Nixon & Haldeman on Alaska and Phase II economic policy

56:37I don't think it makes sense.
56:43One is it becomes basic.
57:07When you finish meeting the Emperor, it's midnight in Alaska.
57:15Good night.
57:16He leaves at 11.40.
57:18That's 2 a.m. Pacific and it's 5 a.m. You might as well go today all the time.
57:23Can you do this and stay in Alaska?
57:25Sure.
57:26It just doesn't make any sense to leave.
57:29No.
57:29There is...
57:30good facilities at the base there.
57:32You don't even have to go into town or a hotel to see right at the base where the meeting is.
57:39And because of past business on Monday, because Sunday's going to be a horrendous day just on time, body parts and everything, I think what they do is spend the night in Alaska, get up at a decent hour in the morning, get on the plane and come back for one.
57:53Sure, it's going to help.
57:55Do the stuff on the way out.
57:56Now we can make some hay on a Saturday and Sunday.
58:00This is the time to do Montana because of weather.
58:04So let's get it done.
58:06If we wait any longer, Montana's gonna be cracking.
58:10But we can go in there, go from here to there.
58:13We should go from Washington to Montana and take Mike Lewis.
58:17What he wants you to do is the Hungry Horse Dam.
58:21Yes, two dams.
58:21We knew it, but they had to wait to do it.
58:26And they can now do it though.
58:27They can get an airport crowd where you land and you have to helicopter 20 minutes to a place that plays your national park.
58:36You can do that at midday on Saturday.
58:39It's a good day to do it.
58:43Then, Mikey would be go to Portland rather than San Francisco.
58:49They're going all the way down and back up.
58:51Hey, this is a Northwestern trip.
58:53Go to Portland and close the media briefing.
58:55Saturday afternoon.
58:56Saturday's a better day if you need to do it anyway.
59:00They can fly in.
59:01Some of them are going up to Alaska because there's an editor's conference in Alaska on Sunday.
59:06So some of them are going up anyway.
59:09Well, throw the pool of our money in if you have money.
59:12It's too late to say go up early.
59:15Now, there's another...
59:17You close out Portland, then you either spend the night in Portland, or go on up to Seattle and spend the night.
59:25There is a... Any other possibility would be to go to Seattle.
59:30It isn't going to work.
59:32I don't think there's one remote thing.
59:34The state of Washington has a high school convocation once a year, where they gather something like 30,000 high school students.
59:42Maybe.
59:43It's done on a weekday normally.
59:44Maybe it could be done on a weekend.
59:45And they have asked for an administration spokesman to address it, which we would, of course, provide.
59:52That might be a thing to run you into.
59:53It might be that you can do it on a Sunday.
59:57Of course, the governor's going to be in this afternoon, and we're going to talk to him.
1:00:02He's here anyway.
1:00:03We'll talk to him about it.
1:00:04It's the only other thing to do that makes any sense at this point, from their viewpoint, unless the government comes up with some more stuff today.
1:00:15On Sunday, well, on any time in Washington, there's a major cross-state highway, which is a very important economic thing to them, and they suggest you dedicate.
1:00:25That's a pretty bad shot for a president.
1:00:27That sounds like a good one.
1:00:30Really cutting.
1:00:32The dams.
1:00:33That's different.
1:00:34And it's Mike and it's the West and all that.
1:00:38Not a highway.
1:00:39Highway just doesn't make sense.
1:00:43The other thing could be just to skip Washington, just not do Washington now.
1:00:49And another possibility that I think we ought to at least consider is to go into Alaska early and let Wally Hickle give a reception for you.
1:01:00in Anchorage.
1:01:01One hell of a coup in Alaska.
1:01:03You like to do it?
1:01:07Oh, yeah.
1:01:07And you're kind of insulting Alaska to arrive there.
1:01:10We're spending the night.
1:01:11We'll help some, I think.
1:01:15Sir, I don't mind arriving earlier in Alaska, that's no problem.
1:01:18Well, I noticed that we didn't want to at first, but now he wants to give a reception.
1:01:23It might be a thing where you could arrive, let him give a reception for you in Anchorage.
1:01:28So you arrive, get your own airport arrival in Anchorage.
1:01:31You drive into town, we can get some overkeep, then you don't have a hell of a turnout.
1:01:38Do the reception of vehicles, then go back to the base.
1:01:42Well, time to get ready, then meet the Emperor, go through the Emperor bed, then go to bed.
1:01:46We should spend the night in there, that's right.
1:01:49It fits, it looks like we know what we're doing this way.
1:01:51The other way it looked like that really, uh, slapdash set of things.
1:01:53Well then, if we spend the night, and we get, uh, light packs on the six-and-a-half bar, I checked, you know, seven out, seven-fifteen out, six-and-six, six-and-a-half pack.
1:02:10So, you win.
1:02:13And what time will we get back to it?
1:02:15Ten, five, five hours, time change.
1:02:18So it's eleven and a half, call it twelve hours.
1:02:22See?
1:02:24Well then, if I could, is that a, is the other thing a medical thing?
1:02:26You know, a bigger thing?
1:02:28I understand it is, but I'm checking it.
1:02:31I want to be sure.
1:02:33Well, if it is, I should go.
1:02:35I mean, I've got some things to do.
1:02:38I go, but that way, we won't go so that manner.
1:02:41No, if it isn't men and women, there's still no reason for you not to go.
1:02:43Are you going to let the president come in so it's all women?
1:02:49That was the AR.
1:02:50It was all women.
1:02:50He went.
1:02:52Yeah.
1:02:54Let's do that, and then let's have me have a ride late, right as the program begins.
1:02:59We're in the middle of God damn time.
1:03:00We're in a line.
1:03:01We'll be in a line all the way from the last, back from the last bit of the taxi.
1:03:05Why don't we get up on our ass and get there at 6 o'clock to one of their drunken orders?
1:03:09I think we should drop by and watch the fight at the end of the town.
1:03:13Yeah, at the end.
1:03:15They are expected to come in at 9 o'clock or something like that.
1:03:18Big drill in the road, big so-called 30-30.
1:03:19Yes, that would be leaving at about 9 or 9.30.
1:03:21We'll find out when they're leaving at about 9 or 9.30.
1:03:24We'll find out when they're leaving at 9.30.
1:03:26Well, we have to have time.
1:03:34We should spend the night in Alaska.
1:03:36But let me ask about the high school complication that you had to be done with.
1:03:44It would be, if they could do it on a Sunday, it would be an idea.
1:03:59Do it.
1:03:59Do it.
1:04:01Do it.
1:04:01Do it.
1:04:03Do it.
1:04:07Do it.
1:04:07Do it.
1:04:11You can't do it Sunday morning.
1:04:18You need to just forget Portland and go on into Washington.
1:04:26I agree.
1:04:26I mean, go to Montana, exactly.
1:04:29Tell her she can do what I was thinking of doing in Montana for me.
1:04:32Do you agree with me?
1:04:36Or, and then do, uh, do, uh, do Washington, uh,
1:04:40Washington High School Friday, and there's a media briefing, and, uh, in Portland, Saturday.
1:04:47What happened tonight?
1:04:50Just went to California.
1:04:51There's no problem.
1:04:52It's funny, because the last time I was home, you know,
1:05:53The bad that you've gotten out of California can't be any more than the bad you would have gotten at the same time in Washington or anywhere else.
1:06:12It's the people that are going to take the shot.
1:06:16and say that you can come here and ask me to do your work.
1:06:23Hard work is hard work.
1:06:25It's hard work.
1:06:27Well, that's the truth.
1:06:29But it happens to be also understood.
1:06:32How about trying to do two days out of the band?
1:06:38Or if you did that, you'd have to stay in Detroit.
1:06:42You couldn't go out.
1:06:44If you do Detroit Thursday night, then Montana Friday would make sense.
