Nixon, Haldeman & Kissinger on Public Relations and Vietnam War

15:51He's got a special color picture that's going to be printed in the special edition of the first E1D.
15:56Yeah, well, what do they want?
15:59Well, what they want is we have a big podcast about this.
16:02So it would be a standing shot, and I'll see you behind the desk.
16:11All right.
16:11Well, I'm around 4 a.m., so this will be a conversation.
16:15All right.
16:15Talk about a little bit of this, and I'll have four live shots.
16:17All right.
16:20It needs to be serious, don't it?
16:24It's always serious.
16:31The question is, we've seated the new senators now.
16:35They would like you to come and just say congratulations because they've got him.
16:41No, no, no, they know.
16:43He's locked.
16:44Aiken and Mencius got him for breakfast this morning.
16:47But they've told him that it's...
16:52The last one, so I'll keep the eyes up.
16:53And we probably ought to bring him in, too.
16:55Just make it sort of courtesy for him.
16:57You know, it's a Saturday thing.
16:58Yeah, early into the morning here.
17:00Well, if you want to be honest with me, if you can just call and say the correct place, we'll grab that from there.
17:12And if you want to come in, we'll check with him and see what it looks like or something.
17:23They've got it locked in.
17:24He's with us anyway.
17:25He voted for the conference report.
17:29Senator Stapp, the new senator of Vermont, please.
17:52I was thinking that something like that is something that maybe we ought to get across to some of our people.
18:00That's your Miami Herald followership.
18:03I haven't seen that.
18:06That's what I was wanting to say.
18:12I could get that around of you.
18:15You know, our people, of course, as usual around here, we're all stirred up and opposed
18:29even time, and so forth, and screw that, and wham, around a bunch of rhetoric, that speech, that rhetoric is, that rhetoric is generally praised.
18:37Oh, yeah, my God, you know, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Miami Herald, those are not papers, frankly, to us.
18:41Oh, the Sun, that's right, huh?
18:43No, it was just here, and we were not disturbed by it, we were amused by it.
18:48It was a flashback, and what they knew was effective.
18:50And I don't know, maybe they missed it, and I don't want to think there's any question about it.
18:59There's a need at all.
19:00I think it's just because they're going to do that every time.
19:04You watch it.
19:05You watch the jump on the thing yesterday of the U.S. saying that a vote against the draft is going to make America the second best thing.
19:12There's a president raving on again about America's second-rate power and all this sort of stuff.
19:17It just fries him.
19:34Let me get a copy of the... from Connie Stewart's office of the New York Daily News Review of Mrs. Sexton's program.
19:43Monday, thank you.
19:48I want to get in some race car drivers.
19:51You know, I understand what's done here.
19:54I thought, you know, you all told me not to go in Calvary or Dr. Perry.
20:01You know what I thought?
20:03Two of those, one of those, the guy that's a race car driver, and he also told me that...
20:10One of his predecessors, whose name escapes me at the moment, has driven an Indianapolis, you know, in a perimeter and other kind of heat.
20:20And he said, you know, the race car drivers have a very great
20:25a simpatico with Esch and Hansenrest.
20:28They're good men.
20:29They're good Americans.
20:31They're very competitive.
20:32They work in their own cars.
20:34They're good mechanics, et cetera, et cetera.
20:36And he says that he went on and on about how great the drivers were.
20:39It's a good bunch of guys.
20:41It's the kind of guys who goes right.
20:42It is a simpatico with Esch and Esch.
20:43It's the kind of guys that were fighter pilots in the war.
20:46Well, I had a tie with Esch when I got back.
20:50And I just thought, well, my god, let's have our kind of people.
20:54Why the hell do we have these horses asking college professors?
20:57And I don't know.
20:58You have the bowlers in today, and you're having pilot and race car drivers in soon.
21:02I like that.
21:02I was thinking of the bowling thing, which might be better.
21:08We thought about that, and there's nothing wrong with that.
21:12Why not do something a little... You've got the American Legion.
21:15I don't think we've got the time to do it, but we'll make the time.
