Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 278-064
Date: Thursday, September 16, 1971 at 11:50 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: Old Executive Office Building
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/278-064

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] You and Coulson could get each other a plan, an electronic plan, with regard to an immensely long-standing partisan obstructionist label on the Democrat Senate.
[0:29] Now, I think that we, I don't know if we can ever realize it too much, but what we really see now is an assault on the floor.
[0:49] And then I would take that quote, whatever it was, out of that leadership meeting and build on that and make them deny it.
[1:31] And we was rehearsing that idea going on on the draft and how they were, how they were, you know, stopping us in Vietnam and so forth and so on.
[1:44] But he doesn't realize it.
[1:47] I mean, I got to stay somewhat above the battle.
[1:49] But his view, of course, always takes the lead.
[2:06] But on the other hand, we are one where we need an instructional label on some things, and particularly with regard to getting out of Vietnam.
[2:15] Now, certainly, we've got enough bright people around this place, and we have a good PR program on that.
[2:20] I did a sat-iron on that.
[2:22] I did a Buchanan on that.
[2:23] We've got, you know, the smart, tough, mean masters in, you know what I mean, the people who couldn't hold it.
[2:33] I think this is the time to start really slaughtering this back-and-forth on this planet.
[2:37] Particularly when they start planning the national defense.
[2:42] They start saying, well, we've got to remember that other thing.
[2:48] Don't you agree with me that that's an enormously vulnerable thing that's been done in the past years as the legislature says?
[2:54] It's totally vulnerable.
[2:57] The reason it's vulnerable is because of this fact.
[3:05] who then would say, well, actually, get us out of the war.
[3:09] And the question is, do our little boys know how important that is?
[3:18] And they do, and they do it around the Republic.
[3:19] So who's going on?
[3:19] What do we have so far?
[3:22] I mean, in case you come to me, I don't know.
[3:26] I may have to do a little bit more on it myself.
[3:28] I'm impressed with it.
[3:29] But if it's being done in other areas, I want to stay a little further.
[3:46] That's right.
[3:48] Thank you.
[4:07] I don't think anybody would go and meet him across the street, but anybody else is going to.
[4:13] There is a report.
[4:16] It is a report.
[4:19] It's been circulated.
[4:21] It's going to be reviewed.
[4:23] It's going to be out.
[4:26] It's going to be up.
[4:36] That's it.
[4:37] That's it.
[4:41] We don't have any kind of .
[5:05] Right.
[5:06] I'm sure everyone has an option to do that.
[5:12] I understand it's definitely that the time is such a poor time.
[5:16] Definitely.
[5:18] So I can always be there for you.
[5:22] That would be a little more of a...
[5:34] You see, the longer you go, the longer, the shorter the dead might start, and then D, there's no one else.
[5:40] So D might just go up to the bottom of the court.
[5:45] Yeah, so that I can go out there, and I'm going to start writing the war.
[5:54] I'll just say that I'll have to start a quarrel by him on the doctor, because I remember the last time that he spoke to me before he came down here.
[6:00] And I was just trying to get in there and start .
[6:13] Anyway, there was some thinking about this problem, and I .
[6:22] It was a problem with God that I just had to leave down the seat bottom on every goddamn day, you know.
[6:26] And as far as the light went on the street, it was like, how the hell are we going to do this?
[6:33] I had to go to the back of the president and step up and do something that he'd never done before.
[6:39] I had to lay on the table and the goddamn thing was still up there.
[6:41] I had to sit around it, you know.
[6:45] I mean, I just decided to do it.
[6:47] I just decided that I'm not going to kill it today.
[6:56] You can close the table any time.
[7:02] Any time.
[7:04] OK.