1:06:51So the 9th is right.
1:06:53No, no, no, no.
1:06:54If you do Detroit Thursday, yeah, you're right.
1:06:58Yeah.
1:06:58Yeah, Detroit, that's right.
1:06:59Detroit Thursday.
1:07:00And then why the Montana Friday?
1:07:01Why the Montana?
1:07:02Do it Friday.
1:07:03Friday.
1:07:04And then on to Portland.
1:07:06And, uh... Or on to Seattle and do the high school thing.
1:07:12I don't really believe that that is not even worth screwing around with.
1:07:42All right.
1:07:42I, uh, would be if you tried to do two events on Friday.
1:07:44If you wanted to do Montana and Washington.
1:07:46I think we ought to shoot for Washington on Saturday, though.
1:07:48Do it Saturday morning.
1:07:49I'm sure as hell I'd be more in on the way to do it right now.
1:07:55Well, and then shoot down there Saturday afternoon.
1:07:57You know, the high school kids ought to be Saturday morning.
1:08:04That's the way we get TV.
1:08:07Do the day on Friday.
1:08:08Montana.
1:08:09Montana.
1:08:11and go on into Washington Friday night.
1:08:15Right.
1:08:16Well, you're trying to think, where do you want that?
1:08:18Where do you want the Montana media briefing?
1:08:22You want it on Saturday.
1:08:24Oh, do it Friday.
1:08:25No, that's right.
1:08:25That's right.
1:08:26Do the media briefing Friday.
1:08:27You're right.
1:08:28Go to Portland.
1:08:30Friday afternoon.
1:08:31It's just for the birds, anyway.
1:08:32Montana Friday noon.
1:08:33Yeah.
1:08:34Media briefing.
1:08:36In Portland, Friday afternoon.
1:08:37You don't want any media coverage on that anyway.
1:08:40No, sir.
1:08:41And overnight in Portland, then.
1:08:43Make it easy.
1:08:44Right.
1:08:46And Saturday morning.
1:08:47Oh.
1:08:49So we get too much time, all right?
1:08:52Saturday morning, late.
1:08:55There's another way.
1:08:56Another way you could do it with me to do.
1:08:59You mean, let's start doing it all on Saturday.
1:09:01Go out and do Montana Saturday afternoon.
1:09:04Do, uh...
1:09:05Do something in Portland.
1:09:08The best thing is to do something in Washington on Sundays.
1:09:12You've got a hell of a lot of time on Sundays.
1:09:16The best way to do it is to do Montana Saturday noon, do Portland Saturday afternoon, and overnight there, which wastes more time.
1:09:26Then Sunday morning, get up and go to Washington.
1:09:31And stop there and do something there Sunday afternoon.
1:09:36Well, forget about the high school kids.
1:09:39Boy, do the high school kids forget about the TV?
1:09:41They would get totally wiped out if they do it Sunday.
1:09:45That's the point.
1:09:47The high school kids will.
1:09:50So what's the use of doing it?
1:09:51What else in Washington?
1:09:52You go and just go up and visit your brother from the way to Alaska or something like that.
1:09:56It's only a good bit of Washington.
1:09:58There really isn't anything to do in Washington.
1:10:00We all, everybody makes us a wipeout.
1:10:01Or it might not be.
1:10:02Still, we'll do it later.
1:10:03Maybe they can find some other thing for us.
1:10:06And you'll at least get an airport arrival Sunday.
1:10:08It's a good day.
1:10:09People come to the airport.
1:10:11And the idea of being there and go.
1:10:16I think the best thing to do, though, is to go and spend the night in Washington.
1:10:21If you do the media briefing in Oregon and Portland, then let's go spend the night in Washington.
1:10:27At a motor hotel, I could have always made it a motor hotel.
1:10:31Not the right time.
1:10:34Oh, what is it?
1:10:34I've never heard of it.
1:10:36Seattle, the Everett.
1:10:37Oh, shit.
1:10:37It's terrible.
1:10:38You know, they came out of New Jackson.
1:10:41Well, them too.
1:10:44I don't know the actual problem.
1:10:49Close to me, breaking out of reception, they get on a plane going up to Washington.
1:10:53Yeah.
1:10:54Spend the night, Sunday night at Washington.
1:10:57Could we make the Montana thing a little bit earlier?
1:11:03and I can't even tell you the next story.
1:11:04Well, we'll get the media briefing through so we can get it to Washington in time for an Asian airport arrival.
1:11:09The way to do it, you say, is to have the airport arrival Sunday morning, but I don't like to do it.
1:11:16You've got a little bit of a problem out there.
1:11:18On the road, you've got a little bit of a problem with what you're doing on Sunday.
1:11:22But I think you've got to go to church on Sunday.
1:11:38You know, we close, we can be in Portland by about 3 o'clock.
1:11:42Close the D.C. agreement.
1:11:44You get up, you know, 4 or 4.30.
1:11:46You get up to Washington by 5.30 or 7, which is still daylight.
1:11:48It's a good time.
1:11:49Especially for the airport arrival.
1:11:52Do the airport arrival and just go to the hotel.
1:11:55Hold up.
1:11:56Sure.
1:11:57Because it's late.
1:11:58Boy, 9 o'clock by then anyway.
1:11:599 o'clock.
1:12:01Go to bed.
1:12:03Sunday morning, get up in Washington.
1:12:05Do the church.
1:12:06Church.
1:12:08and then see if there's something, maybe, Sunday afternoon to do.
1:12:10How about doing something different?
1:12:13Rather than Washington, it's just so important that we're thinking about what the church put on us.
1:12:21The church is doing something about that.
1:12:30The church is providing us.
1:12:34A lot of people cry, that will be like something like,
1:12:38I would go to Alaska then and get an airport arrival from Manoa, but that's all of a sudden
1:13:07Oh, hell yeah.
1:13:08We go there.
1:13:09Oh, we get an airport arrival in Greece.
1:13:11They'll come out to the airport in Alaska in the middle of the midnight.
1:13:13And then go to Walleye, of course, for a reception.
1:13:16Good.
1:13:16And then back to the base.
1:13:17And how do you mean get time to go back to the base and take a nap?
1:13:21That's what I will do.
1:13:22It'll be nighttime then, so it'd be a good idea to go back and get a couple of hours of sleep before the end of the mission.
1:13:28You know, you've got to relax and back out.
1:13:32And while you're still arriving, we'll spend the night at the base, like that.
1:13:38But you get a hold of those women now.
1:13:41Can you do it so that you can get it screwed on tight?
1:13:46With radio even?
1:13:46Yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:13:48Either you or one of our people rather than coming.
1:13:51So it's screwed on very tight so that you know the exact time.
1:14:00Good.
1:14:02Oh, it should be done in the one day.
1:14:04It should be done on the Saturday.
1:14:05I think we've got too much time on the line.
1:14:07Yeah.
1:14:07I think reaching for California on this one is just too much.
1:14:15Well...
1:14:17You can cross the door.
1:14:18There's a tier there that makes sense.
1:14:20California, you remember, we can do it.
1:14:24It's a long time, but we can just fly out there any time.
1:14:27We've got something to do.
1:14:28You've got to go out there for the Thanksgiving.
1:14:31It's a long time.
1:14:33Medical time.
1:14:39We just make Bible happen.
1:14:40We go to the medical center again.
1:14:42Well, it was spent a couple days then at the end of that to meet a few, get up to San Francisco then.
1:14:49And just not spend the night.
1:14:50Just go in to San Francisco and do the thing.
1:14:54Yeah, well, yeah.
1:14:54I think spending the night and also when an Air Force base, I think it was ever a blue man in San Francisco.
1:14:59God damn, I can't believe this.
1:15:05It's not getting to the city.
1:15:06It has to go up and land up in Santa Rosa or something, you know, something there.
