Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 043-010
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 1973 at 12:38 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Brennan, Peter J.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-010

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Hello.
[0:02] Yes, sir.
[0:03] Well, I thought you would be pleased with my stick and lift to your friends on Amnesty.
[0:08] Well, it was a fine job.
[0:09] It had to be done.
[0:10] It had to be done, you know, this double standard, you know, here are these poor devils come back, you know.
[0:15] I think you got the country with you on that thing, and it's just the right thing.
[0:20] That's right.
[0:21] If anybody wants dessert, he's got to pay a price.
[0:24] The poor bastards that served paid their price.
[0:26] I think there's some guys over there doing a little gagging this morning.
[0:29] Oh, yeah.
[0:30] When I said this, I was going to gag you to write peace with honor.
[0:34] Yeah.
[0:35] You know, Henry in his whole briefing never used the term peace with honor.
[0:38] Yeah, I'm aware of that.
[0:39] Right.
[0:39] And that's why I stuck it into him again.
[0:41] I said, we're just going to use it every time we can.
[0:44] Our people have got to step up to that sort of thing.
[0:47] Right.
[0:48] Interesting, though, you noticed of all the questions and the rest, they didn't really get into much.
[0:55] It was Sarah McLennan had her usual, you know, mountain.
[0:59] I was stunned there was no Watergate thing even mentioned, you know.
[1:03] Oh, I think they were ready for one, but it didn't go long enough.
[1:06] But the thing is that we had here, when you've got a major news story, I mean, the Henry trip.
[1:12] Right.
[1:13] And, of course, the major news story of Vietnam writing.
[1:19] What the hell?
[1:19] Why do people want to write about subject B?
[1:21] They want to write about subject A.
[1:23] Right.
[1:23] They might figure that's just old stuff and it's all been answered anyhow.
[1:26] No, they figure I'm not going to say anything to you.
[1:29] Yeah, yeah.
[1:31] They'll have a little fun with that amnesty when that'll really bring down all of the...
[1:36] Junk it in the Peace Corps.
[1:38] Including most of the White House staff, but that's all right.
[1:41] Yeah, the junk in the Peace Corps should go on.
[1:42] But I just thought the junk in the Peace Corps is very good, because that's what people suggest, you know, let them serve two years in the Peace Corps.
[1:47] Now, wouldn't that be just ducky?
[1:49] Right, right.
[1:50] You know, send them down to Brazil for a little vacation for two years, you know, working with the natives.
[1:55] Hell no, they're going to go to jail.
[1:57] Right, right.
[1:58] Don't you agree?
[1:58] Yes, sir, I certainly do, 100%.
[2:02] And they, well, it's not a question of, as I pointed out, that's why I brought in that prisoner thing, the guy that wrote me from prison.
[2:10] I'm sympathetic to him, but people got to pay a price.
[2:13] Well, listen, the whole country's with you on that thing, and you stuck it to him.
[2:17] It was deserved, and he was really deserved it.
[2:21] Yeah, he was asking, heal the wounds.
[2:23] All right, who's going to heal them?
[2:24] But by the time that some of them started to think about their responsibilities, I have seen not one of the liberal columnists, not one,
[2:32] who were urging peace at any price when we got peace with honor, who have said, great.
[2:37] Have you?
[2:38] No, no, not at all.
[2:40] Not one?
[2:41] Well, no, or not one of the senators or congressmen either.
[2:43] No, they're still squealing their heads off.
[2:44] The governor's still shooting their mouth off, you know.
[2:46] Sure.
[2:47] Well, fine.
[2:48] Okay, you can save this for the next one, all that crap you prepared that we didn't use.
[2:53] Okay.
[2:53] Fine job, though.
[2:54] Okay, thank you, sir.