21:19That's not wrong, yeah.
21:20We've got to do it.
21:23You know, I have a lot of bullet people.
21:25Just take them over and let them see the bullet.
21:28And I'll take my coat off and put on a pair of shoes and roll them up to the photographer's chair.
21:36Now that's, you know, so many bullets, the bullets are out.
21:42Fifty-two.
21:43Is it fifty-two, mate?
21:43Fifty-two.
21:44I know, it's a... No, everybody around here is probably going to be interested in tennis, huh?
21:48It's a nice little sort of commission for the international set.
21:52It's a good buying name, I mean, if you like tennis.
21:55But there's a different kind of assholes who play tennis.
21:57They're not our friends.
21:58It's collegiate.
21:59Maybe Stan Smith is right.
22:02I think the guy out there.
22:04He's not bad.
22:05But he is a wild one.
22:07And we've had some other shit.
22:10You know, our Bill Cramer.
22:13Yeah.
22:13In Los Angeles.
22:14Jack Cramer.
22:15Jack Cramer.
22:16It was because it was a great fall.
22:18And it's a game for men.
22:20For all sections.
22:21That's what it is.
22:22There's some good people in Los Angeles.
22:26And it's all those people that love games.
22:29The difference is that going to the tennis, going to watch tennis matches is very social.
22:37It's like opera.
22:38As contrasted to bowling, it's like a rock concert or a pop.
22:42Boy, it's interesting to say that when they went out to work, the coolest reception they got when they went out to the church, I don't know if you all hear it.
22:56I'm not surprised some bitches go over my castles.
23:00Could I ask you to schedule another day to get weddings?
23:02I mean, we always do these, I spend a lot of time with those little kids when they come there.
23:07The astronauts I met last night, they were quite touched by, the astronauts were very touched by the kids.
23:13All the kids could not get a good night and all that sort of thing after they were, you know,
23:24And the astronauts were just out there totally captivated by the whole thing.
23:29And, you know, Lucy, Steve, she's an enhancement to the Little Express, or maybe Scott, because they were, what do you think of Scott?
23:37Huh?
23:37What do you think of Scott?
23:39He's quite a fellow.
23:39They all are.
23:40But he is quite handsome.
23:42And so forth.
23:44Are you interested in trying to make that?
23:51Yeah, I've got a race car.
23:53I've got him in here.
23:54I don't hear the car.
23:55Swing the car in here on that.
23:56Let me look at it.
23:57You know, they've got all sorts of different cars.
24:01Goddamn, I've never saw a lot of automobiles.
24:03Well, we have the most miserable winter sons of bitches coming in here today at 7 a.m.
24:20I guess we couldn't do it without Boyd.
24:21Oh, look, there's some rocks lying around.
24:22Oh, God.
24:24Yeah, well, that's the every time I got in.
24:27I had nobody there to fight with.
24:28I had Schultz, you know, I had Boots, Stein, Crack.
24:37God, now, Bob, you just don't realize what we miss until you don't have a colony around.
24:44You know, just think if we hadn't got time in, in general, you know, he's in the room there with me.
24:50I can sort of let down a little.
24:53And I remember those guys sitting there and so forth.
24:56He's fine with it.
24:58God damn it.
25:00Our guys don't talk balls.
25:03I have to step in there and crack his, so forth.
25:06If he can come in perfectly, if you can slack off and let him take it for a while, he can let, he builds you up kind of well, which is right at the end, right?
25:13We see that it's still ahead of you, so I have to be quick.
25:16And that leaves me an opportunity to be a little worky, and I'll whack him.
25:20But when you've got just people that talk and vomit on them,
25:24All the time.
25:25And that's all where people who burn any other than do anything else.
25:28They cannot bring themselves.
25:30They're great.
25:31They're absolutely great.
25:32But they're great at it.
25:34And the fact that I see what is going on here.
25:37Can we get it installed?
25:38We've always got to line up both for the writer and for Tom Shepard.
25:42We want both, right?
25:43We want both, right?