1:15:13Or land over, or hit something in the valley on the way up and something.
1:15:18Maybe San Jose.
1:15:18Yeah.
1:15:18Well, good.
1:15:19But that's the hell of a trip.
1:15:23We want to get back to San Jose.
1:15:31We will.
1:15:33That's a long time that you don't have the weather problem there.
1:15:48It looks a lot better sipping into Alaska than doing the emperor and sipping out.
1:15:55Well, I don't know if the Hickle reception, we've got to figure that out.
1:16:02He worked, he acted.
1:16:03I think so.
1:16:04Stans has been talking to him and we've been trying to play it kind of carefully.
1:16:10Now, there's another possibility, which we might want to do, and they're also checking out, which is a pipeline announcement.
1:16:17Probably we'll be ready.
1:16:20And in checking on the question, Mitchell thinks it'll be a hell of a political coup in Alaska.
1:16:29And he thinks that we either ought to announce it ahead of time so that you get the credit for when you arrive, or that we might want to figure a way to announce it at the right time.
1:16:40So that would be another thing we could do.
1:16:42We could do that at the airport when you arrive, or something that we tie in.
1:16:47And you could tie people in there somehow.
1:16:49He started it.
1:16:51you know, the great credit he deserved.
1:16:55How it works out, his book is coming out in October, you know, just shortly after that, and it's, Irwin's got a manuscript of it, he says it's, it doesn't hurt you, it is pretty rough on White House staff, and that's egocentric on Hickle.
1:17:18He promised to use himself in the second coming.
1:17:23Well, except we thought of a book that hit you badly.
1:17:26Yeah.
1:17:26I agree.
1:17:26If it treats you all right, it doesn't matter why.
1:17:28I agree.
1:17:28And apparently Doug says you're the victim of your stabbing to some extent, but that's the closest he hits you.
1:17:40Your idea's good there.
1:17:41Let's knock the three states off right now, Bob.
1:17:46Then on California, we just might want to plan a California trip.
1:17:48Yeah.
1:17:48For just about that good reason sometimes, you know.
1:17:51I just don't think we're doing enough good thinking about California, about what to go through, you know.
1:17:56And we didn't want to let them.
1:17:58No, that's all right.
1:17:59Better places.
1:17:59Or as good places.
1:18:01That was a good one, though.
1:18:03That was a good one.
1:18:05That was a good way to get in that area.
1:18:13It's about San Diego County.
1:18:18It's not as much as Northern California.
1:18:30Just past us, or even probably the same where he found us.
1:18:32But we just haven't realized how far it is.
1:18:34I like the art because I can count on the big screen.
1:18:36Yeah.
1:18:37Good.
1:18:38Making sure to come in and hang out with us, coming to all these events, like the Japanese dinner and everything else.
1:18:55I have sense of humor.
1:19:02I think it's very important, looking at this schedule, particularly in October, to get hungry on those special dinners.
1:19:21Yeah.
1:19:23California dinner, the Ohio dinner, the Illinois dinner, New York dinner.
1:19:25I don't know which ones you have in mind, but I didn't go to have a Florida dinner.
1:19:32Incidentally, that should be here.
1:19:35And they bring them here, and they're all out there, and they're going down there, and they have a key this game.
1:19:44Oh, yeah.
1:19:45And the same with California.
1:19:46I fly them in again.
1:19:47L.A., y'all get in the plane, get drunk, come back here.
1:19:50Yeah.
1:19:50Yeah.
1:19:52Yeah.
1:19:54Apparently, that's the letter column between the schools, I guess it is.
1:19:56No, I mean the mailing.
1:19:58No, I'm not sure about it.
1:19:59You're still working on it?
1:20:01No, the meeting is this week, with the people there putting the whole committee together and everything.
1:20:06As soon as that's done, they're set to roll.
1:20:10They found the young man to go along with the 80-year-olds?
1:20:12Well, we've given them a whole list, and they're going over, that's what the meeting's about.
1:20:17Oh, we've got some other... Well, we've got some other, you know, a whole list of the young ones.
1:20:21Good.
1:20:22And, uh...
1:20:24I had rule out for everybody, and that's almost heaven for everybody that's been around.
1:20:33Dinner's now, this is the time to have them.
1:20:37Yeah.
1:20:38They come in for a break, they get a thorough break, and I just give them a hell of a nice social dinner, and the Army chorus, you know, and God bless America, and get them home.
1:20:50Correct?
1:20:50Yeah.
1:20:50I don't stand around and talk to them.
1:20:53Do you agree?
1:20:54Yeah.
1:20:56We really don't push it on the receiving end.
1:20:58Another thing I would do, another thing I would do with that thing, I'd make the dinner with brown tables and have people around.
1:21:11See what we've got to do.
1:21:19It's probably hard work, but it would work well.
1:21:26On the one hand, it probably is.
1:21:27It's just a feeling.
1:21:30I'd argue against that for most things because it denigrates the present.
1:21:34I don't think it does.
1:21:35Well, in the White House, I hope I wouldn't do it.
1:21:37I'm sorry, but I meant in the White House.
1:21:39You understand, if you had four correct troubles, you're going to miss something.
1:21:44I would just shift by force if you don't care about it.
1:21:48It's hard to break.
1:21:51That's something that's kind of like working the fence, you know, the time to do that.
1:21:55Now maybe you could do this.
1:21:56I have an empty chair at every table.
1:21:57And then we could have some others move around too.
1:22:00We could have a cabin officer move around.
1:22:05Well, we'll just see.
1:22:08Maybe it's not necessary.
1:22:09They'll make these dinners a good idea.
1:22:12I do, and I think John agrees that they are.
1:22:16Well, certainly it's good for New York, and it's good for Florida, and it's good for California, and it's good for Ohio, and it's good for Illinois.
1:22:24I think we ought to have a hell of a Texas dinner, too.
1:22:34Don't you agree?
1:22:37All these swearing-ins we're having.
1:22:52I'm not sure.
1:22:56We're working on that.
1:23:15You don't have to play it.
1:23:16It should be worth it.
1:23:20Yeah, also there's a chance to go to Florida.
1:23:28And then you get to Florida Road.
1:23:46So I just went ahead and said, yes, I don't think we care.
1:23:48I think it went better for us afterwards.
1:23:54I have my eye on this president.
1:23:56I think you could talk to him.
1:24:59What I ask is that I think Buchanan is a good antidote to those on the staff who feel that, of course, we have to get mesmerized by this whole idea of a precedent.
1:25:12He knows the battle of the precedent comes with the battle of the enemy.
1:25:17I mean, he's got the, I don't know if I can name it, but there's a portrait of it in the
1:25:31Yeah, it is.
1:25:34I may be wrong.
1:25:38No, it is.
1:25:40Because any time it takes the negative, it says, you know, he's accused of having a temper or something, they put that in to look objective.
1:25:54But then they kind of lightly dismiss that.
1:25:58And they say, but...
1:25:59All of his associates say that he would never make a decision while he's in a temper.
1:26:06He never does that well.
1:26:08They face the negatives that they have to face, but then they slash a lot of white paint over them and say they don't do any better.
1:26:15I want you to force everybody on our staff.
1:26:17I want you to force them to agree.
1:26:21No, no, yes.
1:26:23Because I want them to know, and I want even people like Rory Price to know, I want the Sapphires to know, I want everybody in the Senate to know, so that we will go into this with our eyes wide open.
1:26:33The more I think about it, you know, we should not be thinking what we've done this year about it.
1:26:37We can take the offense and put it out there and put God in trouble over the goddamn country, but beyond that,
1:26:50What do you think of, in terms of the events, what do you think of in terms of one of those eight years?
1:27:02We have two in one month.
1:27:04All right.
1:27:04The other thing though, the wedding.
