On June 28, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Donald G. Brotzman, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, Peter M. Flanigan, Jack H. McDonald, unknown person(s), John B. Connally, John D. Ehrlichman, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:39 am to 1:40 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 529-023 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
It may be one hell of a problem, but there's a New York Times story that Washington speculates about five ambassadorial transfers written by Terence Smith, the State Department guy.
No real problem on the ambassadorial transfers, but one of the four pictures they run is Henry Kissinger.
The caption under it, presumably the man for Peking tour.
Then it says, the White House has refused to confirm
China in early 1972.
The representative would be special assistant .
It's all the time.
One little paragraph .
And meaning that some American scientists had with Joe and all that sort of stuff.
Henry's convinced that this is Rodney's next move in the battle on the Kissinger tour.
and is, of course, practically paranoid.
He's been rattling all over the walls of my office, then found out about it back here.
When Rogers said, you know, on the Pakistan thing, when Rogers said, why don't you send Haig to pick up the message?
And that was turned down.
He knows damn well that all we had to do was pick up a message that Haig isn't perfectly capable of doing it.
Then he reasoned.
Then, for instance, the hospital label, there's somebody named Rick Scott who did this.
You see, this goes much further than just Thad Rogers should guess he missed.
Read again what it says here.
It follows the stuff about the race to be the first prominent American official to visit P. King's home.
And then it says McGovern has gone to Ottawa to try to get in, and Kennedy has sent a letter cable to Joe Amai asking permission.
repeated reports that Mr. Nixon asked some months ago that he or a representative be invited to China in early 72.
The representative, presumably, would be Henry A. Kissinger, Special Assistant to the National Security Affairs.
Mr. Nixon asked some months ago.
Now, that isn't rocket science.
You're being a word.
I mean, I'm just as suspicious of rockets as anybody else, but that does not fit into the thing.
I didn't mean it, but we would ask.
Well, it leads that into some China.
This could be, because the next paragraph is Arthur Galston, one of the two American scientists, permitted to visit mainland.
Thanks to Nixon's prospects of visiting in an election year are remote.
Dr. Galston had a two-hour meeting with Joe and I, heard his unexpurgated view of various American political figures.
The late Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Mr. Chu said, was an impossible man, recalling that the Secretary refused even to shake his hand at the 1954 Geneva Conference.
Of the present Democratic locals, Mr. Chu spoke with Senator McGovern.
When I told him I thought Senator McGovern's chances of being elected were about zero, Dr. Galston said, his face fell.
As for President Nixon, Mr. Chu described him as an automatic anti-communist, Dr. Galston said.
Judging from the way he seems to feel about him, the biologist said,
he came just for a social visit.
But that could come out of the Galston.
In other words, Chu may have said to Galston that some time ago they asked to visit.
I still do not.
That does not, it doesn't fit anything, it does not fit anything that Rogers knows that we've been asking her to go on a trip to China.
That's ridiculous.
It sounds to me that we're coming in anyway.
I want to give a State Department report.
See, Henry sees this as the other, the other ambassadorial transfers are all accurate.
It's speculation, but it's all, they're all in the works.
So they lend authenticity to this one.
Although one isn't accurate.
It says David Bruce is going to stay in this boat.
Are they supposed to put them in the switchboard?
Yeah.
No, I mean about the ambassador.
I just wanted you to know that I, Gregor was just telling me that you'd better celebrate because when you're 50, that's a hell of an old age.
So never get any older than 49.
And you don't look that old and you don't feel that old either.
That's right.
Okay.
Oh, did you?
Yeah.
Which course did you play, the lower or the upper?
All three?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you played, well, the old white is the toughest, the longest, but that green bar, of course, is fun.
That's, yeah.
Oh, great.
Well, I appreciate it.
Well, yeah, I hope so, too.
The whole point is that it's not Rogers.
It cannot be Rogers because he never told them anything.
Nothing on this at all.
And this only refers to a visit to Peking.
That's right.
Invited to visit China in early 72, the representative of Peking.
Why did you tell him to do that?
I did.
But he didn't notice.
You know, Habib is going to replace Porter in Korea.
Long-delayed reward for Habib.
Porter returned to Washington to succeed Marshall Greene.
Greene succeed Harmon Meyer in Japan, Bill Sullivan to replace Umbier in Thailand.
Charlie, I promise you I won't replace Sullivan.
Maybe I won't do these.
Except these are all ones that we wanted.
I'm not sure we do.
OK, but they're the ones we've been preventing
But I just cannot have that kind of a leak.
I think this is, we started with this.
Bang.
That kind of leak has got to stop.
And he's been told to vote out.
He just wants him to vote out.
Just let it go.
Let it rest a little while.
It also says successors will be named for John Eisenhower and Barbara and Tel Aviv.
See that?
Yeah.
Who the hell are we putting in there, John Eisenhower?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, Pete, what is the situation on John Eisenhower?
I didn't name any successor to him.
I think we have some of him.
Yeah, but I mean, I noticed this mayor at times, he says his successor's been named for him.
No, he just said he's gonna leave.
I want to hold that for some time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I think, I want you to give Bill, you've been talking to our audience about these, or who's been talking about these assignments.
about talking about all these assignments yeah have you talked to them about these names or somebody else well apparently that's okay then i'll have him call rogers that's well thank you thank you i think i think you want to i think you want to call them because they're going to announce that i am revoking my decisions
Is that clear?
We're going to start back with Johnson, okay?
Now let me see which ones are these.
Habib to Korea.
I'll revoke that.
That's easy.
Porter to Southeast Asia.
I'll revoke that.
That's easy.
Back to stages.
That's right.
Marshall Green to Japan.
That's it.
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
I never get money to go.
Sullivan to Thailand.
I'm hungry.
to replace Hunter.
Does it say what Hunter's going to do?
White House to replace Sullivan.
That's the deputy's association.
That's all true.
This is this.
I hold that.
I know that.
Let me tell you, let me tell you, Henry.
Your concern about the China thing, you're directing it the wrong place.
That's right about China.
No.
Now wait a minute.
Dr. Rogers had an election trip.
Bob's the only one.
He hasn't the slightest idea that you're talking about.
Not the slightest idea.
There's been nobody on it.
It's either somebody here, Stan, because it can't get... Read the Atlanta part about what the New York Times guy says, you know, about his...
The New York Times guy about Joe and I and all the rest of the scientists.
Yeah.
The American scientists.
The biologist says that...
because it began.
Now, they could base that on what was said at the press conference.
In my judgment, Mr. President, what happened there was this.
When Rogers was told, first of all, Karen Smith never, never calls my staff.
He's never done it in all the years that he's been here.
He's never covered the White House.
But I think that isn't holding the time.
