Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 020-025
Date: Wednesday, February 2, 1972 at 2:04 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-025

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Yes, sir.
[0:02] I was wondering, I noticed a little of that, but you were mentioning the prayer breakfast.
[0:08] What was the reaction among your friends in the press on that?
[0:13] Well, very good.
[0:13] They write some good stuff?
[0:16] Well, it didn't move.
[0:18] It didn't play heavily on the press, but the TV was good last night.
[0:22] They moved it in TV.
[0:23] Right.
[0:24] Two of the networks used it last night.
[0:26] Interestingly enough, NBC did not.
[0:29] But they used it last year, didn't they?
[0:30] They were the only ones to use it in 1970 and 71.
[0:33] That's not a big story.
[0:35] Well, I thought it was.
[0:37] The wires moved it well.
[0:38] They did.
[0:39] I didn't see, so it would play out in the country, I think, quite well.
[0:42] Right.
[0:42] The post didn't, you know, do too big on it.
[0:46] It wouldn't matter, really.
[0:48] Yeah, that's right.
[0:49] But the radio was good, and the TV was good last night, I thought.
[0:52] The radio, too, right.
[0:55] So I thought, particularly your quote on the side of God, toward the end, was very powerful and played quite heavily.
[1:05] All right.
[1:07] Right, right.
[1:14] I think on this welfare reform, we probably have that ready by tomorrow.
[1:21] That'll be a good one to get the hell out of the way.
[1:24] Yeah.
[1:25] John tells me Richardson's having a press conference at 10 o'clock in the morning.
[1:29] Yeah.
[1:29] You understand.
[1:30] Don't let anybody drive you off to the point there that
[1:34] that we're all for it, and we think this is a defeat.
[1:36] Hell, this is a hell of a victory.
[1:37] We're fighting for it, and for two and a half years, and the Congress did, so we've taken half a loaf.
[1:41] Right.
[1:42] I'm going to lay a little groundwork on that this afternoon, too.
[1:44] Two and a half years we've been working for it.
[1:46] What we want to do is get it more to its center.
[1:49] And then we're trying to get motion, and we've been working in all fields, right?
[1:54] Right.
[1:54] That's the line we're going to use.
[1:55] Actually, I'm just delighted it's going only this far.
[1:59] Right.
[2:00] Because basically that's all we can afford.
[2:01] Right.
[2:03] Okay, Ron.
[2:04] Okay, sir.
[2:05] Right.