1:27:07but it was about once in eight years.
1:27:10And nothing has ever been quite something like, quite an experiment.
1:27:14You can talk about everything that we do in terms of war, time, everything like that.
1:27:20That was enough to last a year.
1:27:22It left more of an impression.
1:27:23And all of this will have crashed up if you have to deal with it another time.
1:27:30Is that true?
1:27:30Yes, sir.
1:27:30Sure is.
1:27:30And it will always be remembered.
1:27:33All right.
1:27:34Okay.
1:27:34Now, in the light of that,
1:27:36We actually should be doing better than we are in my opinion.
1:27:40I think what we have in this, and you can say, oh, it has to do with the war and all that sort of thing.
1:27:50Correct?
1:27:51Maybe so.
1:27:53It goes deeper than that.
1:27:54It has to do, it seems to me, with the running battle that we have on the media side.
1:28:02In other words, the erosion that occurs
1:28:07And each other said, Mr. Dave, and they quashed the meeting.
1:28:10Now, on the plus side, all through the country, you know, even for economic issues, we were rather heartened.
1:28:19And I think, probably so, by the warm reception we received, we've got a hell of a lot of strength.
1:28:25In other words, our 50% is, I think, doing pretty good.
1:28:27A lot better than Perry had 100 years ago.
1:28:32The general of Alabama is what you want.
1:28:35Part of it is the president.
1:28:38The other thing is some support.
1:28:40The idea that our support is very thin, you know, and all that.
1:28:44I think that's true.
1:28:46I can't believe it's true.
1:28:47Do you believe it's not?
1:28:48I think that may be what's changed.
1:28:50That was true.
1:28:50It can't be true now with China and the other thing.
1:28:54I think you've given the people that want to be with you, because I'm going to be saying, well, God damn it, we know why.
1:29:00And I think you've
1:29:02You've given people who don't want to be with you some reason to be if they don't want to be with the other guy, too.
1:29:12They've got a choice between you and whoever it is.
1:29:14China and some of those things may make more of a difference than they do now.
1:29:20It could make a great difference, particularly if you get some orders.
1:29:28But what I'm getting at is,
1:29:31It's really true, I mean, I know, isn't it?
1:29:34I've told figures several times in the line, and you'll smile, that we have the worst press coverage in any president in the century.
1:29:42Now, there's no question about it.
1:29:44You can talk about Hoover, you can talk about all the others.
1:29:47They at least had some very strong supporters in the press.
1:29:50We had almost, you can name them on three fingers, correct?
1:29:54The strong supporters.
1:29:58And they aren't.
1:29:59The other problem is our strong supporters are not significant.
1:30:03They're not important for us people.
1:30:05They aren't Scotty residents and, you know, we're a studious guy.
1:30:12Now we come to the point, though, as to what we do about this.
1:30:15I think it's a...
1:30:18I'm guessing Colson proves something.
1:30:23He works on it every day.
1:30:28And also, let me say, thank God he got it.
1:30:31He got it.
1:30:31He's on his toes with regard to the part of it.
1:30:37The part you call the TV.
1:30:45He's working on this now in Alaska.
1:30:53That's yours.
1:30:54of the newspaper associations from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Utah.
1:30:58That's what that newspaper means.
1:31:01You're meeting in Anchorage on Sunday and Monday.
1:31:05On Sunday evening, Bob Adler, the publisher of the Anchorage paper, is having a reception.
1:31:09That could be expanded.
1:31:11You could drop by that if you wanted to.
1:31:15I think if Hickle wants to do it, it would be better to have Hickle do it.
1:31:20I don't know if you're sure about that.
1:31:23No, but I could do both.
1:31:24Yeah, I could do both perceptions.
1:31:26That's what I would do, but I think Hickles should be the big one.
1:31:30I think Hickles should be basically a big public perception.
1:31:33You know, let him have 500 people shake hands and then drop by Atwood's first when I'm not so tired and then do the other.
1:31:41You know what I mean?
1:31:44But I wouldn't see any reason not to have both.
1:31:49Meeting the publishers is more important than Hickel.
1:31:53Meeting the publishers is more important than Hickel, but Hickel is symbolically important.
1:32:02Getting back to this business here, he's zeroing in on that, and he's zeroing in.
1:32:11The wire services, I must say, we do pretty well on.
1:32:14Do you agree or not?
1:32:15Yes.
1:32:15All right.
1:32:16Yes, we do.
1:32:17We've got to keep working at it because we don't, you can't help it.
1:32:23But the wire services, except there's a shed or two here and there, but generally, and especially the ones that cover us regularly, try most of the time to do
1:32:39They don't get glowing stuff, but they're fairly good.
1:32:42They'll cut loose with a glowing thing every once in a while because they get impressed.
1:32:47They do glowing stuff on your performances on some of the things that other people don't see.
1:32:52The little ones, when they see you do like the Woodrow Wilson thing, one of them really got a lot of the snapper for them.
1:32:59That was Pierpont.
1:33:00He just completely smashed Pierpont with that one, and he got very low, which is great.
1:33:08I was thinking, for example, how the wire services would probably handle that in Chicago tonight.
1:33:13I mean, that was an amazing touch.
1:33:16It has encouraged me.
1:33:19Well, it's been fun, then.
1:33:21Yeah.
1:33:23Anyway, you keep bread on this, and then, and particularly, I just don't want it to be... We've got that.
1:33:38You've got to keep memory of that dessert and get good people in.
1:33:45They're right.
1:33:46They still do.
1:33:47You know, we're always like that.
1:33:49They just don't buy the...
1:33:51But you're going to win them.
1:33:54They just feel, you know, it's our fault.
1:33:57What it is, Bob, is they all come in and say, well, it's our crushed relations that are bad.
1:34:03That's what's wrong.
1:34:05That is not true.
1:34:06Well, that's bullshit.
1:34:07As many things are too good, our crushed relations are bad.
1:34:11Well, for Christ's sakes, we kiss their ass all the time.
1:34:14They can't be bothered.
1:34:15They ain't gonna be kissed anymore.
1:34:17When I go to Florida, after the, this is,
1:34:24So it wasn't the next week we were going, yeah, we just go, I'm just going to go up, I'm going to say, God damn, where did the man, not an hour, I'm just going to get my day half-heart, because I stood up for him, I said, I'm going to go to Florida instead of campaign three.
1:34:38So that's the, on the hatchet man thing, maybe, maybe here, we need to kind of, kind of get the candidates' understanding.
1:34:48He's developing that a lot.
1:34:53As a result of the way we focused in December then, are you reading it now?
1:34:59I haven't.
1:34:59I saw it yesterday.
1:35:00We've changed it a little bit.
1:35:01They took a stab at changing it.
1:35:03I like it there.
1:35:04It'll be interesting to see what you think.
1:35:07But what they're doing, instead of separating TV from the stories and putting them together,
1:35:14but they put the feature on the TV.
1:35:15Now, a couple years ago, we had to force them to separate TV to pay any attention to TV at all, but they now are very much dominated by the television, and it's the thing they react to.
1:35:27They get much more disturbed.
1:35:29Buchanan still gets very disturbed by what America and human events, I don't know, National Review, the reporter, not the reporter, I don't know.
1:35:40Those still...
1:35:42And there's some reason for that, because those do affect the broadcasters read those.
1:35:46The TV commentators read John Osborne to find out what they think.
1:35:51So there's some merit to that.
1:35:54And you've got to look at it for indications of what's going on.
1:36:02But they're focused very much on the TV.
1:36:04And it's interesting, now that they're combining, how much the TV dominates.
1:36:10Is that right?
1:36:11The overall news story.
1:36:12In other words, when you cover the TV, you've got to go in because the TV news is not completely down on the laws.
1:36:19What about getting in?
1:36:20What about getting in hatchet men?
