Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 349-007
Date: Thursday, July 20, 1972 at 2:06 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); [Unknown person(s)]
Recording device: Old Executive Office Building
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/349-007

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:16] They also told me, they also told me, they said, do you realize, did you ever see my son, Kennedy's son?
[0:31] And I said, I didn't even know he had a son.
[0:32] And they said, well, this is a problem.
[0:34] And I said, Kennedy didn't serve the World War I.
[0:41] But none of his three sons have been in service.
[0:54] Not on day one.
[0:55] Not even in service row.
[0:55] Not even.
[0:56] These libs find a way to do it.
[0:56] You know, David here is putting in three-four.
[0:59] How do I get the kids out of the night?
[1:00] Someone ought to check up on them.
[1:01] Okay, what?
[1:01] One of those damn Bobby Kennedy kids.
[1:02] We ought to check for how they get out of the barn.
[1:04] Being dragged.
[1:05] David Eisenhardt was in the service.
[1:17] Eddie Nixon was in the damn service.
[1:23] Putting his whole thing into it.
[1:23] What about Bobby Kennedy?
[1:24] Is there some reason he's not in the service?
[1:26] His number wasn't drawn.
[1:31] That's easy to do, isn't it?
[1:32] That's very easy.
[1:33] but also in other countries.
[1:50] And how many of the McGovern kids have been in the service?
[1:54] McGovern kids?
[1:54] Twenty-one.
[1:54] Twenty-one kids.
[1:55] That's fine.
[1:55] How many of your grandkids?
[1:56] If you could let me put them on this one that you're asking, how many of them come to me?
[1:58] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[1:58] Send a note to, uh, send a note over to Paul.
[1:59] And we are showing our kids off.
[2:34] I just heard his car came out a few months ago.
[2:51] Some of them are saying, I guess I'll hang.
[2:57] And he came in just to say hello and introduce himself.
[2:58] Might be the nice man.
[2:59] Might sound too like him.
[2:59] Yes, I would think so.
[3:00] He's the... Now he's in a state.
[3:00] Yeah, he moved into a...
[3:03] You remind me.
[3:16] I know he's on our list.
[3:26] He is certainly listed.
[3:29] We're watching him.
[3:30] Who's the one that's sitting down?
[3:51] Dan Davis.
[3:51] Dan Davis.
[3:54] I know the police don't want him to die.
[4:07] Somebody brought his name up.
[4:11] Somebody holds him up.
[4:11] You know, Larry wanted him to go to the cemetery.
[4:12] Mason defense, remember?
[4:13] No, no, he's a state, and... No, Larry wanted him.
[4:14] He wouldn't let him go.
[4:15] I think it's a new job.
[4:16] I read that when I came.
[4:17] You like him, huh?
[4:18] Yes, because he is smart, and he is...
[4:19] He's very loyal to you, and...
[4:20] he, just the way he said things even, then he was talking about, oh it was like the Asia Committee, I don't know how he got to P.G.
[4:41] Debbie, oh hang on, he mentioned how people speak like Richardson and still do, right?
[4:43] Then he was talking about, he was talking a minute about P.G.
[4:44] Debbie and so forth, and he had his own, he said, well, I'll tell you what I think about these, you know, well, I thought it was quite cute, just, he was only there a few minutes.
[4:48] This would be the secretary of EGW.
[4:54] This would be his deputy.
[4:58] These would be his advisors, you know, one on his budget and this, that, and the other.
[5:05] This would be a secretary of health, secretary of education, and welfare.
[5:07] And this man wouldn't get involved in any of these problems.
[5:09] He would just say to this guy, you work that out.
[5:10] I don't want to see you come back in with it.
[5:12] Then the only person who would come to a cabinet meeting would be this man with all the information.
[5:15] But he said that he thinks
[5:17] He thinks it's bad when you go into a tavern meeting and there's a whole room full of people because there's no way it could be a good give and take because you never know who in there is going to have to feel big and go out and talk.
[5:35] It was so perceptive.
[5:35] He was only there maybe five, I don't know, seven.
[5:39] He was a good man, he felt that.
[5:56] General Walters stopped in yesterday for a couple of empty things.
[6:12] I just said, you know, whenever you want, they're certainly ready.
[6:13] They've been having it for three, four years.
[6:14] Be very quiet and as small as you want, you know.
[6:32] This commander in the Navy says, by the way, to Franklin Lincoln's report on naval forces in the Mediterranean, he does a terrible work that you, I think, read the letter.
[6:50] He sent copies to Secretary Warner and everyone in the room.
[6:51] Roll.
[6:52] you should go to Hague.
