Nixon phone call with Price on Watergate and Presidential Address

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Yeah.

Yes, sir.

I have made a few changes that Rose is trying to decipher at the moment.

You know, the way I write it, I don't see how the poor child ever gets it.

And that'll come over and get you a draft.

Got a good start.

The other thing is that you had in an earlier draft something that is a thought that's a little emotional and so forth, and I don't want this to be too much that way, because I want it to be strong, but I think it has a point

Remember, you said, I love my country, I love America.

This is the thought that I had, that I, let me just, you know, say something from, let me say something first.

I love this, I love America.

I deeply believe that America is the hope of the world.

Only the leadership of America, I mean, in our hands, whether we want it or not, is the only hope.

worthy of that hope.

And to be worthy of that hope, we must be, I mean, I dedicate myself to, I mean, we must be sure that we must be worthy of that hope in every sense of the word, you know, and so forth.

And I ask for your prayers to help me to be in everything that I do, everything I say, everything I do.

of this period of leadership and so forth and so on.

Try a little something like that at the end, if you would.

It may not go, but what the hell if it doesn't go?

I guess something else.

I've got a couple of other things I've been working up this morning, too, which I think might help.

Would you like to wait until the next draft for those?

Yeah, right.

I mean, you'll see some things that I have that are more personal.

I've put in some things that are personal that are...

You see, the interesting thing, for example, you will note, and it's something that I want to feel very strongly, that on Christmas Eve, I wrote down the goals that I wanted for the second term, and they happen to be the goals that you have down at the last there, that what I want and this and that.

So I'm putting it that way.

On Christmas Eve, I wrote these goals down.

It says, no, tonight I had another goal.

You see what I mean?

Good.

Yeah, that's very nice, Coach.

And it's nice, but it's true.

That's the point.

people understand that you know because i say at christmas eve at a time where we're going through the terrible ordeal of the bombing of north vietnam which i considered essential to bring this terrible war to an end however you want uh then i wrote down these goals here they let me let me read them to you you know any things that are sort of it's got to be sort of a talk ray rather than rather than a sermon you know what i mean good logic is right so that's that

Well, it'll be quite an interesting news day in any event.

Well, it sure will.

And you've had...

It should be anticlimactic after the announcements at noon.

I think it's better that way, though.

You know, yes, yes, it's better for me not to announce Richardson and the rest of that.

That's right, that's right.

Put them all in the same bag.

That's the way it is.

And don't you think Richardson's a good choice?

No, I think he's splendid, you know.

I think it's a first-rate move.

It's better than Rogers.

I thought of him, too, but he's...

Even though it isn't true, everybody would think that he was sort of a Nixon crony and he'd do what I said, which he would never do.

But Richardson, nobody figures he's a friend.

Well, what I mean is a personal friend.

And he's sort of Mr.

Integrity, Mr. Clean.

He's a little tortuous at it, but he's a hell of a fellow.

A damn smart guy.

Oh, God, smart as hell.

When I say torturous, you know, he takes a long time because he's thinking so carefully.

and have a job.

Mm-hmm.

I think that's a very good move.

I'll be infinitely trusted.

Infinitely trusted.

Mm-hmm.

and that you know i i really think that um that move really adds in uh to the whole thing is one reason i was really hoping that something like that would get you see basically ray that's the special prosecutor you understand yes uh the special prosecutor i considered believe me i've considered it for weeks but i kept going over it and over it with the people and they said well you want to delay they'd have to start all over and it mean that

You'd have to have the, it would take three to four months before you'd get the grand jury again.

But then the grand jury would run out and you'd have to have another one.

And you can't do that.

The only thing you can do is to get this goddamn thing, I mean, out now.

I mean, we know, I mean, or they should know or should be able to find out who the hell did this, who's involved, and put them to the sword.

Don't you agree?

And right now they are going forward on it.

And this way with Richardson and just overseeing it, that'll do it.

I mean, everybody will trust him.

There will be no fur or favor shown.

I think that really adds to this whole package, the essential element of a real guarantee of good faith.

Yeah.

The idea you have at the last there of a commission and so forth, I don't think that announcing a commission, since we've got Richardson, let's let the commission, we don't need to put it all in, you know, choke the horse with one bale of hay.

We could come up with a commission later, but we've got to, I think, having it just open the window on it is good.

Mm-hmm.

the way you do, you see what I mean?

Then we can sort of work maybe through, come up with something a little later after we've thought it through, because Richardson's working on that.

But I think the idea's good, and I like opening the window, but I didn't want to go much further on that.

And I wanted to start a little more informally, as you will note, too.

You can gussy up a bit.

I mean, clean it up, but I don't want to start in such a matter-of-fact way.

But you'll see what I mean when she ever gets the copy over to you.

Good.

All right.

Did you work all night?

Only till about 3.

Oh, my.

That's not very long for you.

Not very long for you.

I better get a little sleep, because I might need it tonight.

would you say you may you better get a little sleep i said i i thought last night but i got a little because i might need to be alert today oh oh you mean doing this doing an extract yeah yeah as a matter of fact ray i'm i'm not going to torture myself all day long trying to hone and hone and hone in my view i'm going to get this and then say all right that's it and then

try to get rest today and be up for, I think the way I do this is just about as important as, I mean, considering the substance we've got is about as important as what I say as to whether this line or that line is exactly right.

You see what I mean?

Because if I wear myself out, you know, with the rhetoric, by the time I get to it, I'll be so exhausted, you know, emotionally that I won't get the impression that which I really need to give, you know, that by God, I believe this.

Mm-hmm.

But you agree?

Yes, I do.

So that's why the work you've done is so important.

Was Rogers helpful?

Yes, he was.

And he also said he thought the general tone was good, and it was just about the right amount of sackcloth, and not too much, and so forth.

Oh, hell, as far as sackcloth, I'd be willing to go a lot further, but I, you know what I mean?

I'm, I'm, I really, I have, I've always had this belief, you know, I'm one of a few men in

Washington that never blamed the secretary when the poor damn secretary misspelled a word.

I mean, that's how the boss is always to blame.

So the boss did it.

Hell, I appointed Mitchell, and I appointed Haldeman, and I appointed Ehrlichman, and I appointed Dean.

Christ, these are all my people.

I had Colson.

If they did things, they did them because they thought, I mean, they thought that's what we wanted.

And so I'm responsible.

But the boss can never pass it on.

president the only problem is that if you get sackcloth too much then you no longer can be president that's that's good that's what word rogers i think a little didn't he didn't want it or am i right isn't that what his concern was that if you if you go too far in terms of saying well i take all the blame and i don't blame these poor fellows and all that well if at the time you think what crisis poor damn dumb president why did he resign

Which might not be a bad idea.

The only problem is, I mean, you get ag news.

You want ag news?

No, I think you'll have a lot of rallying around on this.

I doubt it.

But anyway, whether we do or not, we're doing the right thing.

The right thing.

God damn, we're going to get this son of a bitch rooted out one way or another.

Okay.

And I really sympathize with you this weekend.

I said I really sympathize this weekend when I know it's been an awfully tough set of decisions.

Well, that's one of the decisions that was yesterday, having to talk to Bob and John.

But they're great men, fine men, trying to do what was right.

Okay, Ray, thank you.

What time would you like?

Nixon phone call with Price on Watergate and Presidential Address

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on April 30, 1973

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