1:36:23What about getting rid of hatchet men?
1:36:25We've got Dole.
1:36:26We've got Goldwater.
1:36:26Those are only two I can think of at the moment.
1:36:30And we have, could I just urge six hatchet men
1:36:37The way we've been screwing around with this, and every time I do it, you know, I had that horrible meeting, I've had two horrible meetings, one with the senators and one with the Congress, where they bring in 15 guys and told them to make some oil, and they come in the ditch.
1:36:53You know, that isn't what we need.
1:36:54I agree, I thought it, but they're wrong.
1:36:56What you really need, they're just a couple, three or four, we have total Nixon men that are sons of bitches,
1:37:02The problem is, you say you're the next loyalist, and they immediately think we're the strategy planning committee that have got to tell the president what he's doing wrong.
1:37:12It's the same thing you get in the staff.
1:37:14You know, you could equal your set of
1:37:17And it's right, you don't want everybody just blindly thinking.
1:37:20I don't doubt a question.
1:37:21Well, I know, we've got to get them.
1:37:23I want to do it.
1:37:23I want to have an all-manning chance to meet with you guys.
1:37:25It's true.
1:37:25I've got to get them a little stuck on high now.
1:37:30Just to be with them.
1:37:31That's part of it, you know.
1:37:33They've got to be charged up.
1:37:34Here we are charging up the cabinet, the sub-cabinet, about leaving us.
1:37:37Why not our own people?
1:37:41Our own people have to fight a little bit to battle sometimes.
1:37:43Now that they've got to go to war.
1:37:48Federal Queen.
1:38:49that does a meeting Friday.
1:38:52Now, he's, the quadriads currently had a
1:38:56session yesterday, and George wanted to talk with you, and he said maybe you don't want to take the time to do it, but what he wanted to talk with, what they wanted to suggest is that on the consultation process looking at Phase 2, that there should be meetings, separate meetings, set up with four groups, a labor group, a business group, an agriculture group, and a congressional group, and that they have natural resources.
1:39:22groupings that make up each of those they think you ought to meet with each of those groups with the across the living council members in a what is billed as and conducted as a listening session in other words you ask them to come in and talk with us about what they think their views on phase two uh and uh i thought that if you wanted
1:39:46to follow this process, that you would gain a lot of mileage by saying in your speech that you were going to do so, and that we could set up difficulties.
1:39:54We shouldn't really call it here.
1:39:56I told Price last night or whatever this whole thing, I said, talk to Shultz.
1:40:02Correct.
1:40:02Is Shultz the ass?
1:40:03I said, if Shultz wants that in, put it in.
1:40:06I talked to Conway about it last night.
1:40:08I mean, the thing is, I don't see why everybody has to bring it here now.
1:40:10God damn it, why do you have an editor?
1:40:13I said, Price, I said, go over there, and I said, I think in paragraph, he's concerned about whether you want to do the process.
1:40:20I don't give a goddamn what it is.
1:40:22You know, I don't care what the process is.
1:40:24If these people, if the four of them agree, I'll do it.
1:40:28And I understood that the four agreed, and if you can get Arger, Ernst, and Schultz, and Conley to agree, I'll do it.
1:40:32See, wouldn't that be a problem?
1:40:35Or does he think...
1:40:35I think he says they agree.
1:40:36All right, all right, I'll do it.
1:40:37The question he's concerned about is whether you want to get committed.
1:40:40Whether you want to get committed to meeting with those groups.
1:40:45That's better than meeting with the cabinet.
1:40:48Hell yes.
1:40:48All right, my point is, we don't have to.
1:40:51You see, the cost of living council bothers me.
1:40:53Of course, the cost is big now.
1:40:54That's part of the vision.
1:40:57He wouldn't have the whole cost of living council.
1:40:59The idea would be just to have certain people, have a couple of representatives of the council plus you.
1:41:08They want to have meaning, Tom.
1:41:10What do they want to have?
1:41:11Well, probably an explanation.
1:41:15I could, but I told Price to go talk to them.
1:41:17Okay.
1:41:18Let me follow up on that.
1:41:20Well, Price is supposed to be able to let them talk to them.
1:41:24A paragraph all worked out.
1:41:24And the price has got to go to that.
1:41:26I'm buried on it.
1:41:27So I'm going to get the speech handled by 5 o'clock.
1:41:30I don't want to wait.
1:41:34I'm fine.
1:41:35I'm all for it.
1:41:37I'm going to catch a speech.
1:41:43He thinks it's a good idea.
1:41:44And he's got the room set up.
1:41:45What he's thinking is if you're going to do it, we've got to contact the groups today before the speech.
1:41:52So that you can then say, I am going to be working.
1:41:55Forget it, forget it, forget it.
1:41:58I told Price to go back.
1:41:58He probably didn't.
1:41:59I'll see whether he didn't.
1:42:00If he didn't, I'll call you.
1:42:03We'll develop a contract.
1:42:04And then I'll have Price go and work on the program.
1:42:07But not meet Pete.
1:42:08No, it would just be an issue.
1:42:11It would be an issue.
1:42:17Good idea.
1:42:17And his thought is we can cover the other things by, you know, just asking Virginia and Oliver to consult with the consumer groups and the vice president and some of the governors and mayors.
1:42:26You should be with all of these.
1:42:29They can look at labor, management, farmers, labor, business, agriculture, and Congress.
1:42:33I don't know.
1:42:34They will only want to raise the question, which is Congress.
1:42:38Well, Mansfield has sent you a letter suggesting that you consult with Congress and suggesting who you consult with.
1:42:44And it's not the standard leadership.
1:42:47It's chairman and ranking members of specific committees.
1:42:53But we're all the same way.
1:42:54No problem.
1:42:57I understood that they wanted to meet tomorrow.
1:42:59Could I suggest to you that in terms of the time, I'd like to keep just for my own, this is sort of a different thing on the schedule, I just want this weather to be good.
1:43:22Well, yeah.
1:43:23Actually, for
1:43:31What?
1:43:42You want to try to do this every day?
1:43:53Well, no, no problem.
1:43:55Probably.
1:43:56Maybe once a week, maybe twice a week.
1:43:59But I've got to have the days cleared because five times out of six, something's going to happen and I can't do it.
1:44:06You want to keep every day clear.
1:44:07Keep every day clear.
1:44:08By the first of November, forget it.
1:44:10Because I will do things until now.
1:44:11But this is a pretty good time to be out there and be serious and get there.
1:44:21And also, because of the weather, we've just got to keep a careful time.
1:44:25We'll just do our scheduled stuff between 11 and 3 o'clock.
1:44:28And there might be some people down there for 10 o'clock.
1:44:32Kevin, if you could call them all, I think.
1:44:35Do they know they're going to have one?
1:44:36Yeah, one of them.
1:44:38That'd be cool.
1:44:38Billy Graham's mother is providing insurance this Sunday.
1:44:43Yes, sir.
1:44:44Oh, I see.
1:44:45Thank you, man.
1:44:47Thank you.
1:44:51I don't think Billy's coming.
1:44:56Schedule 7 on TV.
1:44:58I thought this would be marvelous.
1:45:01His mother, he wants his mother.
1:45:02But we have a provost and minister.
1:45:03Oh yeah, we've got a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee that Billy recommended.
1:45:07Great.
1:45:07Billy has two ministers he wants you to have.
1:45:10One's a black and the other is his Chattanooga.
1:45:12We've got the Chattanooga guy this time.
1:45:14We'll give it a black later on.
1:45:15He's figured he wanted to start the season with a black.
1:45:23That's enough for two reasons.
1:45:26Yes, sir.
1:45:28I put another one on the 10th of October, right?
1:45:30Maybe another one on the 23rd of November.
1:45:54Just take that one section and submit it to us.
1:46:01We've asked you yesterday and it's a lead story today.