This is very cleverly packaged.
Bob told Raj that I was going to send you to pick something up.
What he probably figures is that I'm picking up something from the Chinese and that I'm going to promote myself into the position of the chief negotiator or whatever with the Chinese.
That he wants either to stop that or to put himself at least in the position that he was ahead of the game on it.
It will create, it will ruin me, Mr. Brennan, so he can get a lot of things simultaneously.
It's just coming too neatly, and it's packaged so insidiously with a lot of announcements that are true.
The Chinese have yet to do a steady thing.
It's not in the Chinese interest.
They've just sent us another note saying they guarantee secrecy.
They've banned it.
But they are telling us they're flying flights to make sure that radar things...
Wait a minute.
You've gone through all that.
But this says something else.
Henry Kissinger going to D.K.
Is that what you do?
You think I'm setting that up in front of all vendors?
How are you?
I just wanted to know, just talking to our congressional staff here, and I found that you better celebrate because when you get to be 40, you're old, boy.
Listen, that's right.
I still celebrate my 30th.
I just wanted to wish you well.
Right.
You get it.
You get it, Bob.
If you say that, I ought to go.
I ought to break your weight down.
OK. Good luck.
No subordinate state official would dare to leave this because Rogers would kill him.
And it's beyond their imagination.
And besides, no one has ever talked about this.
What about being part of the consultant?
I've read every interview that you and I have had with newsmen.
He's never even mentioned it.
Now, that was only to cover themselves in case you don't come, so that they can say that they didn't want you.
That's how I read the Goldsmiths.
All right.
One thing you're going to do, I'm knocking off those ambassadorial things now.
Now, let's just start with that track.
Let them worry about it a little while.
I'm reconsidering all of those because of the leak.
The one thing that they must do now is
It's very embarrassing to me.
But I'll have one hell of a time unseen to bring in today about something.
Well, wait and see.
Oh, you'll ask.
I can guarantee you, and I can't really flatly deny it.
No, you can't just say it.
You can flatly deny this.
You can canter it for crying out loud.
All you say is, well, don't you remember the President's press conference when he said he hoped to visit Beijing?
That's what it's all about.
Just put it right on there.
But this, coupled with the announcement that I'm going to Saigon, is just going to trigger one hell of a speculation.
But, and Peking may now announce it, they're not that subtle.
But we'll see.
We'll see.
Now what do I do with Rogers regarding that?
I think we should tell him, don't mention my name, just say that's an absurdity to begin with, but
Sid, when the Chinese asked for a special envoy, it was at a Warsaw meeting.
Only five people knew about that in the State Department.
And to have that printed in the newspaper is an outrage.
Say anything about the Chinese actions as we have.
But this is the State Department, Mr. President.
It's cleverly packaged with enough truth.
And no subordinate there would have dared to do this on me, which is counter to their whole philosophy to feature me in this.
I just can't get around this whole...
No one has...
I hope, incidentally, I am not as concerned about it as you are for the reason that it relates to... Yeah, but once my trip is announced, Mr. President, they'll put this together with a... Who's they?
The press.
Doesn't make... Once I get it done, we have a new reality.
No one would have dreamt that when I went to on the trip around...
On the others, I think Bill is going to be hit.
They must be announced.
Huh?
I was just on the process.
Realize that I am withdrawing these announcements.
Now I'm withdrawing all announcements.
It's a matter of discipline within the administration.
We just can't have this.
I'm withdrawing all these announcements, and I'm going to reconsider.
I'm holding them all for 30 days.
God damn it.
They know better than that.
I mean, here we have history to work with.
A year from now, no one will know who showed up at that time.
No one there may announce it ahead of time, no.
No, that's right.
Yeah.
Fine, so you'll go to China.
What difference does it make really?
That's a whole other thing.
It's something, the reason I'm the way we want to do it, there ain't, it happens that way.
What I was hoping is we could get this all talk started.
No, it's not going to hurt that much of the Russians.
The Russians?
What do you think of the announcement that the Chinese would be with the Russians?
Yeah, but that we could have had to bring in position.
Well, we'll see.
There's nothing we can do.
This isn't that serious.
It's just a lousy thing.
No, I swear it will.
It may be just enough to make them hold off to see how they're going to play the Chinese thing.
This is the weekly we're going to get the Russian summit answer.
Unbelievable.
Let's leave it at that.
Whoever put it out sure as hell knows what's going on.
But the reason he put it out is to give veracity to the China story.
That's the real story.
Okay.
I just think you ought to say, what the hell is this story?
Now, if he says there's nothing to it, you say, well, there's a hell of a lot to it.
I'm not going to announce these ambassadors.
And will that ensure these are not people that
Is there any one of these that we could change?
I think we should appeal.
We sort of owe something to them.
All right, fine.
How about Sullivan?
Well, you want Porter back in the Asia dynasty.
Well, that's assuming you move Green, but you... Well, I don't think the president makes me nervous about Green.
No, but the major thing is to not let them announce it while I'm on the trip, because that will give veracity.
That is an original problem.
After that, it doesn't make any difference because we may have done the July 15th one.
No, it makes a lot of difference.
I want to discipline them for putting out something.
Now, the way to discipline them, and Johnson did this, we're going to start doing it.
The way to discipline them, if they put it out, I change the decision.
Now, that's the way we're going to do it.
That's what worries me about it.
Give it up, but at any rate.
The point is, the point is, it's a far-reaching thing because it's a... Bob didn't tell them to call it that thing.
Oh, no, it's spectacular.
He figured out that if it were simply picking up a letter, he could have gone.
So he figures I'm doing something then.
I don't know.
It could be something else.
But one thing I'm sure of is it isn't the Chinese that don't play that game.
The Russians, it could be, but not the Chinese.
You see, we were very careful on the informing of Rogers.
We deliberately did not say China.
We didn't even tell him what the damn message was about.
Oh, and if he hadn't made such a fuss, they'd have told to stop for a day and a half in two countries on the way back isn't worth spending one phone call on.
And I had cleared it before we ever went to the Indians.
I had lunch with the Indian ambassador two weeks ago.
I said, I'm thinking of taking a trip out there.
And before we put it to you formally, will it be the slightest embarrassment?
Tell me now, and you'll never hear another word.
And he then came back.
He said, we're eager to have you.
And that was before.
So we knew the Indians wanted it.
And I asked Keaton.
He thought it was a good idea.
And we have never made, we've never gone into anything without testing the water first.
That's why we haven't had any real calamities in this area.
I would uphold the announcement on ambassadors.
Or is it best just to record it on...
But I would revoke Sullivan, because we may want him in Paris at this St. Greg's.
Well, let's just revoke the whole backstand.
I think we just said that I just can't have this kind of power, this kind of lead in advance.