25:45Maybe this is the time, I'm sure.
25:46Got it?
25:50Yes, it sure has.
25:52Unfortunately, Michael May's book has been a lot thicker than life, too.
25:58But Kohl's is just smart enough to get out from under, you know, he's a guy who doesn't lose his money.
26:05That's right.
26:06He got that Florida deal.
26:09Sure, he broke a lot of people in the process.
26:11He saw it and he just named it and stayed on with it.
26:14But our magazine is finished.
26:17Some.
26:17That kind of magazine is.
26:19There's no purpose for it.
26:20The news magazines will do all right.
26:22And the special interest in the racing car magazine and the movie star magazine.
26:25No wonder we're bringing the president to me in the hall for his father's, uh, assassination.
26:33God damn it.
26:35And I mean, it's really, girl, I went through it and it was interesting.
26:38Sure enough, they showed all the things, you know, patios.
26:42Well, it's a service magazine.
26:43Hawaii and this and that.
26:45I imagine people read that.
26:47They just talk to us.
26:48It's a service magazine, very well put together with a section on travel, a section on homemaking, and a section on gardening.
26:56And it's indexed well.
26:57You can find, you know, if you're interested in cooking, it has a section.
27:09Hello, Senator.
27:11Well, I didn't want you to be in office too long without my saying congratulations.
27:17We know we all expected you to be here.
27:19Of course, not this way, but you would have made it anyway.
27:22And it's a finding for the Senate, for Vermont, and for the country.
27:25And we're glad you're here.
27:27And I was going to suggest, because I think it might be of interest to the folks there and, of course, the country that
27:39We've got a busy session today, but I thought I'd have my office get in touch with yours.
27:43And if you're convenient, we might arrange you to come down and have a picture taken.
27:48Congratulations.
27:49Would you like to do that?
27:52Good.
27:53We'll have, Bob will have him get ahold of McGregor or one of our people.
27:58McGregor, call and make the arrangements, okay?
28:04They told me they were throwing you right in the middle of a big debate or something.
28:08I don't know.
28:09Are you over there now, or have you been swarming in?
28:13Oh.
28:15Oh, fine.
28:15Where do they give you your office, physically?
28:19Well, they'll have a nice little place to take you.
28:33All the other people are much more optimistic on him than Dole.
28:50Mr. Stan Smith, who won the tennis professional championship in Forest Hills on Monday.
28:59I know Dole has some personality.
29:04He's got the voice of the President Chairman of the Weinstein Group at one point, but also he's got some hooks into him, they think.
29:18And McGregor is much more optimistic than him.
29:21He says on the defense issues, on the key issues, he'll be solidly with us.
29:24He'll take some independent positions, but he won't be like us.
29:34Yeah?
29:34I wondered if you were able to find out about the...
29:44The lab we had about the...
29:48The mouse that we had in phase one.
29:55Did you ever get any reports of... Shelts or...
30:04Oh, yeah.
30:05It was Minister Houk's section got in.
30:10This section got in as a snap fire idea.
30:15That's what I figured.
30:17As a look for a lead.
30:19He suggested it to Schultz, who agreed that it was a good idea.
30:26They put it in the first draft on that basis.
30:33which was sent then immediately to Conley for approval.
30:39There was not a specific input from Conley on that point.
30:45So there, you know, it's a little bit gray, but it was a, sorry.
30:52That's the problem, or the problem that you've,
31:04They will reach Sapphire on 480.
31:17And when they reach 480, if all they talk to maybe has a mistaken impression that I have
31:34and pushing him, and then we'll not get his judgment on it.
31:38For example, this is no great problem, but the way, I had a district civil, at the cost of a big council, I don't know why, but I had a dual separate, but he hadn't met, and decided that's what it was to me, and so what the heck, I was too busy to even check it.
31:56But if I had not known that, what I would have done, the way I would have written it, I would say,
32:02We've had this reach for 90 days.
32:04When this reach is completed, we're going to have a follow-on program.
