Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on ASNE and Public Relations

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Well, he asked me.

Well, he said yes, he did.

Well,

Slow down.

Yeah.

Oh, Henry.

No, he was in your meeting.

He knows I'm going to say a couple things for next week.

Bob Hope is doing another Eisenhower Medical Center fundraising dinner tomorrow night.

He mentioned it to you, apparently.

You know, I want you to drop by.

People are going to be out there this weekend.

So he's asking for a phone call at 11 o'clock tomorrow night.

to the dinner.

It seems to me if you're going to do anything, the thing to do would just be to take something to get heavy.

But I can't.

Further seems to be a mess, but it's really a good thing to do is to say we can't do it.

We've been apparently the same for the planet long.

The longest line we've been.

It's actually a big honor.

It's a mess.

I was now raised on a B-100, so, oh, wow, they call this the ground of our time.

So, you know what he does.

I don't mind making a phone call.

all over the place.

Well, he also said you had all the other questions.

We did.

It was on radio, apparently.

That's why I had to get it on radio, too.

Apparently these people all tune in on radio.

Oh, sure.

See, we all do this on radio.

The government people are people who wouldn't be independent but all listen on radio.

What was your temperature report on the editors?

I spent a great deal of time up there last night.

Did they have a lot of parties?

Well, they had a big cocktail party, a dance and so forth, and they were all there, and the wives and everything.

I think we're all talking about .

I didn't see him.

He had cut out.

I guess he had gone to bed.

But I'll call back about running or lifting weights up this morning or something.

Why don't you give him a call?

I attended to that.

You could call .

OK. That's a very good idea.

I spent time with Sylvain Meyer afterwards.

Yes.

He was very pleased about your answer on Cuba and Chile.

He went on and on about how great it was.

You know, an answer that must have really impressed the Jesus out of those guys.

Nobody will ever talk about it, but it will have, I would think, an enormous effect.

It was when you hit Deadman on that video.

and he had asked you the question three years ago, and he had asked you the question at the conference at the paper.

To an editor, the fact that you had that sensitivity to a fellow editor, you were saying that to all those people.

You were saying, I know the questions you ask.

They were talking about that.

I would think that would be a thing that just would have a...

The thing they were talking about was the Hooters.

of the understanding that you express for a man while also laying out in perspective the thing.

For example, they were talking about the 300 and less than 50.

And then they would talk about, you know, that was when Bobby Kennedy was there.

And I said, yeah.

And I said, you remember the president also referred to the Army thing, too.

So think of who was the attorney general and who was

Ramsey Clark said who's out there screaming repression all over town I didn't put in those crass terms you're just absolutely right and the way I did it I didn't move through the editors and so forth and say hey what did you think they they came up and they and they responded and you know about a minute into the conversation they'd say the president did a great job tonight

I told you on the phone last night, I think what happened a little bit in terms of the audience response, a number of them told me this, was that a lot of the editors, you know, they're sitting there out in the group,

And they've seen the televised press conference.

They know there's been no applause.

So there was a sort of a reluctance on the part of the hardened editor, you know, sitting there.

But the wives said, well, I applauded.

You know, this guy from Galston Billings, Montana, she would say, well, I applauded, and I'm a Democrat.

It did.

It came over on the radio far, far...

Or more than the road here.

You see, the Statler, whenever we can have those in the future, right, anything, make it worth the Statler.

The Statler Road is a beautiful road for a tall life.

That is a lousy road.

You've got to be careful in there.

And that shore is also terrible.

Remember, the Statler is the restroom in town because it's just the right size for any tall life.

Also, the applause picks up everything else.

People all feel close together.

That shore is really huge.

So the thing we were doing, of course, is interesting.

I don't know.

We only got through 21 questions.

But actually, I was treating this more as an editorial conference rather than just a news conference.

So they got a little bit different show.

Right.

So the liar mentioned that last night.

He said, you know, he made the comment.

He thought it was a good session because the editors

And he also thought it was a good panel, because the editors, he said, tended to go for the broader, you know, he was kind of patting himself on the back, tended to go for the broader perspective.

