Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 131-023
Date: Thursday, May 18, 1972 at 7:59 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: Camp David Study Table
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/131-023

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Yes, sir.
[0:03] Well, what's the dope this morning?
[0:04] Just waiting for Henry to get over here.
[0:06] Not very much.
[0:07] The news is still pretty good.
[0:12] The columnists are all running their Conley speculations.
[0:17] Vice president now, is it?
[0:18] Yeah.
[0:19] Well, you know, Trisha's going to go to Ag News parties tomorrow night.
[0:21] That'll screw him up a little.
[0:24] That's all right.
[0:25] Let him speculate.
[0:26] Well, the Gallup poll came out yesterday showing Agnew as being the way up favorite choice of Republicans for vice president, way up from where he's been.
[0:37] Of course, of course.
[0:38] You know, 15 points or something.
[0:39] Sure, sure, sure.
[0:41] And Conley ties with Chuck Percy for fourth place.
[0:47] Yeah.
[0:48] Well, that's understandable.
[0:50] He's not a candidate in the Republican side where his strength would come if you put him in as a
[0:54] running mate.
[0:56] See, Agnew doesn't add to me and then Connolly does.
[0:58] That's the difference.
[0:59] Yeah.
[1:00] But anyway.
[1:01] Right.
[1:02] They're basically still very positive on, Chris, very positive on Schultz, very positive on Connolly.
[1:11] Are they positive on Schultz?
[1:12] Yeah.
[1:13] Good.
[1:15] Positive on Connolly.
[1:16] I think we're through that one in pretty good shape except for some of the guys that will come in late and shoot it down.
[1:23] Right, right.
[1:25] And the Washington Post runs itself up an editorial saying they certainly are doing some momentous things at the summit.
[1:33] Hope that I don't blow it.
[1:37] And they spend all the rest of the time saying, gee, it would be terrible if it doesn't work out.
[1:40] You mean work out why?
[1:43] Because of Vietnam?
[1:44] Or anything else, yeah.
[1:46] They just can't bring themselves to decide that it's a good thing all the way around.
[1:51] That's nice.
[1:53] as how it'll be helpful if it does work out.
[1:55] Yeah.
[1:57] And that's really confusing them, that summit thing, I think.
[2:01] Don't you think so?
[2:03] They don't know what the hell to do about it.
[2:04] They all predicted it.
[2:06] I got Colson and, you know, I showed you how these exercises worked well.
[2:09] I said, now look here.
[2:11] I want you to go back and read what the editorial writers, the columnists, and the commentators said immediately after.
[2:17] The mining speech.
[2:18] Right, he's pulling all that out.
[2:19] And he's pulling it out, and he says, it's the goddamnedest thing you ever read.
[2:22] Sure.
[2:22] Remember, it's what Keogh said when he went back and read about Cambodia.
[2:25] He said he didn't realize that all these people were saying World War III, horrible thing, reckless to do.
[2:29] That's right.
[2:30] That's all there.
[2:31] And I said, now hammer them on it and get a speech made on it and so forth.
[2:36] In other words, make them eat their words, Bob.
[2:38] They have the luxury of just popping off.
[2:40] And then being forgotten when it doesn't happen.
[2:43] That's right.
[2:46] Nothing, nothing further than the Wallace thing.
[2:49] Just a lot of confused attempt at trying to figure out what it really means.
[2:54] A general conclusion that leaves the Democrats in a very difficult position.
[3:03] And a lot of concern about how it, you know, where it all comes out.
[3:09] They're building him into a campaigning force.
[3:15] trying to say, even if he is paralyzed.
[3:20] You mean he'll go out and campaign for McGovern, huh?
[3:27] There'll be some pretty good news out of Vietnam.
[3:33] They're continuing their offensive actions out of the
[3:38] I guess tomorrow is the day we're supposed to get the bang on Khantoum because of Chimin's birthday.
[3:44] We've been saying it for weeks, but maybe that's the day.
[3:48] But my point is that they do do it.
[3:52] I don't think that it's going to have all that much effect with us taking off the next day for the sun.
[3:56] Do you think so?
[3:57] I don't know.
[3:58] Khantoum might.
[4:00] No, I think that it's been pretty well discounted anyway.
[4:04] And it's been expected to fall for a month now.
[4:08] Yeah.
[4:09] Day by day.
[4:09] Do you have any further thoughts with regard to the visit to Wallace?
[4:15] What is he going over there?
[4:16] You don't know yet.
[4:17] Don't know.
[4:19] We'll have a better reading probably mid-day today.
[4:21] All right.
[4:24] And I think we ought to figure out what we do.
[4:26] Well, there is a possibility.
[4:27] Go to the other place.
[4:28] You sent somebody out to look to see whether we could land near the other place and then drive to it.
[4:34] Yeah, there's some possibilities, but it's...
[4:39] I think I wouldn't mind even doing that, you know, just land near there in a parking lot and then just get the hell over there and see them.
[4:57] How far is it from the White House, that other place?
[5:00] Not very far.
[5:01] You could drive in from there after you.
[5:03] Well, it's probably a little better than a half-hour run.
[5:09] We see it might be just as easy to drive if you have to get the helicopter and go in.
[5:12] But on the other hand, the helicopter has some advantages, too.
[5:16] If you can get a helicopter that can land five minutes away, that's the thing to do.
[5:23] I think the idea of calling him is good, don't you?
[5:25] The more I've thought about it.
[5:26] If you just go out and call on him unexpectedly.
[5:32] Has anybody else seen him except his family?
[5:37] Some of it is campaign people.
[5:39] Oh, sure, sure.
[5:39] But not Humphrey or McGovern and all that.
[5:42] I don't believe so.
[5:43] That's not up to now.
[5:44] Yeah.
[5:48] Well, that's going to pose a problem.
[6:01] Okay.
[6:01] Bye.
[6:02] Thank you.
[6:02] All right.