Conversation 334-041

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Hello.

Hi, how are you?

I had a story that I think would be very good, and I want you to handle it.

If you could talk to Scali and tell him you need to use it with any, with either of the two networks, not CBS, because we were hated and unattached, but you could do it with either, or NBC, or ABC, you know, anybody that uses it.

So it would be an interesting thing.

with a wire service.

What triggered me on it was that when that break came in today, his wife asked me a question.

She said, first of the two things, she said, you know, I had volunteered for the

The second client, however,

more subtle, and perhaps she's better yet.

Dan Rather, who wasn't in the seat, said very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,

I said, when you're asked a question, I said, here's the thing to say.

Yes, I'm a very, I'm a long-time professional worker, co-worker of the president, and I was there in the 60s and 70s, and I'm a graduate of the MNCB, and of course, yes, I'm a friend.

But I said, as distinguished as Mr. Hoover, I've never met one of his personal friends.

He said, Mr. Hoover and the president were very close personal friends for about five years.

I think it's quite out of the blue that we always exchange Christmas gifts.

We spent many birthdays at our house, either in California, where we often met in Florida, or at the White House, in St. David's, in Sequoia.

In other words, we ended the races together.

In other words, and then I can go on to say that the relationship between President Nixon and me goes back 25 years.

was a very close personal relationship.

The president considered Hoover, among all of his government associates, to be his closest personal friend.

Now, that includes Eisenhower and anybody in the Congress.

I have no others, you know, with whom I have done all these things.

You see what I mean?

So he's a very close personal friend.

Now, you see that does two things.

First, it points out the close personal friendship of Hoover, which is now done.

Nobody can steal him from death.

But it also finds out that Gray's connection with the president is totally different.

Hoover and I were on a first-name basis.

I said, Gray, do you recall that?

I said, as you know, you and I are not on a first-name basis.

He said, I'm well aware of that.

Now, as president, he always...

As Vice President, he would call me Dick.

But as President, that was the only time he went into the Mr. President's room.

But it was first name, for 20 years it was first name, until I became President.

And I always spoke in that direction.

but most people did that, but my point is that we were, the only time we were not the first man faces was after I became president.

But on the others, I mean, my relationship with Gray is a professional relationship, one of mutual respect, only, whereas my relationship with Hoover was personal, on a very close, and that he was my best personal friend, among, in government, in government, of all the different people I know.

Now it's, well, who else can you name?

Rogers, oh Christ, I mean, I don't exchange Christmas gifts with Rogers.

I mean, I've seen Hoover maybe 10 times as much as I've seen Rogers.

See what I'm saying?

I didn't see Hoover and I, and it goes back very, this goes back to 47, my God, we've read that correctly in history, isn't that correct?

But you see, we've done this.

He's been my closest, my longest, closest personal friend.

But you see, the reason I'm doing this is not to build up the Hoover relationship, but more to build up the fact that Gray is not

And that gray is first, non-political by my direction, and second, that it's not personal.

I have no personal relationship with whatever.

That is a trick.

One of due to respect and not personal is I don't have personal relationships with people that I work with, and that's just my rule.

Okay.

Okay, bye.