And the president handled that, and then he said, of course, the wire service reporter fellas, he said, they would then come in and then mix it up with a couple of people.

But he's done that game on the radio, and it was pretty good.

I heard the radio going back up to the store last night, you know, the clips out of it.

And it sounded very strong.

Oh, it was.

Actually, the whole radio thing, in its totality, the radio thing, just went, it was damn good.

It was good radio.

I imagine a lot of them were rerunning.

Oh, they were rerunning.

Out of the writing press.

I saw them last night as we got old.

You were there with them.

They said they got quite a few stories out of it.

Well, the POW thing.

And they're playing.

In your discussion with your daughters, coming in, the barters, what weaved that in with.

That was good.

That's something you would never say in a press conference.

It's a very good name for him.

I'm glad we didn't tell him.

I don't think we should have told him.

I think it would have been sensational.

It would have been pretty good color.

I didn't see it.

It wasn't there.

I don't think long answers are good at all.

Well, I mean, let me just say the parts they will use of it will be good television on the news and so forth.

There's no question about that.

It would have come off quite well on television.

I regret that we did not

We have enough.

I told you just last week, don't even go on again.

I'll tell you one thing, it's the same as a news conference with those two wire service guys.

That's what they're calling it.

Who the hell are they?

All the reports are calling it.

The president held a news conference last night before the ASA.

An unusual radiocast news conference.

Right.

They haven't been called in at all.

Even in the reports.

It's flat-out news conference.

Absolutely.

That's what I wanted.

To respond to your questions before.

I don't know that you had that answer over there that way, too.

There was total understanding, and that is where, you know, you think that they would, as you talk to them, you think that their conversation would go to Vietnam or go to something else, or do it.

Cali or something.

No one even got into the Cali thing.

I think that's cooled off so much they wanted to be done.

But they went to the Hoover then.

Of course, that was the thing.

And there was a good feeling as to how you handled the question, and particularly the compassion that you showed toward Hoover.

I asked you editors to be fair.

And the man who's attributed this much to the building of the FBI should not be maligned.

Well, they all think

You know, it's a human response to have that compassion toward a man who has built something good.

And now you're 76 years old, and he's a hell of a bum.

Notice I noticed a cartoon over in your office on the wall the other day, yesterday before I came in to see you.

And it was during the Truman period.

And it had J. Edgar Hoover over on the side.

The mission was from Hoover.

I'm glad I'm not the issue now.

It was a mission at one point.

The best laugh of the evening, you know, the best thing is, of course, they probably appreciate it by the defense of Agnes, but they do goddamn well, I didn't do it.

But the best laugh is that you let them forget it.

Yeah, I understand.

It's a good line.

And then the...

It was a definite, too, wasn't it?

Yeah.

And the other one was he gets in...

He gets big press when he tips his newspapers in the golf ball.

Well, the way you handled it came out as standing behind your vice president.

finished the next week for you.

So we have a question of whether you want to see McCormick.

McCormick.

Yeah.

He did ask.

Yeah.

That was one you wanted to go ahead on.

I thought we'd bring you in on Monday.

He'd be back.

All right.

Yeah.

I hate to say this, but they now have all concurred and put it off on my weekend that you've got to see Volpe.

Volpe?

Yeah.

He's been banging in there for a second due to a major issue.

Well, somebody comes with him.

I say, oh yes, that's a good girl.

Depending on what it was then, I think.

Then we get to the question, what does he want?

Is it a law meeting or is it just now regular?

It's one of his, you know, he's got a couple things he has to raise.

Fine, fine, fine.

And we just, we've got to, we put him off.

I know we have to see, you understand.

I know.

He and Robbie have to be seen.

I just think I've got to do it because it's just, I don't understand.

But he's not, I'm not going to have him.

Yeah.

You know, we've done a lot with Pat Hatter.

Those damn Italian women over there at the White House the other day, you know, she's...

I said, that's part of her problem.

I said, what the hell?

I don't think he really appreciates anything.

He doesn't appreciate anything.

That's why he wants us all to get into the home.