32:10You see, rather than to say that the monthly and directly sort of a cold-water kind of thing, which is the news story, I agree.
32:21But on the other hand, it's not the way to slip into it the other way.
32:25Now, you've got that problem with Sapphire all the time.
32:28You've got to know it.
32:35He is great on getting the news.
32:37He is very good in terms of the cost of getting the news.
32:51He does not go beyond that.
33:00At least on a day-to-day basis.
33:02On a day-to-day basis.
33:29I thought it was something like that.
33:32That's probably what the comic was sort of thinking it came from me.
33:41I think that's probably right.
33:43I mean, he was not all versatile, but I didn't want to see how it was done.
33:56Well, maybe he didn't.
33:58Maybe he didn't.
33:59You know, you could still be getting the pain, but if you'd done it the other way, you could still end the freeze on November 13th.
34:04Yeah, and it would mark everybody.
34:08And if done it in a way that you kept the momentum of the freeze on, it would continue to happen.
34:14You see, that's the whole idea.
34:16It's all psychological.
34:17But you could have waited until October 7th and then said, yeah, in that announcement, the freeze will end on November 13th, and here's what will happen afterwards.
34:33Look, I don't want to say we ever told that name.
34:38I suggest the best line regarding that name is that it's been totally narrated by everybody.
34:49Except for purposes of history.
34:52God, no, low-key way, the Iran, that just made it all over.
35:01or something like that, book reviewers or a couple of columns, just so that it's in print, not that it's on view.
35:08Probably right, yeah.
35:09I actually don't think you want to take, I can just take the thing out of it.
35:12I just think, just build up the circulation quite a short way, and certainly have us, I mean, and Drew has no way, have a line there.
35:20Just, I don't see what he'd do.
35:23It was got in his news story, leaked the thing ahead of time, he got it in his story.
35:27the day before yesterday and yesterday, and they glued all of that stuff and it was what can be summarized in about five items.
35:34Those were all in the first story, and that's the end of it.
35:37There's no controversy on it.
35:38Nobody's arguing with them, and we shouldn't.
35:41They are factually incorrect.
35:43I know.
35:45But I think we just ignore it.
35:46There is no point in setting the record straight.
35:48It doesn't make any difference.
35:49We'll get you the money, though.
35:51Yeah, we got you the money on the last one, right?
35:53Yeah.
35:55And it's a, I think it's a, it's great.
36:00That's gonna, you know, both I and the man still think of Montana may very well not be a bad move at all either.
36:08Just kind of fond of the Jesus.
36:10You're supposed to be the petty politician who kicks everybody in here all of a sudden.
36:15Here's what I had in mind.
36:19I probably needed you, Colson.
36:27You can.
36:27And because of the issues involved, to the extent that it is involved, maybe it's your sitting down and talking about the adults have an all-out assault on the Democrats.
36:52or partisanship that endangers the national interest.
36:55And that's everything from the draft of Vietnam to, you know, pissing on us in the face where they can.
37:01Now, the other thing, there should be partisanship in the way that Price was there.
37:09He used to put Kissinger out, and then, I don't know, maybe Berlin isn't one place to go.
37:13Who the hell can you pull in there?
37:19You also don't have any understanding of Berlin.
37:23and he likes to get more into that sort of thing.
37:26I would keep sapphire in both of these.
37:28This is an area where sapphire is good.
37:30He likes the tap.
37:34And there's where some of his cleverness is.
37:36I don't want him.
37:36I don't want him to sit in a foreign policy.
37:39Okay.
37:43Isn't Buchanan better?
37:45I think the reason I think Buchanan is immobilizing is certainly that's right.
37:51I just don't know.
37:52I'm not comfortable with Sapphire in that kind of a meeting.
37:55I mean, with you, I don't think you should be.
37:57That's what I'm talking about.
38:00No, sir.
38:00I do not want Sapphire in a meeting with me because he'd go out and report it.
38:03I agree.
38:03I agree.
38:04He also read a book, but he's just compulsively unable.
38:08He thinks he's doing the right thing.
38:10He uses it.