And it will get them into such a funk that they'll...
But what we also should do is to stop all speculation about China in general.
That can't be done.
Well, he says that Terrence Smith doesn't ride out of here.
I don't know what it's all about.
Terrence Smith didn't ride out of here.
There has never been any speculation as long as we are here that I'm going on any mission anywhere.
Because I've never gone on any mission anywhere.
I've never been away from...
This doesn't say you're going on a mission anywhere.
Yes, I'll be the special envoy to P. King.
Captain, I think presumably the man for P. King, too, or...
that the representative presumably would be anarchist.
Now that's beyond their imagination.
Go ahead on this.
The White House has refused to confirm and pointedly declined to deny repeated reports that Mr. Nixon asked some months ago that he or a representative be invited to China in early 1972.
The representative presumably would be anarchist.
That's beyond anybody's imagination.
Beyond anybody's imagination.
Because he figures that I'm never away from you, and if I go to Rawalpindi, and if after he objects, I insist on it, or you insist on it, there is something out that it cannot be Pakistan.
Because he doesn't think you're going to China on this trip.
No, he thinks I'm going there to set up a trip next year.
That's what he figured out.
It's beyond his imagination that I do it now.
But he figures I'm going there because that's why he proposed hate.
Why did you present that to him?
Because he figures that that's why he put that Haig lawyer in.
If it was just picking up the letter, then Haig could do it.
Obviously, there must be something settled.
So you're sending me to settle it.
If I'm the guy who settles it, I'm likely to be the guy who'll want to go.
Now, this way, he may create enough euro from people.
Why should I be going?
He at least protects himself if he isn't, that he knew about it.
It may drive the Indians right up the wall who hate the Chinese.
And if the Indians think that I'm going out there to set this thing up, they may cancel my visit.
So it's a jurisprudential issue.
Jurisprudential issue.
That's all.
They told me the other day that the Indians are already worried that we may be tying up with the Chinese.
Now, they think that that's what I'm going after.
There's no chance of any contact here in the ground.
That's what I'm wondering.
Henry and I have talked on the phone about this.
Are they canceled at any time?
It wouldn't come out that way.
Then it would come out as a separate story, but this is wrapped up in an untruth.
Of course, these are separate stories.
This is that Washington Notes thing, because it's, you know, one story on the ambassadors, one story on the ravine, and one story on the race to China.
There are three different stories in this.
Thank you.
Sort of like the Newsweek Periscope.
That's right.
That's their weekly... Well, he calls this the Washington Notes thing, and it's...
Well, hey, Cuso, it thinks it's a setup.
I see no reason, so maybe you aren't even going to see the reason today.
You have to.
But I have to because they screwed up something in Berlin.
I know, but I just don't want to seem so anxious.
The trust will delay them another week.
They've got to look at this one now.
Yeah.
All right.
All right.
Fine.
Fine.
So we thank Ryan.
I can't help it.
We can't do anything about it.
No, if you ask me, I'll tell him.
We have played with it, right?
We're just the best we can from this area, this end.
We've just done the best we can.
There was no way it could leak.
attack would be impossible.
The Paks need us so desperately.
Besides, the Paka Vajra knows the truth.
He would leak it accurately.
You're going on a special missions plane.
I want no time to arrive on the gate of any place.
I want nobody to be there to greet you on the place, because I don't like the press.
I want you to see nobody from the press, socially, or any other way.
I want you to play it cold as ice.
I want you to do it.
I'll tell you, I travel at 67.
I want to do it four times as a former vice president.
I'm going to see...
particularly in Saigon.
Bruce and his P.I.O.
guy, or Robert and his P.I.O.
guy will say, you've just got to sit down.
I don't hear anything.
Don't ever see any press man, not there, not Robert Ellicott, not our best friend in the world out there.
Don't see them because people get out and blow the hell out of them.
I mean, you're going to be bigger news than Rogers can ever be in this country.
Close to the beginning.
I don't want this.
I think it actually doesn't bother me as much that he learns.
after you're there thank you
That is a hell of a goddamn thing for him to do.
Better how do you know he did?
What's your guess?
I don't know about him.
I think the word is one of the Chinese.
No, is it?
Rogers.
Bouncing back and forth, he, you know, I told you he wasn't happy about saying anything, but we got it all set.
He did it.
He was not, not happy about it.
He, uh, was leaning over backwards to play to her a little bit.
She calls him every day to see if there's anything he can do to help on, on, on papers, but
that you could tell him.
He raised that better sometimes, and that's what's really, and he hadn't raised it before.
The fact that Rogers, on this, on the Kissinger visit, would not, he didn't raise his problems with me when we were talking.
He'd listen and say, I think that's a bad idea, and he'd hang up, and then he'd call back 15 minutes.
Leads me to wonder if he was conferring with somebody who was telling him what to do.
I told him right from the outset he was not to tell anybody and not to discuss this with anybody because of the possibility that there was something important here and because of the probability that there wasn't anything.
Either way, it was vitally important not to discuss it ahead of time.
I know.
You were very precise.
By telling him not to do it doesn't assure me that he did.
You're concerned that
Well, I'm wondering if he talked to Better Senator Alex or somebody over there who he consults with, who then said, call him back and suggest Hague, though, and that'll smoke something.
See, the Hague suggestion didn't come in the first conversation.
It came in a return call a little while later.
And that could very well be wrong.
It could have been that he just sat there thinking about it and decided to sell himself, too.
We can't get it out of the paper.
And if you call Rodgers, if Rodgers, if it is a plot and you call him on it, what that does is confirm to him that he's right.
He's put a feeler out and we've taken the bait.
I wonder if all these ambassadors, the best they can do is just not say anything.
Henry's concerned about their announcement.
Of course we're not going to announce any ambassadors.
I haven't proved that they haven't come to my desk yet.
But nevertheless, I think what we do is to not raise this question to Rogers at this time at all, okay?
I'll tell you what, he'll know when we read the resident's story.
But just act as if we haven't seen him tonight.
I'm asking you to just say that I'm reconsidering.
How's that?
Let me embrace it.
And he can't send the names up until you sign them.
Oh, no, no.
I know we see nominations.
So we have to just consider it.
I'm going to tell Ron we have no
and speculating stories.
States of Chinese things are too high to screw around and pay any attention to this one.
So this is a routine way to say that.
I just sort of didn't say it any faster.
Oh, that's easy.
I've got to find another investor in Japan.
I don't think he'd want a businessman or something in there instead of a city guy.
You gotta tell Hayden though,
anything Henry can do about it.
He'll formulate about it.
He won't concentrate on other things.
What the hell can you do?
Not a thing.
You just got to go right out and play out the game.
