Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 514-004
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 1971 at 7:55 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.; Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/514-004

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] I want to tell you that I'd like to look at that housing bank for editing purposes.
[0:20] I think it could be improved by cutting.
[0:22] All right.
[0:22] Did you read it all?
[0:23] Oh, yes.
[0:23] Yes, I did.
[0:23] And it's in one line right over the gutter.
[0:25] It's cut now.
[0:26] I guess maybe that's my problem.
[0:26] We cut it about in half from when it started out.
[0:27] The difficulty I have with the job is that it
[0:30] I just don't like all that crap about morality.
[0:46] And I don't like the title.
[0:49] There's one title in there, complexities.
[0:51] I don't like that.
[0:52] I mean, you can't ever admit that there's such a thing.
[0:53] Well, let me get it back to you.
[0:54] Well, you understand, the substance will abide.
[0:55] The only one thing that I have some concern about is why we couldn't be a little bit more precise in interpreting those two things.
[1:02] To me, it seemed to me that the, and it may be that you're trying to, we're trying to bend over too far and make you these, or the liberal slime there.
[1:20] And the clear implication of those cases is that that was the,
[1:33] in the case of people at large voting in a referendum.
[1:42] That doesn't come true at all.
[1:44] And the way that paragraph is written, it's got us along and all that.
[1:49] It got us along.
[1:50] We can sharpen that up.
[1:50] Well, I think it should be sharpened up.
[1:54] And read the case.
[1:55] Because that doesn't actually give you the basis for doing the other one.
[2:02] I think that the goddamn people want it.
[2:13] They want to live in a neighborhood of higher-priced homes that they have a right to.
[2:25] Absolutely.
[2:25] Absolutely.
[2:25] This does not make that clear.
[2:27] It has in the economic narration and all the rest.
[2:32] I think it's there, the detention, but can we get through approximately 80, I think it's 22, 20, 20 to 5,000 words.
[2:43] It's pretty much lost.
[2:44] Well, we'll try and cut, say, cut 25 to 30 percent of it as a target and see what we can do.
[2:57] That's quite small.
[3:00] Yeah.
[3:00] When we started, we cut pretty hard and
[3:02] You know, when you live with a draft, then you figure, gee, this is bare bones at this point.
[3:09] But we can do better.
[3:15] Well, right.
[3:17] It's ready to draft.
[3:19] Yes.
[3:19] All right, Joe.
[3:20] I know.
[3:20] All right.
[3:21] So we were working on a draft.
[3:23] Oh.
[3:24] Yeah, I'd cut some more.
[3:25] All right.
[3:25] Just a second.
[3:25] Would you want to do some cutting or want me to take another look at it?
[3:27] Well, I'll get it back to you.
[3:28] And then I can spend some time on it today.
[3:31] No, no.
[3:32] Well, let me arrange to get it back to you.
[3:46] Well, I understand that I was supposed to be in the night.
[4:10] Yeah, what I was talking about, on this assignment to the presentation of Laos, did we have anybody there that was trying to take up our side, or was there any preparation?
[4:41] I understand what I mean.
[4:51] They talked, they asked about the disclosure on laws and so forth and so on.
[5:02] As a matter of fact, we disclosed the whole goddamn thing.
[5:05] Because I was in a case, it was in San Juan, it calls upon the administration to disclose what we're doing.
[5:11] We disclosed it.
[5:12] It seems to me that when we've got somebody that can take the offensive open thing for us, what's been done on that?
[5:23] I mean, who'd you talk to, Colson or who, McGregor?
[5:35] I don't know what to say.
[5:36] That's just a terrible thing.
[5:40] They always dominate those, don't they?
[5:41] The other thing, did you get that final casualty figure in him?
[5:43] It is 19.
[5:47] And that's your time.
[5:51] Now, I want you to pass that, if you would, immediately to Scalia and tell him to develop a plan as to how we can get a maximum impact on that.
[5:59] But they should say the president again proved right, you know, the president catched us in the holes.
[6:02] What did you say they were?
[6:03] This was pretty good.
[6:06] It gets down to five and a half years.
[6:09] Because we might as well crow online, don't you?
[6:30] This is the first time it's been below 20, isn't it?
[6:31] Good.
[6:31] Thank you a lot.
[6:31] Yeah, yeah.
[6:31] Yeah, yeah, we've heard about you.
[6:35] Yeah, yeah.
[6:35] Yeah.
[6:35] Why don't we just say that I'd like for him to go a later time.
[6:40] He won't fit in on something we're doing with the Russians or something.