Conversation 462-018

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But the kids like it.

But the kids do what they say.

They like it.

Like your kids, like our kids.

They listen.

Now, they listen.

Now, why do they like it?

Because our kids have a definitive statement on law.

It's the most definitive they've ever heard.

It reassures them.

that we were getting out, and he had a surprise.

It was cutting 55 percent of the truckloads down, 2,000, 100,000 rounds of ammunition.

It will mean that we're going to ensure our withdrawal program, and that struck home.

And I got ahold yesterday of the drivers coming and so on, and I said,

God damn it, you guys are just wetting your own bed.

And of course, I had no idea what you were going to be saying.

I mean, I wanted those Jewish guys to go after Simonton and these other guys and just get them uncharted hell because they were going to cut themselves up no matter what they did.

And they've been doing that.

And I'm talking about the Rogers Kissinger thing and the whole business in the Middle East.

But then what you said last night on that score just delighted these people.

I mean, because it not only blows us out of our heads, right?

So they're going to continue to get a lot of flack.

I'm talking about all these goddamn assignments and full rights and so on.

And we finally, for the first time, are going to get some heat on them out of that community.

You know, I...

Because that's a vicious goddamn game, you know, that's just, I mean, the rest of it's kind of...

Yes, sir.

Dirty, well, I thought calling it a cheap shot was a good thing.

Yes, beautiful, that's exactly what it is.

Boy, that gets home.

And here it is.

Well, actually, Bob, you know, the TV thing, so we always wonder how much...

And I don't think the traffic will stand on it.

About once a month, they've got to go up there on national, televised press conference, and bat them around.

And don't you agree?

Yes, sir.

And then how much would you need to do an occasional one in your office?

Every other week, every other week, one in the office.

So I've been doing it approximately every two weeks.

So you keep them off balance that way.

And the ones in the office will be filmed in the future.

and be on radio.

So we really cover them.

That means they'll have one or two.

The traffic won't bear any more than that.

So you don't want it to get common.

If a press conference gets common, it doesn't become an event.

In addition to that, of course, we'll have the usual speeches and all that crap.

That's not about right to you, is it?

But you know, there's nothing like the big televised press conference.

They have a huge audience of about 15 million people to see that event.

I said, oh, it's funny when little things get through to people.

the barber, not the one down here, this is the staff, said, you know, the astounding thing to me, he said, I was reassured by the rest of it, he said, how does the president go out and call those people off by name?

And I said, he said, did he brief on it?

I said, no, he just knows them, and he said, he's got such mastery, such assurance, the way he runs them.

Now, that's the one thing that got you to the barber.

Well, I know that that's, well, of course you do, but I mean, no.

They don't know that, and I just see this great horde of people.

That is a good idea, isn't it?

It sure is, because you are Mr. Istanbul, and you're Mr. Lissigar, and you're running that show, and it's not like you reassert.

You're loosely picking up some stuff.

The funny thing, I think, probably that's more important than what you say, although last night, what I said about Lao Tzu, he said, you see, I haven't made a statement on Cambodia.

And there was a great wave of restlessness that was beginning to stir, and that thing last night just quelled at my feet.

You know, coming back to this,

Uh, Reagan isn't going to be able to pull that off.

He's got a $600 million wage.

He has to pass it to say so.

That's right.

On the other hand, if I say I just took the time to get him to pull down there now that shows him slipping down because he's cut off these Medicaid things, which he has every right to cut off.

So there's a danger of his overplaying it badly.

But, of course, the fact of it is it takes action by the state legislature and action by the Congress before these things can be done.

Of course, Bob, on the case of polls, as you know, we dropped down to 51 a gallon.

Just to bother me a bit, I just see them bounce around a little lower.

The presidency is different than the government.

The presidency is different.

But I think in terms of our polls, our polls, the fact that we're voting out who to do the candidature allows

But did you see what the big things we've got going on?

Do you realize we're going to be ending the war?

We have not.

We're going to have the economy moving up.

You know, the fact that the stock market's at 892 today is bad.