But I think, you know, on the writer's side, I'm pretty disappointed in you.
When you say that he didn't put it out,
Sounds like a typical stage department.
They do this sort of thing.
They come out and try to put something out as a sort of a trap.
Well, that's what they're doing.
That's being put out there with the purpose of getting us to react.
And they're getting the press to react.
Is that this morning's paper?
pointed to the client thing.
Do you know whether Ziegler did say anything about that?
Because Ziegler doesn't know anything about the Chinese because he found nothing.
Nothing.
Okay.
What could you have asked him?
Could you have put Ziegler in touch with this?
Or maybe, maybe Ziegler asked...
They editorialized that.
What happened?
I would have asked Ron.
I would have asked Ron.
I would have guessed
But Ron's been asking briefings.
Are you setting up a cryptid channel?
Ron says, I have nothing to say on that.
Would you deny that you're setting up, you know, that you explored it?
Ron doesn't just say no comment.
That's right.
Well, it's weird.
Can I just suggest this?
I know it's hard for Ron to do this.
Because he thinks he'll be misinterpreted.
But no comment is awfully hard to misinterpret.
Because then he can't load it either way.
I'm just not going to comment either way.
Speculate insurance.
I have no comment on speculating insurance.
Just say, I have no comment on speculating insurance.
Either way.
And that's my policy.
I have no comment on speculating insurance.
That's the line that you want me to go to China.
There's a lot of little flyers that say that.
So I said, I'd like to go sometime.
You know what I mean?
That's way out there, outer space.
The Henry Kissinger is a special envoy.
That has got to be right out of state, I pray, Bob.
Don't you think so?
Yeah?
God almighty.
It's just hard to believe anything such as that.
Because then you get a
He's got a lot of merit on his side.
If you don't tell him anything, then you set up something like this.
And obviously know about it and not told him.
Then he says, what the hell do you say?
My secretary said, you don't trust me.
You're not going to talk to me.
If I don't know these things, how do I know?
You know, I might screw you up.
I might go out and say something or do something.
What is your view about the cabinet meeting tomorrow?
Well, my view is, is that.
You tell them what the economic decision is.
Now, my view is to do the cabinet meeting precisely the way you did this meeting in Walcott and then let it go at that.
Just saying.
I'll just say that there are those who disagree with that.
And they can be very happy to know that I'm not putting out their memorandum.
I will not.
If the memorandum disagreed, the policy succeeds.
We'll never see the light of day.
If the policy fails, the memorandum will come out.
And I'll have no objection.
But I'm going to talk about it.
I think it's best for you to do it.
But maybe you should begin, though, with a little discussion in the Pentagon Papers.
No, I don't know.
I think that's hell no.
I think the thing to do is to come in and say, this is a brief meeting.
I just want to announce something.
Everybody has it.
Yeah, not in policy.
I decided in policy to announce it there, and John Connolly announced it.
He said, I don't want any more.
You hang it on that, that you use that as a, just as you did today.
And you can say, I met yesterday with the economic movement, and we've covered the same point with them.
I will have you stay in the room.
I will say that I'm expecting all the forces, but nobody else.
I think that's the way to do it.
I don't think I would ever open.
No, we don't have meters.
Because they have money with them on a substantive basis.
I don't.
And you don't.
And this is it.
This is totally a question that we're going to have discipline in the area that's going to be in.
What else could happen?
I'm expecting foreign policy and I'm expecting domestic policy.
For the elites, you're going to be over-responsible.
If there's any speculation in advance about what we're going to do, then of course you're going to be over-responsible for that.
God damn it, that's some fascination.
Mrs. Sandoval, they've sat down and given that kind of stuff about the ambassadors out to the press.
What's the matter with Rogers?
An ambassador watches in the State Department.
The Fed, among the most student, is, as follows.
And then it's accurate as hell.
So it has to be, this is a, you know, a straight-up Pedersen or some lower-level lackey or something who wants to be a big shot with the reporter and says, well, if I had to guess, here's what I'd guess what's going to happen with the ambassadors.
And then the guy who did print this has been the guy who looks like a big man in the terms of that.
I don't think it's Roger.
Roger says, how interesting putting this kind of crap on.
Three of us would be just as tough as the Cavaliers of Pacific or Tucker.
And I'd say, use the same one.
We're not going to have any more of this crap.
It's a big thing.
It's very effective.
And you might ask Tom what he thinks or I'll ask Tom what he thinks.
It was so effective this morning, it really was, that I just think it would blow like a breath of fresh air through that group, and I think doing it with state defense there is exactly right.
Drop the agenda for this morning because I wanted, we've gone through the economic, and we've made our decisions there.
I believe that was the economic group yesterday.
Then I'm good.
Some of you will be in trouble.
I wonder if we all do.
Roger, do we all come out there?
Have we ever called?
I'm just sure that we want to.
Oh, I have about money in California.
You have?
Oh, yeah.
I'm going to talk to him about that sometime.
Oh, that's right.
Okay.
It was me I had not talked to him about.
I had asked him.
I called him from Florida about coming out to California.
It shows you what a disgraceful bunch of sons of bitches you have in the State Department.
I don't think Rogers would have put out that giant thing.
That doesn't sound like him.
That sounds like him.
Although maybe he is.
He just might be devious enough to try to stick it out there in order to smoke us out.
What do you think?
I don't think so.
I think it's very possible that some guy like a Patterson would say, why don't I leave this to the paper?
Let's see if we can smoke him out.
Rogers would say, go ahead.
I mean, I think he could, I can't see his doing it.
I don't think he'd talk to Terrence Crockett.
It is suspicious enough that he might.
And what Henry's really up to is to try to work in terms of being on for Henry.
For himself, yeah.
But what can you do, huh?
Without you knowing anything.
It's just, how can you conceive of that?
I mean, it just, let's say, regardless of what the Chinese
They suggested they would see Rogers, Kissinger, or somebody else.
The way Rogers suggested was that they were not talking about 72.
No, they were talking about this fall, this fall, and is it not for now?
So this says that Henry is trying to work on a visit for 72, isn't it?
There's been speculation about a visit for 72 and then they just be playing off of that.
By me.
Or by Henry.
It's not just about you.
It's been, you know, Nixon's going to go to China.
You know, I held out 72 before the election.
Yes, it would be great if it hasn't gone anywhere.
It's just like, you know, a thousand other things you might do that I'm not doing.
Not this guy.
It isn't as big as he thinks.
I don't think that that was my argument.
It is not as big as he thinks.
Only he knows to seek the problems.
He looks at it with his knowledge of all the facts.
Nobody else can, politically.
that would sign the president and so forth, right?
I think it's a lot different there.
Now he says he's worried that it would get the Russians out.
Now there is being, actually, he's arguing another point of view.