1:46:09What's the price for it?
1:46:12The price for it is another dress code.
1:46:16Watch.
1:46:23I was talking to Dave at the very time, and he had a little bit of a delusion.
1:46:33He had a little bit of a delusion.
1:46:51never had
1:47:14What I'm just about to say is that we're talking about all kinds of things.
1:47:44But what I can say about it is that he managed to get over the separation somewhere.
1:47:52He did.
1:47:53He was trapped into something, something like this.
1:47:58And he did get a hell of a mess.
1:48:00Hang on, I'll wash it out.
1:48:03I didn't make it.
1:48:05I'd rather do it, so.
1:48:06But, uh, he did this in Korea, and they do it.
1:48:12If it's going to come, it will come.
1:48:20It isn't going to come because we're talking.
1:48:28See my point?
1:48:29That's what I'm getting at.
1:48:31To them, talking is attacking the wind.
1:48:35To us, talking is attacking the earth or the grave.
1:48:42try to explain that to him.
1:48:43He doesn't quite understand it.
1:48:45But in that particular reaction, I don't, just don't.
1:48:50You and Al had a little talk, and I said, I'm going to figure out how to build that.
1:48:55And he said, Paul, I want to see you man bond on.
1:48:58He said, he can't do this.
1:48:59I don't want him trapped, you see.
1:49:02They're coming along, so...
1:49:04Now, as you know, the troop announcement, we do make it.
1:49:06We do make it.
1:49:11We have to make it.
1:49:16It's going to be a TV thing.
1:49:22We're just going to make a final announcement in December.
1:49:27The following, however, the Soviet announcement, I will make an office press conference.
1:49:33So, clear the 11th.
1:49:33Have the 11th cleared.
1:49:36I think that's a hell of a good way to do that.
1:49:42I'm just laughing at Joe.
1:49:44I don't have anybody in contact with Detroit yet to see whether they're open for that meeting in the hall or that sort of thing.
1:50:03If they can't do it by Thursday, I can do it Wednesday.
1:50:06I can also do it, frankly, Tuesday.
1:50:08We've got Thursday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
1:50:11The problem is which, is what part of how big it makes the economy, but that's 2,500 members.
1:50:20If you know they'll all come and all want to ring again, you can get a pretty big haul.
1:50:29The other way to do it, which is better, seems to me, from our viewpoint, is to go with their executive order or something, which is 500.
1:50:41No, I don't think $500,000 is on the clause.
1:50:44$2,500,000 is fine, but I don't want $40,000.
1:50:47$40,000 is bad.
1:50:47$10,000 is bad.
1:50:48A crowd up to $3,000 is a pretty good crowd.
1:50:56Well, they go to the panel.
1:51:01They have a procedure.
1:51:03They write.
1:51:03They send the report.
1:51:04Sure.
1:51:04Just like the common law.
1:51:05Yeah.
1:51:05And they write it off.
1:51:07Yeah.
1:51:08And then you post that draft.
1:51:16Gotcha.
1:51:18Yeah.
1:51:19What club do you consider, Rob, to get into New York, if you want to go to New York?
1:51:27New York, even, I don't know.
1:51:30I don't know if there's any other club.
1:51:34I don't know if there's any other club.
1:51:37And Detroit's a Detroit club.
1:51:39Certainly.
1:51:39As between Detroit and New York, you know, all of the groups.
1:51:44All of the groups.
1:51:45New York, that's more, that's raising the question.
1:51:49They don't want to do it.
1:51:51Well, they think the idea is great.
1:51:52They raise the question of whether it's a good idea to go into Detroit because of having done as much as we've done for the automobile industry, whether it looks like we're, you know, laying it on the management of an economic club in Detroit and all that.
1:52:06I just, I don't think it's going to come through that way for them.
1:52:12We are always, never lose anything.
1:52:16take credit for something we do, like, for example, do something for Catholic schools.
1:52:21They don't want us to go out and brag about it.
1:52:26We've got to be flexible.
1:52:27They were just raising it as a point to consider, and I think it is a point to consider.
1:52:30It is a point to consider.
1:52:32I'd like to get to Michigan to be a better leader.
1:52:33So that's the thing.
1:52:34It's by far the best way to get to Michigan.
1:52:36It's the best time to get to Michigan and spend some time in Michigan.
1:52:41I'm not going to hatch this thing.
1:53:03That's what he had lined up today to see what happened.
1:53:12And then the desert happened there, right?
1:53:18I was there with our own people.
1:53:25Do our PR guys, are they still with you?
1:53:26Must be if he got home yesterday, that's the question.
1:53:30Must be, did he?
1:53:32Where?
1:53:32On a press conference?
1:53:33Yeah, and they... Has he had a press conference every day?
1:53:35No, he did have one yesterday.
1:53:37Where did he have it?
1:53:38San Francisco, I guess.
1:53:41What happened?
1:53:41Well, he kept...
1:53:44They served in on busing, and he walked away.
1:53:49And he said, well, nobody's come up with a better idea, including President Nixon, than busing.
1:53:57And he tried to go with the law of the land business, and tried to keep both sides happy with what he did.
1:54:07And he made the press mad.
1:54:10It's a pure, it's a musky, grumpy type of approach.
1:54:14You know, they're trying to walk both sides of the fence and they go off in opposite directions.
1:54:21What do you mean?
1:54:22They criticize him for equivocating answer.
1:54:25At least I don't equivocate on muskets.
1:54:28And boy, you're, as Earl was saying this morning,
1:54:33thought at the time maybe Wallace was doing us some harm on that but he thinks and looking back that Wallace really helped us.
1:54:42Why?
1:54:42Because at exactly the right time he made the issue important and gave you the opportunity clearly to establish without any doubt across the land what your position was on Dustin.
1:54:54There can't be any question really now and they all jumped on you which was good
1:55:00as to what your position of blessing is.
1:55:01You're opposed to it.
1:55:02And that's exactly what you wanted.
1:55:04I didn't think we were helped also by Chief Justice.
1:55:08Yeah, but that was substantive.
1:55:10We always thought we were helped by that.
1:55:12But the question on the other side was whether we were not hurt.
1:55:18We were hurt by Wallace.
1:55:18Wallace was incarcerated probably.
1:55:27I'm waiting for a chance to recognize George Shultz.
1:55:31George Shultz doesn't need to just talk to me.
1:55:34He's doing the right thing.
1:55:38I'm going to work on the speech now.
1:55:41Let me get to work on it.
1:55:42You just tell Ray.
1:55:43Now, Ray, they've got this idea that I want it in one paragraph.
1:55:48And I want it very precise.
1:55:50And the need is to sit down with Shultz and Connelly.
1:55:54I want Connelly to be
1:55:57i can't emphasize about how much connor's ego is involved he has got to know too once you agree with him that uh just run the paragraph by him too and not say it's clear it will show him he said here's what the president wants to say if you agree with him say that i still want to i
1:56:25that I've already lifted the curtain on tax reform.
1:56:27So we've got to put something in on it here.
1:56:31Find a way with Connelly to say, well, I heard from Connelly last night.
1:56:35He told me he had something with George suggested.
1:56:38And the reality is that we need it.
1:56:42We need it for the speech in order to have something in the way that we're doing.
1:56:51And we're working on an issue.
1:56:54The thing that I was going to say about the... Are they...
1:57:16Did it appear that Muskie will finally come down on the side of being for busting or not?
1:57:26Or is he against busting?
1:57:29He comes down pretty much on the side of being for it, but not enthusiastically for it because
1:57:37But it seems to be the best way to accomplish what the law requires to be accomplished at this time.
1:57:42And there probably should be a better way, but he doesn't exactly know what it is.
1:57:47And what are our people going to do about that?
1:57:50Well, I mean, we'll ask them all.
1:57:50We'll keep doing what we've been doing.