We're going to have, we're also going to have some progress in these things.

That'll help us some.

But above all, those two things are going to help.

Well, that's the point.

He's a funny guy, and he's hard to live with, and he gets a lot of goddamn fixations, but he goes out and marches to the tune.

He'll march, and he'll make these speeches and say this and that.

It's a good march in Chicago.

The whole complex will apply.

It sure is.

Everybody should go.

The press, the congressmen, they give very high marks.

And I think this exercise tomorrow should be a brief one, too, down in Atlanta.

What's that?

I don't know about that.

Our cabinet committee on higher education went out and took a look at the situation.

On what?

On higher education, just to look at the southern states.

Great.

One thing I really want to have a good meeting with you on one second, a little fast loss.

It's a new thing.

I hope now you're going to come up with a solid plan for me.

Really.

I think we can make some time there, Bob.

As the war goes out, the kids, look, you know one thing, the kids do lie.

You know that.

You're extremely effective in doing anything.

They love anybody that can handle the Q&A.

Now, who the hell else can handle a Q&A?

I mean, Muskie is slow in the update.

Humphrey talks too long.

Right.

And Teddy isn't smart.

Now, who the hell else can do it?

Now, they like the Q&A.

I think that, don't you think that?

No kid has no question about it.

Like, when your kids, when I said, what do they like?

My kids don't think that you've got to kick out their little things like defending riders.

They like that.

And the cheat shot, you know, and...

that the South Indian and the East can have.

You know, they kind of like it.

The phraseology is important, but more than that, the fact the man feels strongly about it, and it shows.

And, you know, it's not just... You need sincerity.

Right.

That's a terrible word to come out of these kids.

No, we've got a full plate.

We've got a full plate.

A lot of them you want to throw out, but I thought we'd better work it all in.

Yeah.

As far as this huge thing is concerned.

Yeah.

Well, I believe we have.

And, you see, we not only have to get it on, but we've got to do things from the soil and some of the land.

And when some of those things happen, these guys are going to be, we're going to bring that drug right off the market.

I was prepared for one answer.

You might want to use this in a speech.

I was going to go to the bar in sorrow and anger.

I thought somebody was going to ask me about Congress for recent races and any such order.

And I said, well, I was rather surprised to see that.

I said, I'm gratified that many Democrats want Senator Jackson and Senator Stenson to avoid making this a partisan issue.

And I said, I think they would like a recommendation, and I'm sure they perhaps would recognize me, but I would strongly suggest that it would be a great mistake

I said, when I left Washington in January 1961, there were no American soldiers, whatever, in Vietnam.

And that not one American had been killed in Vietnam in January 1961.

When I came back eight years later,

There were 550,000 American soldiers in Vietnam in American combat in the 1850s fighting in Vietnam.

31,000 were killed.

Now,

And there was no plan to end the war.

As a matter of fact, Clark, in August of 1968, said they had no plans to withdraw any Americans before 1970.

That's tribal.

I said, now look what we've done.

We have withdrawn half of those that were there, and the rest were coming out on a plan.

We've cut the casualties by 80%.

They were fired after the 3rd of January, after the 1st of March, and the 3rd of January of this year.

And...

Now, I said, so what the record clearly shows is that the previous administration has got us into Vietnam and this administration is getting us out of Vietnam.

Now, if they want to fight on that issue, we welcome that problem.

It's a hell of a point.

I think all of us should say that the Vice President left Washington in January of 1990.

There were no Americans fighting that in Vietnam.

There weren't any.

None.

Did you know that?

Not one goddamn one.

Kennedy started it.

Kennedy sent the first one.

And not one American had been killed in Vietnam.

Not one American had been killed in Vietnam fighting that.

Not one American.

I think we ought to start a drumbeat on this.

And beyond that, Bill, I don't think you ought to sing about Humphrey at this point.

No, I don't.

I don't know.

I mean, you can say that.

I don't know.

But I think we can, we can broadside this.

Okay.

Also, my hearing is Mexican now, too.