He is.
We had decided last night that it would be wise to announce to China before the Russians
before we announced the Russian summit.
And that's not what he told me this morning.
He told me just the opposite this morning, that it was imperative that we announce the Russian summit
And if he was going to do that, why is this something bad?
You got my point?
Yeah.
Well, this argument that this would be bad is because this sets up Henry as the contact with China.
And that breaks his relation with Russia.
I mean, that's ridiculous.
You don't mean so much.
Sure.
What the hell?
They know he's going to be in contact with anybody.
He's thinking too much of himself there.
He goes in and says, you know, that bothers you.
You know, that too well.
And so this is kind of a parallel situation with the Russians.
They're going to be able to go break his channel.
He's always saying, I'll break off this channel and this and that.
Let's just keep everybody.
Let's just face it.
There isn't a goddamn thing we can do about it.
I don't think.
I don't see that there is.
But I think you're right.
I think they ought to.
Do you think maybe you ought to check with the company?
Maybe you should.
See whether I should just talk to the cabinet.
I have long terms.
I think I should.
Oh, yes.
Well, I've been very careful.
But sadly, I just can't be moved at all.
Good.
But now, uh...
I'm sure it's bad, but I think it was just that all those lines were...
Right?
Sorry, he went, you know.
He's called me twice now to see how I'm doing.
It's been very, very hard.
I guess I'm just still sort of scared to go in there.
That's what it seems to be.
That's the same one.
That's the same one as this one.
That's the one I have now.
Well, I put it on.
But before you did one, I wanted to expand it a little bit.
Expanding the letters a little and the space between them.
I took your different types there, but we can do it anyway.
You just push different.
This one, it was expanding each of the letters and the space between, and this is just the space between being expanded.
This is my sticker space.
I'll tell you, it just scares the hell out of me when you carry those speeches in vanilla folders.
If you drop one page or get one got ordered, they can put it in a flat binder, you know, so you just turn the pages as you go.
It forces them to stay in order and eliminates the possibility of it blowing away, especially like outside.
And I just thought we'd missed a page.
And it worked out pretty well.
So maybe it is worth worrying about.
But just...
I think you had to see how good it is to turn.
But the reason that it's not in the slides, that page over there, it isn't noticeable.
that you can't do is .
It's probably your style so much that it's probably better to leave it.
It just is kind of scary.
But you've done it for 20 years.
I'm afraid you've got to keep the same thing.
I'm just trying to work on it.
Just go ahead and be scared.
It looks fine.
It looks better.
It could be a heavy takeaway.
Well, that won't work.
And it's not because of this.
Oh, he's going to fly out on Saturday?
You don't want him to come up here and go out?
No, he wants him to fly from Florida to California.
No, he's going to fly out to Florida Tuesday morning, unless you want to get the texture in his office.
It is better for him, too, because, you know... We were talking about... No, I didn't want to talk with him.
We really got... Is this a bad time for you?
No, sir, it's not at all.
How about you?
The real problem we have here is that
Because what we do is drown things.
You know, I'm thinking of those half a dozen days when I really would like to at least have off to the extent that I can.
Yeah.
I'm thinking of the fact that, like, I just descend again.
Yeah.
Are there any questions?
Pat, I'm going to take a bellyful order.
I can do two or three days to chill through the route.
Two or three days just explode the hell out of them as far as we're concerned.
Even if you get rid of them in two or three days by then, any ability for you to relax has been shocked.
He was giving this same message to Garcia.
He scared him to dawn.
He scared him to all the rest of his life.
Come on, it's just easy.
I'm sorry.
No, we're just going over this.
We're going to see the Attorney General later on.
I did want to get a word in on it.
Yeah.
That's good.
That solves most of my problems.
We've got a real breakthrough on turkey, maybe somebody told you, on the opium.
They bought it?
Yeah.
And so we have that for Thursday release.
Wonderful problem.
He'll let all that in four provinces right now and none next year.
And we've got it for considerably less than that.
and your behalf, he's going to go around all these places, and we're just going to defer any decision on this until after he gets back.
But the probabilities are that rather than the 25 that the colonies requested, you're going to have more than 25.
leaves tomorrow, and he's going around all these same embassies, and they're going to mention more and more of the political side anyway.
We've got to have a band that understands there's not going to be any of this stuff.
Those agencies have got to stop.
We'll have a very good Crime Story Tuesday and a very good one on this on Thursday, but we're going to
I mean, you're on figures.
Mark?
Yes.
Mitchell will announce 60 major cities down in the United States.
And D.C., for the second fiscal year, down over the previous year, under the previous year, met down.
So he couldn't wait for Wednesday for that, could he?
has already put these numbers out.
So now are you going to have a court decision tomorrow?
I got a signal from you.
What else have you got on this?
Nothing.
Except that you just did the FBI graduation.
That's all.
We don't want to see his life news, really, unless there's a court case.
All they said this morning was that they were extending the term.
on this cabinet meeting in the morning, I take it that she would like Connelly to just change that.
I'm just going to give a little lecture.
Same subject, please.
Just go ahead and do this morning's thing and walk out.
Great.
I've got to get that across the state.
And the other people.
Sure.
We can't have this.
Thank you.
That is what we've got to go on.
We've got to have that son of a bitch Kirshen,
It should be given quite a lot of highlight.
85% of the
What about following through, as I mentioned yesterday,
I think one way or the other, and I think you can say that B.B.
is coming out and is going to stay at the inn.
Because you cannot do, I think the most disgraceful thing on earth is you're having to sneak in and out to get to bed in your own home.
I guess it's not locked anymore.
Why not?
Why not try it?
Well...
Well, that's right.
Why not try it?
And have him into something.
I just, he likes to have, they like to have some people here.
He's had, he's had, so that they all, they get the whole deal.
I am calling all as a personal favor to me as the president of this country.
I'm very, very stressed out.
The other guy said, no one gets to stay in the house.
Come to them, turn down the petitions there.
Otherwise,
every time we have this problem.
First of all, I want you to know what should be done.
Who's the house?
Oh, she knows that.
She was invited only for lunch the last time she stayed in California for four days.
She what?
She was invited only to come and see Pat for lunch that day.
I think you have to have combat go a little stronger, and I hope this would get back to Pat.
I think combat has to say that there are only so many months now
until the next election.
The most important thing for the American people and for the whole doggone free world is when this man has a chance for even a half hour's rest or relaxation or quiet thinking, that he not be bugged by even his very dearest, closest friends or relatives.
And for that reason, from now until then,
No one spends the night at the house.
Don't you think, John?
Oh, that's not true.
Now, they'll come back and say, well, Pat needs her.
Pat doesn't need him.
If she does, she can get the hell up to the draft.