[7:02] Hague is the one I went to, and Hague wrote a belief, never do the thing I'm doing.
[7:04] But I can't get to things that are bad technical if I ever start to myself.
[7:05] I know, well that's why I just thought I'd ask if that's true or not.
[7:10] Well, I know, I agree with you, probably feel exactly the same way.
[7:28] Just put on a note and say, Al, I agree with this.
[7:30] Al, Al, don't tell Al that I think this is absurd, very, very absurd.
[7:45] But a lot of people do not realize that God, here at the USC shop, we fight like a son of a bitch for all those things.
[8:03] There's a problem in the animal rights, and the problem in medicine, and so on and so forth.
[8:04] And all of a sudden, it's the goddamn Congress.
[8:05] Well, he says in here, you know, there's many reasons why they're taking him out.
[8:11] Oh, that Curtis Howard, I don't want to say any of these people who sent the guy, he's just a runner, but he's got to work as hard as he can possibly because he's just, that man is, he's going to hold himself up for the second coming and be a preacher, and we all know we have to keep going, fight hard, because people don't read the papers.
[8:38] They don't know what he did last week.
[8:38] They just listened to him once, and he's been staring at people and says,
[8:40] Good.
[8:51] Work hard at it.
[8:59] Put it off.
[8:59] I should talk.
[9:02] Make a note that he has every right to do what I think he should be doing.
[9:03] No, no, no, no, no.
[9:03] No, no, no, no, no, no.
[9:09] I heard people have a
[9:19] Bill Rogers would go out and speak for us.
[9:37] Herb would not.
[9:39] Laird would go out and speak for us.
[9:41] Tom Cates would come around the world.
[9:42] George Shultz goes out and works his tail off all over with labor, with labor and treasuring and arresting.
[9:47] And Bob Madison would come around the world.
[9:49] And, frankly, at the Attorney General's level, we have plaintiffs for using a rioter.
[10:03] The rioters were good, except the plaintiff never made a speech for us.
[10:08] He came with us on the trip.
[10:08] No, he didn't.
[10:09] He didn't go out with us.
[10:09] Well, he didn't make a speech.
[10:10] You know what I mean.
[10:10] He thought he could.
[10:11] The plaintiffs will.
[10:11] So we've got a little bit more political than we used to have.
[10:12] Down in the Eisenhardt cabin, the only ones to remember who did it were Seaton and the department money.
[10:16] And, uh...
[10:18] Yeah, he just didn't have it.
[10:36] Right.
[10:36] Well, of course, he didn't pick people who would be, because he wouldn't let him go along himself until after he got out of office.
[10:40] So except that, he came up with different stuff.
[10:46] Very understandable.
[10:48] And they did too.
[10:59] Herbert was a wonderful fellow.
[11:03] Chris Herbert and Spade did a tough job.
[11:04] And I think the worst part was the defense people being out of town because they should have been there to counteract that business of the Mississippi.
[11:07] One of Spade's brigades could have killed them because it was a damn line.
[11:15] Because that was one of the biggest events ever perpetuated on the American people.
[11:22] Because we had a 10 to 1 advantage over the rest of the country.
[11:37] And this is so colorful.
[11:53] It's red, white, blue, just like a carousel.
[11:54] It's wonderful.
[12:05] That's great.
[12:07] Or you could even design it with something else on it.
[12:11] Oh, I don't mean to put that on it.
[12:12] But what I meant is you could put on their national symbol or an eagle, you know what I mean?
[12:15] Whatever the heck.
[12:15] You see what I mean?
[12:16] That's it, then, yeah?
[12:16] A beauty box made in America.
[12:18] You'd never think of anything made in America.
[12:19] These people are artists.
[12:20] I think it would be great.
[12:21] And that's the name of it, though.
[12:22] A beauty box.
[12:22] A Christian box.
[12:22] Yeah, I'll take it.
[12:28] The Italian brings his wife.
[12:45] And I think we don't need a...
[12:46] Instead of just giving me her alone.
[12:47] Yeah, I think you get to be too much of a...
[12:48] But, you know, they'll put that box out and show it to people.
[13:13] Yeah.
[13:37] Yeah.
[13:37] Hello?
[13:37] Uh, will this be available?
[13:38] Okay, you can call now.
[13:38] Fine.
[13:38] Fine.
[13:38] Fine.
[13:49] We're, uh, we're going to buy some of these, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh,
[14:22] I don't think you can do this every morning if you want to be here.
[14:48] I don't think you can.
[14:49] You don't want to be here, do you?
[14:50] That could be.
[14:50] You just want to be out here.
[14:50] All right.
[14:51] You started expecting Camp David.
[14:51] I didn't mean to go through with it.