They can't take it.

We do everything we can.

Okay, what else?

Both are all fine.

Yeah, yeah, you are.

We have the farm editors, the agriculture editors in town.

I don't think we should run a news conference next week.

What do you think?

As of now, I don't think so.

I'd still like to go a first week and see.

Otherwise, I need to gloss this thing.

We've done enough.

We should definitely plan on two weeks from now.

This will be 40 to 60 of the top farm editors.

They're in for a conference with .

And for those that haven't had you greet them in some way, we're going to try and bring them to church.

That would be more .

We can't ignore them.

They don't think we're going to be involved.

The conference they're having is a total briefing on all agriculture programs.

And it's a way for you to make a little splash with, you know, reaching the partners.

And with 40 to 60, it seems to me maybe the best thing to do is have them get a little White House tour or something and just let them come in and shake hands with you.

Shake hands and not speak to them.

Or gather in the Blue Room or something and you come in and...

You know, greet them, say you're glad they're doing the briefing over at Agriculture, and, uh, good.

Get my wife out of the store, and I'll go over and see if they're in a state nightmare or something.

Okay.

Have a safe night.

Get their wives, whether they're gonna have the tour, okay?

And then we've got, on Wednesday, the leadership of the JCs, which is 160 of them.

We thought we'd do just, again, a White House tour of the Rose Garden.

Do you agree with that?

I prefer the Rose Garden.

I'm not going to say that.

Okay.

If you have an enthusiasm, always have an interview, not outside.

Okay, and we all have press coverage on that one.

What's your name?

They're getting briefings on domestic programs and international security briefings and all kinds of stuff.

The Senate Loyalist Group would be good to get it.

Last week, we were talking about doing that on Tuesdays at 5 o'clock.

Fine.

Deal.

Fine.

Whether we also want to do right at the same time, I kind of don't.

Next time, if you want to wait a little bit to do the House Loyalist Group before the end or the Kirkendall group that we still have.

I don't know.

I think we ought to wait a bit.

It's the end of next week and I still think the way we ought to do it is for you to go out there to their headquarters which is up on

200.

I wouldn't be better than the Rose Garden.

Well, they're doing a White House tour on Wednesday.

You could do them on Wednesday while they're here.

I'm sure I'd like to do them.

I think they have a noisy night inside for a day where you can hear them clap.

You see the Rose Garden thing, if you want to do jazz, the Rose Garden people don't have to do jazz.

People are going to hear it.

They're going to say it's awesome.

Okay?

Okay, I'm going to get out of there.

Do it on a list of here at the White House and so you're going over there.

I can speak to him briefly.

Yeah.

Stand up, be alone.

Yeah, yeah.

I'll do another address.

Yeah.

Okay.

I think we ought to give them something.

We've got a certificate we could give.

Sure.

Make up a little certificate of appreciation.

What certificate of appreciation?

You know what you call it?

Yeah.

For participating in the balance.

So I thought you'd like to have a look on that.

And also send them.

Maybe so.

The only other thing is a highly questionable one.

I'm not sure what we want to do on it.

There's a building trades council executive committee who will be here.

I don't think so.

And whether you want to bring them over to see you.

The problem is they will be strongly against us.

They're so mad about it.

The other, you know, I haven't met Pershing.

We worked it out, but I'm honest.

I go to see the whole group.

During the court, and interestingly that comes from us or he, we feel strongly you should meet with them.

And he said they will be respectful and will not run into any serious negatives and will have an enormously strong impact with the union.

And all unions, but especially within building trades.

So I don't know, but Hurlick and Bolson and Flanagan and Schultz all think you should do it.

Hodgson's argument is that the participants might be disrespectful.

And they will strongly attack the administration on data state and stabilization procedure and contracts awarded during data state suspension.

I'll do it.

Okay.

I'm trying to, you know, provide leadership, right?

That's all.

It has a lot of people that are against us.

Okay.

Do you want to vote?

Better hold it tonight while I talk to Julius.

Okay.

Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on ASNE and Public Relations

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on April 17, 1971

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