I think that's the other thing she's got to say is that
And Pat tells me that what she really needs, is what she really wants, is to be away.
Look, she was so tired of Elaine in those few days over here, she came by and picked Mar Jacker and myself up to go look at the gifts with her.
Uh, she called, you know, a little bit goes a long way.
But then after her spell, it bounces back in again.
She wants her to her native.
That's right.
But the best thing we do when she bounces anywhere is leave Pat alone, completely, completely alone.
Elaine.
Elaine says, tell Pat.
Not only in the budget section, which you've got to hold up out there.
You've got to spend a week just pouring through the book.
You've just got homework to do.
We can say you're behind in your homework, and that budget doesn't do the other thing.
You've got to save up every little bit.
Pat can read.
Pat can go visit her brother, any of her sisters.
Her sister, her brother, she can go to Helene.
And she claims that she loves, what she really wants, is to be left alone completely, to read, to walk the beach.
Right?
This is her chance.
And she does.
And if she wants somebody to play cards or something, she can always call one of them to come over and play cards.
Or she can go to Elaine's and play cards.
But that would go on and make the point, which now, see, not only do you have to get this regular done, but that you're completely and deeply involved in some ideas or other things that just, you're going to have to have your got the key and have your own hand at it.
Or whatever you have to do with it that you...
So we're going to stop people except for an invitation to dinner.
We're not letting anybody hear it.
Why say except?
Yeah, because they'll see the paper's keys out there.
No, the key's at the end.
I say, if they are invited to dinner,
Well, let's be honest and say B.B.
has enough sense to keep his mouth shut.
I know, I know.
We know that.
We all know that.
But they don't.
They, uh, I, I, I don't like this.
I just think we've got to get over it.
Because basically, it's to my understanding, B.B.
there mainly because...
Now, what about my suggestion if all else fails?
Because the one person who can make it fail is Pat.
Well, if you want to tell her, I think that maybe it's going to come down to that.
Because you have to be in shape for the next few months.
Aside from all the tremendous duties and everything else, you have to look well.
And whenever the drowns are around you, you do not look well.
It shows.
And we cannot have...
Yes.
It's done.
It's one of the bad things.
You're exactly the same way some of the rest of us are.
When you get annoyed by something internal that's petty, that's what bothers you.
You're dealing with the Russians.
It wouldn't bother you at all.
Now, if Pat insists, then I think that you must make a law
that Pat and Helene can go over there into that cottage that's Julie and David's.
Their meals can be served over there.
They can play cards until dawn if they want.
But they are not to be in that center.
That it's your house, and you've got to have these days off.
I think they'll soon go to the drown.
I mean, it's worse than it was.
I think you just have to banish them from the house.
I don't think slaves
Nobody is to stay overnight.
That is the main thing.
You get my point?
That's how I can't stand it.
If they didn't, I mean, if they're, you just can't have anybody staying there while he's there.
That's all there is to it.
Why are you going in and out?
You've been in the city, been over to the office, you work for a while, and then you want to go over and sit out by the pool.
See, when Helene is invited for dinner, she arrives at 10.30 in the morning and usually leaves four days later or five after being asked to leave.
We could say,
That's right.
When the dinner hour ends, like leaving at your birthday thing, when Ray and I left, they should have all left.
They did?
No, I know.
They stayed.
The fact they spent the night.
They stayed so long, they say it's too late to drive home.
But that's what combat can... Well, I know that, but still.
I know.
But I think you're right, Bob.
I think we should say that no one, just no one at all is going to be asked to spend the night.
Nor is it going to be permitted to spend the night.
From now until that next election, it's just too important.
And I do... You're aware that it goes fine.
You tell me to fly out and to be with her.
I'm not going to invite anybody else out unless she goes there.
He's the only person I know who melts into the woodwork.
He's the only person I know that never says a goddamn word.
And that's a very unusual thing.
He never says a word.
He never says a word.
or somebody that had somebody around that he could just be around for life if they don't say a goddamn word.
And Jack is there in case you want to walk the beach.
You know, because you've got to walk with somebody, so the Secret Service isn't walking with you.
Or you've got to take a drive or something, which has got to be done.
Well, he's negative.
Even if he says something, he's not hacking.
I've got to talk about it.
I'll be right back.
Much better.
Oh, so much better.
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you.
Okay.
You told me about the flames.
You said you're absolutely right.
You said that he couldn't have been more explicit or more effective than he was this morning.
He very definitely should do it over the cabin.
He should do it the same way.
Abruptly.
Hardly.
No doubt.
Make the same points.
You know, he went on and on.
He says, if this is, if somehow you've got to get a hold of this thing, this is, it's got to start from the top.
See, once that's done, then you all have a way you can follow up.
And until, until you put it to them, there's no way.
I'll put it into this for some weeks about the appointment that I've announced.
It's not going to be Nick.
I'll get it to Rogers.
Get it to him.
I'll see how it is.
But he, all right.
And we'll just do that.
We'll take a damn, bro.
Kick him in the ass tonight, right?
I think they'll all appreciate it.
Yeah, I think they all worry about the same thing.
You need to
And he will then hear a prayer from somebody else.
Yeah, but he knows he's got his own problems, too.
Yeah, he knows he's got his own problems.
And he's got a partner in the White House.
Yes, he has a lot of them.
Not too many.
We've got some.
Hedge.
It's about all of them.
No, I think we've got them in the low levels of the staff.
There's a thing in the paper this morning that says some white house source said that the administration had not handled the Pentagon Patriots right, that we shouldn't have gone to court, or we should have, or something like that.
Well, I listened.
Henry said that, and I chucked right down his throat.
I said, we were not going to say that.
That's my point.
But we should go on and say it, for Christ's sake.
God damn it, no.
I told you, I said, we don't babble about that.
I said, no.
It's a hell of a thing for somebody to say.
Use that for staffing.
I did.
I used to guide the inside staff when we used the full staff.
And I gave them the whole thing.
Your advice is to the present.
You're advisors to the present.
You're not advisors to the public.
And you're not to give any information, not unless you're told to.
You're not to use your judgment or to ask.
I tell you.
I had my other talk with Connolly yesterday.
Okay, that's what I wanted to ask.
He, on the leadership thing, you know, at all times, all of what he's been saying, the point he made on leadership, the point he's made on you have to do more on domestic issues, that sort of thing, all ties together.
What he said is that you've got, you, yourself, have got to start orienting, as you did in that meeting, in those meetings over the weekend, to domestic issues.
the overall domestic question.
You've got to be thinking of actions now that fit the policy that you want to enunciate next year.
And he's putting together a series of memos on issues and points to be made that you'll be having him shortly.
And he said, however, don't overlook international trade.