1:57:52We said we are.
1:57:53I would not get credit for it.
1:57:54I would not blast him.
1:57:55I would not blast Muskie the way that I did last year.
1:57:57He doesn't take the position.
1:58:00The more effective way to blast Muskie is to say that he has taken it.
1:58:04Yeah.
1:58:06But it's
1:58:07that's going to irritate the hell out of people to see.
1:58:12His frame, all Muskie has to do is get the Democrats to vote for him, and that means to say nothing.
1:58:19Therefore, whereas I, as a Republican, did not have that much, I had to win Democrats, I had to say something.
1:58:25It is not to our interest to say that Muskie, to leave him there and say, well, we don't know where he stands.
1:58:32Understand?
1:58:33Don't you agree?
1:58:35You've got hip muscles, right?
1:58:37Straight in the ass.
1:58:38And say, God damn you, where do you stand on busting?
1:58:45And I would say, I'd get a busting, I'd get a hold of Dan.
1:58:48Where the ambiguity hurts him is with the press itself, because it makes the press unique.
1:58:52You think the press really is?
1:58:54Well, he got that impression of the thing yesterday that it annoyed him, and they kept, you know, he would say, and as you know, they do.
1:59:03when they think they're getting a run in, and should they get upset about it, give them a bad time.
1:59:09And that, the more the press becomes disenchanted with Muskie, like they did with Romney.
1:59:14I mean, they pressed one at Nell, you know Dan well, pressed one at Romney rather than you.
1:59:19And yet, they became fed up with Romney, and they tore him apart.
1:59:25out in the West.
1:59:26I think that's right.
1:59:28From our strategy, we ought to take the position that's unpopular and say that's his position and hit it forward for our religion.
1:59:35I'm on the end and call it.
1:59:41I want you to call it.
1:59:48I hope you do it.
1:59:53Why don't we get...
2:00:20Get Connelly in any time you can.
2:00:24Say 2 o'clock tomorrow, for example.
2:00:252 o'clock tomorrow.
2:00:29Or he has the Japanese cabinet people, of course.
2:00:33Or just say any time before 3.30 on Friday, okay?
2:00:40You call him.
2:00:42Well, of course, you're in front of the person.
2:00:53Do you think though that, do you think our group is, well, let's face it, let's put it.
2:01:07Scallion, that's not.
2:01:10Yeah, they were, no question.
2:01:12Colson?
2:01:13Colson.
2:01:14You're canning, of course.
2:01:17You're flying.
2:01:20plain, understand it, keeps trying to, I don't know.
2:01:24And Scali is somewhat that way too.
2:01:27It's hard for Scali to have to accept that he's more and more excited.
2:01:33But he knows that it's there.
2:01:40Let me say, I don't, I think it's just a question of being sure we've got some that understand it, that will pop up, that's all.
2:01:49So I don't think Scali will, I don't think, except in certain cases.
2:01:52You've got to say, who is the person, I guess Colson.
2:01:56Colson's the one.
2:01:57He just calls on the inspector.
2:02:03That's the best thing we do.
2:02:06Why don't we get Connelly any time we can?
2:02:34say two o'clock tomorrow for example two o'clock tomorrow or uh he has the japanese cabinet people of course or just say any time between before uh 3 30 on the practice okay
2:03:03Do you think, though, that... Do you think our group is... Well, let's face it, let's put it... Scallions, man, that's not... Yeah, no.
2:03:20Yeah, David?
2:03:21No, David, no question.
2:03:23Colson?
2:03:23Colson.
2:03:24You can, of course.
2:03:27Fine.
2:03:29Plank understands it, keeps trying to, I don't know.
2:03:35That's all right.
2:03:36And Scali is somewhat that way too.
2:03:38It's hard for Scali to have to accept that he's more and more excited.
2:03:42I know.
2:03:44But he knows that it's there.
2:03:49Let me say, I don't, I don't, I think it's just a question of being sure we've got some that understand it that will pop, that's all.
2:03:59So I don't think Scala will, I don't think, except in certain cases.
2:04:04You've got to say, who is the person that I'm supposed to?
2:04:08And Ron works on the required level and the zero-g level.
2:04:23Ron likes to get into that kind of fight.
2:04:29That's kind of what I've defined.
2:04:31You always want to pack him up.
2:04:34He likes to fight first.
2:04:36Yeah, when he's running.
2:04:37He likes to move in and jump around.
2:04:39Which is great.
2:04:44But...
2:04:45Well, you have a very, very good team.
2:04:48The press secretary should do that.
2:04:50That's a good part of his role.
2:04:53Just only when they're totally, when they're wrong.
2:04:55They're already wrong.
2:04:57And they get knocked their brains out.
2:04:58They're already wrong a lot of the time.
2:05:04They get a synopsis.
2:05:09Well, mostly, I would say this.
2:05:12Most of the stuff in the book, and I have on credit, is the ambiguous kind of, you know, who the hell is going to say what, or who is going to characterize it, and you're going to read one way or another, and you're going to say, well, that's just the way I saw it.
2:05:30But if you're forced to say this is for or against, it's clear that this is either for or it's against.
2:05:37Something about Nixon that you say he's devious, well, I'm not really against, I'm for it.
2:05:41You say he's hardworking, that's for it.
2:05:44I'm not against.
2:05:45You say he's hardworking, but devious, then it's good.
2:05:49I think that's another thing that kind of makes it understated.
2:05:58Hello, I'm Peter Washington.
2:06:01Well, there's no question about it.
2:06:02I didn't get to deal with that problem.
2:06:04It's not a given to Washington.
2:06:06That's the only thing that matters.
2:06:08You know, the Democrats had their congressman there last night.
2:06:11They had all the congressmen last night, but that was another thought.
2:06:16They're getting a lot of problems with it.
2:06:17It's just very... Well, last night was the congressional preview.
2:06:20They invited all the members of Congress and the diplomatic corps.
2:06:23And then they had to admit in the story that very few of them came.
2:06:26They sent their staff assistants and people like that.
2:06:28Yeah.
2:06:29Of course they came.
2:06:30Well, some did.
2:06:31Even they... Why wouldn't they come?
2:06:34They won't come unless you've got a person there.
2:06:37There's a lot of them.
2:06:38A lot of them figure, you know, the hell with that.
2:06:40A lot of them will go tonight, probably.
2:06:42Got an invitation from some other way, and they're going to do it tonight.
2:06:47This will be the day.
2:06:48But they went...
2:06:50He went through this Lundry Bernstein business again, you know, this annihilation thing.
2:06:55He was crying.
2:06:55He put the show on again last night.
2:06:57He was crying again.
2:06:58He went down to the stage and kissed everybody again.
2:07:02It's become a routine.
2:07:04And tonight, I'm sure it'll be, you know, it's a...
2:07:07It's awful.
2:07:07He went up to the stage last night and kissed everybody again.
2:07:13And the story... Yeah.
2:07:14The story today said he kissed everybody he could get a hold of.
2:07:17So apparently they were trying to get away from him last night.
2:07:22Well, I think they're doing it because they want to.
2:07:25It's like, I've talked to some of our people who were there last night.
2:07:29They were senior type people.
2:07:31They said, you know, what's it like?
2:07:33And they said, I don't know, but I think it was terrible.
2:07:37Why did everybody go out and listen to each other?
2:07:39Because it's the thing to do.
2:07:42And it's, what it is, it's awesome.
2:07:43Somebody was saying that it's sort of like a combination of Jesus Christ Superstar, this rock opera, you know, and hair with clothes on it.
2:07:53What they do is apparently they perform the various steps of the Mass, and then when they get to the prayer, they each step in the Mass.
2:08:02Instead of a prayer, they come in with a Bernstein musical, with ballet and singing and all that stuff, is the prayer.
