on

day after tomorrow.

I've got one on set.

Might as well.

Yeah.

Good.

We were going to anyway.

Just, if it comes out fine, if it comes out good, use it.

It doesn't screw it.

Right.

Kansas City star Coos Palmer, tremendous.

Cut the heart out of all the criticism.

A masterpiece.

Difficult for the people who are shooting at it.

It's Dwyer at Rocky Mountain News.

Statement was very good.

Brought it all out in the open.

Destroyed the argument by the Democrats that the president wasn't willing to set a date.

Thought it was very effective for the people to know what we were doing.

Murray Light at the Buffalo News.

Plan is good, a comprehensive program, flexible, shows what we've done in private.

It was too much to absorb to make an honest appraisal, but it was a good idea to tell the public exactly what we're doing.

Reg Murphy at the Atlanta Constitution thought it was just splendid, really was impressed.

This was the most impressive piece of negotiating documentation that I have ever seen.

We've been suggesting this for some time, and I don't see how we can now oppose what we've been suggesting.

Robert Eddy at the Hartford Courant.

The president offered two darn good alternatives, though I don't think it will necessarily please the Fulbright-Foxmeier-Springfields.

I thought he did a good job.

The Hartford Courant supports the alternatives which he laid out.

I can't figure why a united America wouldn't support it, too.

We may get more out of this than we think.

I think we may.

We may.

We got...

Ron was talking to me.

He picked up one of the... Have you talked to Ron?

No.

He picked up one of the random phone calls that came in on the board, and it was a professor from out west somewhere who said several of his students had come back in coffins from Vietnam, and he had originally been a great believer that you were going to be one of our great presidents, but in the last couple of years, he completely lost faith in you to become a detractor and so on.

He was in tears talking to Ron.

He was crying on the phone.

He said that this completely turned him around, you know,

on and on good and i think we're going to get some some of that sort of emotional kind of thing the uh that's good that's good we're trying the wires are moving the congressional stuff and and uh the lead president nixon generally won bipartisan praise tuesday for his vietnam peace offers but some critics said the issue still with how long the u.s would remain in china to support south vietnam uh

Yeah, but they quote the Senate that Nixon has done all he could do.

Dole called for an end to the devices debate, which has wrecked the country in the past two years.

Critics of the war who have demanded total withdrawal also praised the president's offer.

Senator Hart said he was delighted that Nixon even praised the general term that Democratic leader Mike Mansfield's amendment called for.

It's not the Mansfield amendment, but it certainly adopts the underlying elements of it, Hart said.

Cranston

though, said the issue still was how long do we want to stay in Vietnam and fight and die there.

That's good, though.

You want some of those people against you.

Christ, if we get all of them with us, we'd be in real trouble.

Jerry Gordon of the National Peace Action Coalition said Americans don't want an eight-point peace plan.

They want a one-point plan for the U.S. to get out now, lock, stock, and barrel.

He said Nixon's speech was a hoax and a fraud.

That's fine.

For those people, that's what you want.

Javits already told you.

John Tower, the President's offer was very generous, thought Vietnam would be in a very difficult position in the eyes of the world if they rejected it.

Glenn Bell thought it was clear evidence of sincerity and intensity with which President Nixon and his administration are pursuing peace without being staged.

Bob Byrd called it a far-reaching proposal for peace that reasonable men should not reject.

Jerry Ford

and set the record straight on his negotiations, hoping his deep plan now made public would be a start to another settlement.

Reverend McIntyre said you're ignoring the power and purpose of the Reds to take over.

John Ashbrook, the president, for refusing to bow to pressures from the left at home, said he was concerned the POWs had become pawns in the Communist quest for advantage.

Scoop Jackson said Nixon's proposal was close to what he's been recommending.

I hope you will not make every effort to get Peking to use its good offices, given the release of our threats.

Stand still and cease fire.

That's correct.

We will.

So, okay.

There you are.

I think it's another super 10 strikes.

I mean, it's just, you know, you've got these kinds of people reacting on the basis that you've done all that a reasonable man could do.

And, you know, you're going down a middle line here.

The fact that you can't

that you can get Tower and Javits both on it.

Yeah, it doesn't make a difference what the New York Times or the Washington Post writes.

Those bastards piss on it.

But we get folks, you know.

Henry's just saying that Connery thought it was outstanding.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Is he there?

He talked to Connery.

No, I didn't.

Let me talk to Henry.

Connery.

Hello?

Oh, you talked to Connolly?

Yeah, I talked to Connolly.

He said it was the best delivered speech.

He thinks it's terrific.

It's a tense strike politically.

And he thought it was absolutely outstanding.

That's good.

And a great asset.

I talked to Rockefeller.

He had been at a testimonial dinner, but he said everyone in his house was raving about it.

Good.

He said...

And he's all out for you now.

Well, he's been great.

He said he's going to help bring labor around.

I don't know whether he can do it all, but he can do something.

Yeah, right.

So that's good.

Okay, well, we'll wrap it up for tonight, Henry.

Don't work too hard now, you know.

This is the sort of work that makes it worthwhile.

Don't take a trip to Paris tonight.

You know what?

They're going to have a 24-hour watch on you now.

I'll lose my reputation of being out with girls.

Hell no.

You won't be able to.

They'll plant one on you.

Okay.

Bob wants to talk to you now.

A couple others.

Jim Hodgson says, I've been in collective bargaining for a long time, and I can tell you bargaining everywhere is essentially the same.

The necessary element for success is the ability, when you're on the defensive, to put the other fellow on the defensive and better your own opposition in so doing.

The President has done precisely that.

It's absolutely the greatest thing he could have done at this time.

That's our own guys.

Good.

George Romney says, this was the peace initiative of all time.

The peace initiative that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, will really unite this nation.

George Bush called.

He was on his way to Addis Ababa.

Yeah, I know.

He said, I think I have a pretty good feel for the way our friends in the U.N. will react.

Without question, it will be tremendously well-received around the world.

It was so spectacular and all-encompassing.

He walked the air to the mile, and he was calling back to the country.

I couldn't feel better leaving on this note.

Good, good, good.

That's good to know.

But I think we...

There's a lot of subtle stuff in there that was going to settle the folks on that.

They were used by the North.

Yeah, that's right.

Without knowing it.

You called them unconscious dudes of the communist tyrant.

And you left Fulbright's buttering.

Okay.