It's maybe the most important domestic issue you've got.
He said, you'll have a position paper on the overall trade policy that you'll also be getting him shortly.
He said, I'm glad you know that.
the issue that you can build, I know, and that's where we've got to fight each other.
Then I got into the question.
I said, well, John, what do you do about the fact that there aren't any domestic issues that are of any interest?
And he said, there are.
The economy.
Jobs.
And he says, be doing something about them.
And look like you are about unemployment, about fiscal responsibility, about inflation.
He said, you can win labor by showing that you're interested in protecting their jobs.
And that's foreign trade.
He said, you don't have to solve the problems.
And you worry, you all worry too much about solving the problems.
He said, he's working towards them and worried about them.
He said, what you need is visible understanding and articulation by the president.
He's got to be, he's got to appear to be concerned himself about these things.
He said, for example, steel.
He said, just the fact that you're going to meet with the steel people is exactly the right thing to do.
That shows that you're worried about it.
He said, in that steel meeting, he ought to take Peterson's charts about foreign steel production.
He ought to talk to the steel people about his concern about what's happening to the U.S. steel industry.
Because of the war in front of him.
And the fact that, you know, you're going to wipe yourselves out in your own process.
I mean, of course, they all say you put quarters in.
And he says, I'm worried about this.
I want to do something.
Even if you don't win, you've got to try.
And he said, he has to figure out what kind of a president he wants to be.
He said the problem that he's got is the kind of person he wants to be is exactly the kind of president he should be, but he doesn't seem to be willing to be that kind of president publicly.
He said he's basically a very conservative man, and that's good.
He's basically a very practical man, and that's good.
He's basically a very realistic man, and that's good.
Now, don't try to pretend to be anything else.
Make it damn clear that that's what you are.
Say what you think.
Don't say what you think people want you to think.
And then try to do it.
He said he wants to reorganize the Defense Department.
Well, goddamn it, that's a very good thing to want to do.
Talk about it.
He wants to force fiscal responsibility.
That's damn good.
He wants to kill the OEO.
That's good.
Don't be afraid to say something, but articulate some hopes at the same time.
Say, I don't like defense spending.
Say, I'm disturbed about the high rate of defense spending.
But then say, but for a while we've got to do it to protect this country.
And he says he's got to be, he should be portrayed as a president who believes in a free enterprise system.
He's said that a few times at NAM and all that.
He's got to keep saying it.
There's nothing wrong with his philosophy, but he has to demonstrate that he really believes in it.
And he said, the things that you want to do,
Personally, the internal things that your own motivation makes you want to do are exactly the things that will re-elect you.
He said the people are against the OEO.
They are against model cities.
So goddamn it, eliminate them.
You've still got $20 billion worth of Great Society programs that you're putting $20 billion of taxpayer money into.
Get rid of some of them.
He said you can't be a Goldwater.
and just wipe out everything.
But you can't take selective issues.
He said, one big problem is our own troops.
He said, for example, why do you have to do this?
One says, for example, businessmen think that we've given up on inflation.
I mean, you can't let businessmen think that, he said, so you've got to keep going.
And he said, you can't do it just privately.
The meeting with the movie people was a good idea.
The meeting with the railroad people was a good idea.
And what we're doing as a result is excellent.
But that's private, and that helps a couple hundred people.
What you've got to do is reach 200 million people with your efforts that you're trying to do this.
Then I asked him, that was sort of something I was saying, part of this was generally I wasn't sure that he would agree, is the rhetoric to, where you don't have to tell them
And also, he said, this is not, and he said, let me be very clear that it is separate from the other issue I've raised, which is the need for his cabinet officers and staff and so on to speak up.
What I'm talking about here is purely the president.
It's not the function of what the other people are doing.
It's what the president is perceiving.
Then I raised the question, I asked him, what do you think about the idea of the August trip?
You know, I told you what, you know, your summer tour business.
He said, boy, that fits exactly what I'm saying, and he couldn't be more right.
He said, what I was going to suggest to you, and I've been thinking about it, was that what you should do is pack up and say, I'm going over to Africa, and I'm going to bounce around and study for three or four weeks, and I'm going to look around and find out what's wrong in Africa and Europe versus Italy or something.
He said, but it didn't quite click right with me.
He said, it never occurred to me that the right thing to do is go out in the country, in this country, and do that.
That is what you should do.
In fact, what he said, the way to set it up is like this.
The President should say, I do an enormous amount of reading and analysis of the mood and needs of this country through the statistics and reports that are supplied to me by the government and my staff and so on.
He says, this government operates on the basis of the averages.
I don't want to operate on the basis of the averages, and I don't want to deal with problems of people in terms of statistics.
I don't like to view people as the physical line we use.
I want to talk to people as individuals, and I want to find out across this country what is going on.
And he said, he ever said, you've got to do unexpected things.
and throw people on balance.
So the thing like driving back from Indianapolis was exactly what he's talking about.
If you went to Maine and dropped in on the 4th of July and that kind of thing.
But do some of these things without telegraph and without being too organized and without worrying that you make some mistakes in the efficiency of your operation.
And I said, that's exactly what you've been talking about.
He said, well, you're absolutely right.
And I asked about the vice president question.
It's got to take quite a long time on that.
He did.
I laid out a problem.
I quoted it as he asked.
Thank you.
at the point of my concern as to whether he's really broad-gauged enough, whether he's going to be the issue rather than backing us up, and whether the problem will be negative impression.
I said, well, I can't judge it.
Yes, sir.
You know, that whole responsibility.
And Connie came back and said, well, now what you're saying is he's not capable of doing it.
If that's the case, then you really do have a problem.
But he said, somehow he's got to, if he is capable of doing something, he's got to do it and demonstrate his capability because he is a problem now.
And he said, in other words, if you're going to keep him on, you've got to use it.
You've got to make more of it.
I said, on balance, should you keep him on or shouldn't you?
And he said, that's a very tough question to ask me.
And I said, I know, but just what should you do?
Looking at it from what you know of the situation now, he said, on balance, you should not keep him on.
He will be more of a drag.
He said, first of all, I don't believe that any vice president, common candidate, is to tell.
But I do believe a vice president can be a drag, can hurt.
And I think this one will hurt.
Certainly more than he'd help.
And I said, okay, if you were going to make a change, do you feel the change can be made?
Let's look at the other side.
So he shouldn't be here looking at an abstract or look at it in the real world.
To get him off, you've got to get him off.
Can that be done?
And he said that would depend on him.
It would have to be done on a positive basis.
You couldn't do it if you were going to create an internal fight.
And he said, I don't see
You have a monumental problem trying to figure a way to it because if the speculation gets out ahead of time, you're going to be building up with great bullying and tugging.
