Conversation 033-088

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Go ahead, sir.

Hello.

Hello, good morning, sir.

Where'd I find you?

You found me sitting at my desk writing a note on the bicentennial.

Uh-huh.

Trying to figure some things out.

Are you here in Washington?

I'm in Washington.

Could you drop over to the Lincoln sitting room?

I have a few minutes before I have to get us some more dictation.

I'm sitting at my desk in my house.

Where is your house?

It's in Alexandria.

New York?

In Alexandria.

Oh.

Well, I'll tell you what you do then.

I think the better thing is this.

Why don't you come up tomorrow to Camp David?

I've got quite a slug of an appointment.

What day were you—you're scheduled to come, aren't you?

I haven't heard anything from anyone.

Well, you're on the list for next week sometime.

But tomorrow at Camp David, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, either.

That would be perfect.

Tomorrow is Sunday for Christ's sake.

I'll tell you what you can do.

Come up Monday, which is really better, because tomorrow I'm going to watch football, if you don't mind.

That's planned also for myself.

Yeah.

So come up Monday about 5 o'clock.

Be up there by about 5 o'clock, okay?

Fine, because I know I'm getting through all the cabinet now, which is a hairy experience.

I imagine so.

But actually, you know, what we're really doing is shuffling more than running.

which is the right thing, because I'm putting a new man in virtually every job.

I think you'll agree, you know, the major problem with everything, Len, people become prisoners of the bureaucracy.

And then, going over with CAP, I found this case.

Incidentally, I think you'd be pleased to know I'm giving CAP a major cabinet appointment.

That's great.

That's terrific.

And I think he deserves it, too.

I'll tell you in greatest confidence what it is.

Oh, that's marvelous.

And I'm going to move Elliott, however, to another very high position.

Because Elliott, I think, is first class, don't you think?

Well, they're both men of great intelligence and courage.

Well, anyway, just range.

Is Monday all right?

Yeah, Monday's perfect.

Fine, fine.

I'll look forward to that.

Okay, okay.

Five o'clock.

What did you think of the election this night?

Did it bother you?

Well, I thought it was a pretty good election.

Huh?

It's become a long way since that time, isn't it?

When you stop to think that ten years ago I just wrote a letter to Pat Brown, you know, and Pat Brown said he was thinking back to ten years ago when I had to make my concession statement.

Which, incidentally, if you go back and read, it looks pretty good, because I was very kind to Carl Greenberg and the good guys, and I kicked a lot of the bad guys.

But I was gracious to Brown.

That's the important thing.

What in the hell is the matter with McGovern?

That statement of his, I thought, was crazy.

There's no sense of history, any of these folks.

But, you know, when you think of Goldwater, how gracious he was after 64, how gracious I was when I lost in 60.

And when you came in, one of the best moments in the past quarter century, announcing the election of Kennedy to the joint session.

You remember when I went to the joint session?

Yeah, very moving.

But I don't mean, I'm not bragging that, but Goldwater was very good, too, you know.

He didn't say the country lost, for Christ's sake, you can't say that.

I mean, he mostly believed it.

Yeah.

Well, you're just such an impermeable part of the history of this century, of the last 25 or 30 years, and the last quarter century.

It's a unique sensation to be able to talk to you in these terms.

Okay, well, get to work on the Bicentennial.

Well, I'm working on it.

I'll see you on Monday.

Bye.

Thanks very much for calling.