2:08:08In other words, it's a modern musical prayer.
2:08:12and the prayer segments and everybody's supposed to like it because it's supposed to be a thing like everybody's supposed to like modern art well if somebody said you know this is brought to church up today somebody said this is uh they think he was hungry was there he was crying through it and they said did you cry he said oh my goodness yes of course because it's the thing you do is to cry here that's all i've said it's basically very boring there's long very dull period in there
2:08:40There are some very spectacular numbers, some very rousing, loud, kind of big kind of stuff, putting a lot of staging and a lot of atonal kind of music and that sort of thing.
2:08:53I don't have good loud music.
2:08:55That's what the kids like.
2:08:56They like it long.
2:08:57But it's, it lasts apparently an hour and forty-five minutes with no internet.
2:09:09I've never dealt with some of them quite, quite, you know, just to see them.
2:09:17I'm sick of them tonight.
2:09:19She isn't coming out of it completely.
2:09:21Well, she isn't coming out.
2:09:23It's still free.
2:09:24I was going to sit here and do it.
2:09:26I'm going to do it.
2:09:28I'm going to do it.
2:09:30All this math stuff, you know, they screwed up the reception last night.
2:09:35You know, and another good item in the story is the Kennedy family insisted on three of your tickets for tonight for the Kennedy family.
2:09:43They said they had a divine right to the theater.
2:09:46You know, that's what Gregor keeps saying.
2:09:48He won't call it the Kennedy Center.
2:09:50He calls it the National... What was it again?
2:09:58Which is what the Congress originally passed the bills on that got perverted with the Kennedys.
2:10:06They ordered 300 tickets for the Kennedy Bank for tonight.
2:10:09And the thing in the newspaper says today, the center officials admit that very few of the 300 tickets have been picked up.
2:10:17In other words, the family isn't using the 300 tickets.
2:10:21It is an unthinkable.
2:10:31Yeah, well, actually, how was the morale of the Congressmen when they came back?
2:10:36They didn't pick up anything.
2:10:44They talked to the Post last night.
2:10:46Well, no.
2:10:47You know, you've got to have them.
2:10:50They fight all the time.
2:10:51And so does McGregor.
2:10:53McGregor feels pretty good, doesn't he?
2:10:55Very good.
2:10:59Well, we've got one cheerleader in the cabinet now.
2:11:04We've got McGregor now cheering on the Congress side, as good as he sure is.
2:11:15He's a cheerleader.
2:11:16He's a cheerleader.
2:11:17He really is.
2:11:17He's an enthusiastic person.
2:11:20Oh, for example, when we have a Russian son, he'll borrow.
2:11:23That'll be a big deal for him, don't you think?
2:11:25Oh, yeah.
2:11:26But the little things are big deals for him, too.
2:11:29Are they really?
2:11:29Yeah.
2:11:29Well, that's good.
2:11:30You know, Stigalli basically is a very enthusiastic man.
2:11:33That's good.
2:11:34One of the reasons you like to have him around.
2:11:35You've got to have a kind of location to get started.
2:11:41Because, uh,
2:11:46having done what we have done.
2:11:50But actually, it's better off than we are.
2:12:01What's your feeling?
2:12:04I think we should, and we would be if we had, if we were fairly important.
2:12:13And it, you know, thinks the country was currently for it.
2:12:19It's just the administration.
2:12:21Yeah, I know.
2:12:21I think what you mean is people just get done at the square.
2:12:25But I don't think, I think we've got to work in the real world.
2:12:27You understand, you understand about it.
2:12:29We don't have a hell of a lot of our big, big things, bombs and programs.
2:12:35We've got the two trips, but they are just trips, you know.
2:12:38I think the trips themselves are going to have more effect than the announcements do.
2:12:41The announcements affect the intellectuals, but the trips are going to affect people, because they're going to see you night after night.
2:12:49They're going to see you in China.
2:12:53They're going to see you in Russia.
2:12:56And they're going to...
2:12:58It takes more saturation.
2:12:59The announcement is an intellectual exercise.
2:13:02It's not a habit.
2:13:04And the fact that you're going to go is sure, so he's going to go to China, and that's a big thing that people will understand what it means.
2:13:09Sam will be true brothers.
2:13:12Right.
2:13:13Mary is going to have an elephant back.
2:13:18And also, I don't think you're going to get any.
2:13:20Those will give you some big pushes.
2:13:22If we could just keep going.
2:13:26Well, the point is, I see very little push to give us a push.
2:13:29Okay, except the balance of this year.
2:13:30Unless, well, except the economy should get better.
2:13:33People's personal situations should get better.
2:13:36The economy should get better.
2:13:37The economy could get a little better, but it might not.
2:13:45The war should get better.
2:13:46Now, last night, CBS reported that for the first time in six years, the Defense Department yesterday did not release any names of people killed in Vietnam.
2:13:56Yesterday, week in and week out, for the last six years, they've been, I mean, not on this particular day, but on that day, there were no notifications the next weekend, which is really what they released.
2:14:08They confirmed deaths, you know, they notified, they listed names.
2:14:12They didn't have any names yesterday.
2:14:14We've got it.
2:14:14We had 16 killed last week.
2:14:17The number's down.
2:14:20It's down to kind of 16, you know, until it's gone.
2:14:24And they made the point the other day, and there's a big story, talking about crime in New York, making the point that more people were shot and killed in the streets of New York last year than in Vietnam.
2:14:34More Americans.
2:14:36More Americans were shot and killed, killed by gunfire, in the streets of New York than in Vietnam.
2:14:44That's last year.
2:14:45That's last year.
2:14:47This year you're not killed anymore.
2:14:51I personally have a feeling that we've got the National Rifle Association and we're ready.
2:15:04to be against all handguns.
2:15:05I don't think anybody should use a handgun.
2:15:07You?
2:15:08I don't think so, but I don't think you're doing that.
2:15:11A lot of people think they should protect their own guns.
2:15:16Well, I know, but why not a rifle?
2:15:17Actually, I've got rifles for the purpose.
2:15:18I don't know what you mean.
2:15:19They want the handgun case done for the purpose.
2:15:22A lot of people keep pistols by their necks.
2:15:25Including Justice Burke.
2:15:26Including Justice Burke.
2:15:27Well, you know, there was a story a while back where somebody came to his door and he answered the door with a gun.
2:15:33That's why this gun law, you know, even Schweitzer in Pennsylvania ran on that issue.
2:15:42The fear thing is,
2:15:44It's a horrible thing.
2:15:45Just a lot of people.
2:15:46More people, kids under their kill, with guns around the house.
2:15:49I wouldn't have a gun around the house for anything.
2:15:52I don't.
2:15:53We've never had a gun in our house.
2:15:54Right.
2:15:55Anything.
2:15:55A shotgun or anything.
2:15:58My father used to have a shotgun.
2:16:01My father used to have a shotgun and a rifle, but we would never have, we absolutely never have a gun.
2:16:04I mean, I don't even know what a goddamn pistol was.
2:16:08No, but we lived there, and our car was just eight blocks from the black area, six blocks from the black area.
2:16:12Everybody around the neighborhood had guns, simply because we had a gun.
2:16:17We had a gun, but it would become a house anyway.
2:16:25Absolutely, because I'm bound to lose.
2:16:26I'm not a good... You're going to lose.
2:16:27They'll kill me.
2:16:30Because in my place, I don't even know what ethical reaction I have to this subject.
2:16:33Rose had read something straight out.
2:16:35She said she was going to, her brother had told her, she had to buy a gun.
2:16:44Now, Rose has got her goddamn mind out of a gun in her mind.
2:16:49You know, somebody come to her door sometime, something dropped.
2:16:55She's crazy.
2:16:56Ridiculous.

Nixon & Haldeman on Alaska and Phase II economic policy

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on September 8, 1971

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