Here's a brand of young Republicans.
Two problems.
One, between those who want to give and those who don't.
You'll have that fight.
But then you'll also have the fight of if you're going to get rid of it, who are you going to give instead?
And you get into that problem.
And I said, well, one thing that
nation or whatever, the president then appoints the vice president.
Well, a little light went on in the back of his head and his eyes lit up and he didn't know it.
And he said, my God.
And he got to thinking, you know, and he kind of looked out into the distance and all that.
And he said, well, that makes it a real possibility that you could make a change.
was the best.
You got to pick your time.
But if he would resign, and he said, I understand his mission, as he sees it in the world, really is to destroy the press.
He could resign for that purpose.
And I think that's interesting for Colin, because that's exactly what I think he would and could do.
But does that mean that he could do that?
I think he would.
Well, what could he do outside of his work on the press?
Speak.
Campaign.
What is he writing?
What is he?
He's a former vice president of the United States.
But he's also the knight on the white horse leading the charge against the press.
There's a hell of a lot of people who believe in that charge.
But then I said, well, if you were to do
of Kennedy would be, you know, settled.
There would be no convention discussion or anything like that.
What direction should you go then?
Should the president move his position more to the conservative right and get a strong liberal as vice president to counterbalance it?
Or should the president stay in the middle or move to the left and get a conservative?
Or should he get another active?
Or what should he do?
He said he should get a man who is as closely in the president's image as he can get.
He should not get a conservative or a liberal.
You don't want to put another Agnew in because you get the same problems you got with Agnew.
In other words, it should not be a super conservative.
You should get someone who is clearly to you an asset in the campaign because if you don't get re-elected, it doesn't matter who the vice president is.
And that should be the overriding factor.
You should not go for balance.
You should go for backup.
And he said, I haven't thought about that.
But let me think about it, because I might have some ideas on who it ought to be.
His wheels are driving.
He didn't decide it would be him.
No, but he sure didn't rule it out.
Anybody who considers that a problem can come up only with him.
There isn't anybody else that's capable of being president.
He said, the only one that comes to mind that's been
I know he wouldn't be, so there's just no way that he could work that out.
And he said, one of the problems with Reagan is he's been a governor.
He's used to being a chief executive, and it's a small thing.
And I said, well, is that an insurmountable problem?
He said, does it lead into having been a governor?
And he said, no, but it is with some men.
It would be with Reagan.
He's the best number two.
He's got the best number two he's got.
There are men as loyal as he are, but none as effective.
That's right.
Most effective men have such big egos they can't be loyal.
That's it.
And he's willing to meet down the ditch.
And he so clearly puts himself under your shadow.
Very interesting.
Coming back to the leadership thing, I wonder what we've done that's wrong here.
He doesn't feel you've done anything wrong.
We look at the whole thing about the press conference.
You know what I mean?
You know, it gets back to the point.
Should we kick him in the ass more?
Is that what he's saying?
Somewhat, yeah.
But it's good.
It's to be firm on a few things.
And whack things through.
And he said, you've done it on Foreign Policy.
You have this impression on Foreign Policy.
But they need the President, shouldn't they?
And it's not so much Samaritan as it is the appearance, but it's, I wondered if you would have a radio speech thing.
Read the such in terms of this whole strong leadership thing, you know what I mean?
Rather than just, now you understand, Bob, that Connelly's argument here is the opposite of the price you, you understand?
Praying you about don't do anything, be present of all the people, be generous, be compassionate, be kind, be a decent man, be a warm man, and so forth.
Connery doesn't think of any of that amounts of interest to him, does he?
Oh, yes, he does.
He likes some of it.
He likes the wedding and that sort of thing.
But he doesn't think it amounts to much.
He wants you to take positions and let people be mad.
Save model cities.
It's a lousy idea.
That's good.
Have some interest.
And let all the model cities people rise up and say you're a terrible man.
This one is your gain from that.
So the other point, I get back to my slogan.
Some of you think of the previous administration, Medicare, Head Start, Upward Bomb, et cetera, et cetera.
We still haven't got it, have we?
We have one hell of a time.
What have we got?
Action.
That's ours.
Action.
Everything else is a paragraph.
this acute political mind, that the more we can already attend to, as I wrote you a balloon around last night, let's just get four, let's pick out four.
What do we want to come true?
Four things as a man, leader, et cetera.
Four things on issues, maybe, you know,
But when he says the country is strong, he really wants us to get up and hit some people, doesn't he?
And there's a thing we come through even as a conservative.
I must say, we get all the deterrents of being conservative, none of the benefits at all.
It doesn't set any part of what he's saying.
That's why I guess, again, some people will say we've got all the conservatives anyway, not the enthusiasm.
He made that point.
It's a matter of hanging on to your own people.
That's right.
That's a very useful talk.
Very useful talk.
But what he said down in there, what was that part?
He said, be sure to put that in there.
Yeah, the announcement of the tour.
Oh, yeah.
It's hard seeing human people's statistics.
Yeah.
You know, that other stuff.
get the hell out of the country.
They're gone.
Instead of taking the vacation, we get out to see all the people who live in it.
They'll drive them nuts, too.
I think.
I think it will.
I think you'll get a lot of bounces off of that.
They'll drive with precedence.
They won't understand what you're doing.
They will.
They will understand.
They'll understand you're making points.
They won't want that.
Just to keep the proper balance in here, do you think John would agree with this?
I don't know.
Do you think Schultz would agree with it?
Just to get a one who's loyal and liberal?
I don't know.
Let's find out.
Check this out.
They said, I do not see any opposed, clear images coming through.
As I told you, the press tried.
God knows when you say, why aren't we doing something?
Why aren't we saying it?
We've made a count of all the cuts in this paper, too, about all sorts of things, right?
Maybe it's too weak.
Maybe it's too, it's too, the prose is too nice, too responsible.
Some of it is, maybe.
Maybe that's part of the problem.
You've got the problem built in also, but what you're doing is, as you do the right things, it's not, well, except what he's talking about there is trying to get you to do some of the right things that we keep saying can't be done.
Oh, yeah.
We're supposed to be meeting tomorrow afternoon on that balanced force reduction.
And Larry can't make it just because it's imperative that Larry be there and he's asking if they can move it to Wednesday afternoon.
Okay.
Is that the closure?
Yes.
Four weeks to Wednesday morning before the FBI graduation if you want to.
Okay.
Keep tomorrow afternoon clear of that.
It really does.
I'm afraid, in this case, that Henry's overweening suspicion is correct.
I don't think it's Robert's, but I agree that it's one of those bastards over there trying to interact with the crew, but to just put it right in front of him.
to reduce its usefulness with the reintegration.
That's what he, they very well might decide.
Do you trust him?
No.