Nixon, Haldeman & Bush on Republican National Committee and UN Ambassador

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Ambassador Bush, sir.

All right.

Mr. President?

This is Bob Holliman, George.

Robert.

Just a second.

Are you... President's coming on, and Bob Dole's here, too.

So he's coming on.

You got a second, or are you in with him?

No, they're on right now.

All right.

Mr. President.

Hello, George.

How are you, sir?

Well, both Bob and I think you're a damn fool to take the job, but on the other hand...

He's talked it all over with me, and we feel that this is the best thing for the party.

which is more important than any of us.

So I'll... Bob, I understand that's your view, right?

Right.

And our line is that they have Strauss in Texas, and it ought to be that our Texans can beat their Texans.

That's right.

I don't have to dance with Gene Westwood.

Look at it.

That's right.

We'll give you something better than that.

The other thing is that with regard to the announcement, what we thought we would do would fuzz it up a bit.

Bob and I have been talking about it by simply saying that you...

that he will go out and say that after our talk that he had gone out and canvassed the leaders of the Republican Party and found that they shared his view that there should be a full-time chairman now that the national campaign was over.

And he found overwhelming support as the candidate was George Bush.

He's then going on to say that, as a matter of fact, we had raised that subject when our first conversation at Camp David.

And I said, well, I think it would be great, except I think George will be reluctant to take it because we've already tentatively felt him out on doing a high position in the Treasury Department.

And he is very...

interested in staying at the U.N.

I thought we'd put that in there.

I like that.

And then that, however, I told Bob, I said, you go take a swing at him.

And I said, I'll try to help you out, take a swing at it, see if we can get him to do it.

And then Bob then says he went up to see you in New York and that you talked to him and that Bob should also say that I talked to you, too, and that after thorough consideration and so forth and so on, that you have decided that if

the committee nominate you on the 19th that you will accept.

In the meantime, you will continue in your position at the UN through the session.

Your successor will be announced in due time and that you will, of course, take care of the transition situation.

And Bob will stay on as national chairman through the

inauguration and, of course, will stay on as long as is deemed constructive for the purpose of developing the transition from the old committee to the new.

He also is going to say that he has strongly recommended to the President and to you the need for far more coordination and working together of the National Committee and the Senate Campaign Committee and the House Campaign Committee.

the search for candidates and so forth.

He'd like to say that.

I think that's a good idea to start floating that out.

What do you think?

I do, too.

Of course, it's what we all believe.

And then I think if he says that, then when you start doing it, it isn't going to look as if you're just sort of starting something new that nobody else ever thought of.

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

I think that's fine.

I have one.

At this point, then, will there be any White House comment on this thing?

Well, the point is that Bob is going to be making his comment in Ziegler's office at the White House.

And Ziegler, as a matter of fact, is sitting in a room at the present time listening to this conversation.

He's not on the phone.

And what Ziegler will say is that the president is delighted with the recommendation of that

that Senator Dole has made.

He, of course, will say some very nice things about Senator Dole and that Ambassador Bush will have the president's full support.

or words to that effect.

Does that sound all right?

That's fine.

Just there's one issue that's going to be voted on here in two days, and if there could be a just reference that the President feels that it's most important that MS stay through the session, which was mentioned in his own thing.

I'll mention that.

All right, fine.

Because that is... All right, I'll have Ziegler say that.

However, we're for that.

that he strongly supports it.

Yeah.

But he will, Bob, as a matter of fact, did mention it, but that he is, the President is asking Congressman, Ambassador Bush to stay on at the UN through the conclusion of this session because of some important issues that are coming up.

Very important.

That's right.

How's that sound?

Gail McGee's handling in two days.

Right.

It's that 25% thing that's critical to it.

And that it's, that Ambassador Bush will stay on full time at the UN until the session is completed.

All right.

How does that sound?

I think that sounds good.

When is the session completed?

Well, this session ends the 19th, and then there's a few odds and ends.

But you'll stay on full time through the session until it is completed.

And, of course, we'll stay on as ambassador until your successor is confirmed by the Senate.

And the other would happen on January.

You end December 19, right?

Right.

The other happens January 19.

We can work that out.

And I would say that, you know, I'll...

the hanging around in an advisory capacity for a few weeks until you get things worked out.

Might be a few years, Bill, until I get that worked out.

Right, right.

Okay.

That's fine, sir, and then I'll, I'm sure I'll be pressed here, but I'm going to stay.

And when you're pressed here, you should say yes, you did discuss it with the chairman.

You discussed it with the president.

with great reluctance in one sense.

You leave.

On the other hand, this is a great challenge.

You want to undertake it.

You particularly like the emphasis on the need to build

to broaden the base of our party and for, I mean, the greatest candidate search in history.

Okay?

And then all subject to approval of the national committee kind of thing.

Yeah, and of course, you're not going to assume you're chairman until the committee votes.

Do you think it would be all right to say, in fact, I'll have nothing to say of substance on this until it would be presumptuous to start?

I think that might be a good line.

Yeah, you can say that you don't want to get into that.

It says you wouldn't be presumptuous.

You'd go beyond that, except to indicate your general goal, because before the committee votes, they've got to know what you think.

Say, well, my general goal is this, but beyond getting into who's going to be this and what are you going to do for that and this, well, I can't get into that until I'm the chairman.

All right.

Okay.

All set.

Lots of luck.

All right.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Yeah.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Nixon, Haldeman & Bush on Republican National Committee and UN Ambassador

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on December 11, 1972

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