38:11Oh, I don't think he read a book.
38:13We had a backfire that may have turned out to be...
38:18Dan Good, interestingly enough, on Sapphire, moved to leave that Mansfield thing, and got caught at it.
38:28One of his sources, he doesn't know which one, he's trying to figure that out, doesn't make a difference, but one of them said Sapphire was planning this on a not-for-attribution basis, told UPI.
38:37UPI's character is a wire story saying that Bill Sapphire, Chief White House speechwriter, is telling people that, and goes through the Mansfield story.
38:47It's worked out beautifully because it's got three times, it's got a wire mileage now because they caught Sapphire in the lead.
38:54And McGregor was, of course, Sapphire called me last night at about midnight with a knife in his stomach ready to draw it across.
39:00He said, you know, should I quit and all this?
39:02I said, hang on.
39:04You got caught.
39:04You were doing a risky thing and it was repulsive.
39:08But...
39:09McGregor, who you would think would be very upset, but Bill was afraid he was going to screw us on the vote today.
39:14McGregor said, hell no, it's going to help us.
39:16Shows those guys that we can fight them.
39:19And he said, the key to that is, it's true.
39:21Now Mansfield's denied it.
39:24He said, I never said that.
39:26And Hawks, who was the guy that told the story, says it's a goddamn lie.
39:33But they've gotten caught in a lie because Mansfield said there never was a meeting of the Senators.
39:38And Hollinson said at the meeting of the Senators, Mansfield didn't say anything about pressure.
39:42He said each man should vote his own conscience.
39:46So they've caught themselves.
39:47They each got caught late last night with an answer, and they didn't check with each other.
39:51So they're caught.
39:53But anyway, it's built into, it's made much more of a thing out of it than it would have before.
39:59And we handled it right, I think.
40:01Because McGregor was asked, or the same White House source, I'm quoting him, but they're saying, a White House source confirmed that Safar had mentioned this story to some people and that it was believed to be true, that he had been told it by a Democratic senator.
40:12And then they're asking what senator, and Safar is taking the biased press attitude, saying he couldn't reveal his story.
40:22But it's interesting, because the Democrats who are saying it's not true know that it is.
40:28So they're in no problem.
40:29And Hollins, who is the guy who leaked it, knows he didn't talk to Sapphire, so he thinks someone else leaked it.
40:36So we've got everything pretty well protected.
40:38The Democrats, by the way, themselves, we're dividing the Democrats, which is exactly what we wanted to do.
40:43Make it L-O-C-K-E. What am I asking?
40:45I'm watching.
40:47This may not be the proper name.
40:49It may be Loeb or something, but he's a doctor, a professor of geology at Houston University.
40:56It's apparently one of the great environmentalists, but totally on the Shepard side.
41:01Totally on the Shepard side.
41:02I want to find him.
41:04I want him put on.
41:06He's never passed any, but I want him brought in and put on.
41:10One of the advisers needs to get some balance in the environment.
41:17Did our domestic counsel ever write the speech for me?
41:21I'm sure there should be a speech.
41:25They, you know, we took Sheppard's and they came back with a blast of Sheppard around that his facts were all wrong.
41:31Sheppard gave that to his people and he was, I gave it to him that day.
41:36He was in the CU, you know.
41:38And he said, I appreciate this because I really pushed my people on the research on this because I don't want to say anything that's wrong because I know I shouldn't say shocking things.
41:47So he said, let me tell you.
41:48So he took it back.
41:49His people wrote a blast at our people
41:54privately, not publicly, saying they were shocked that the government was distorting the statistics this way, that it was misinterpreting, you know, and all this, and then they go back through the thing again.
42:05Now that's back down here with our guys trying to untangle that.
42:08In the meantime, they're supposed to be working on it.
42:10Who are our guys?
42:11I don't know, Whitaker's people.
42:13Well, I ought to bring it to me at this point.
42:16I'll tell you, I don't have confidence in Whitaker on this issue.
42:20Because Bob, he's totally enamored with it, you know, totally enamored.
42:24I got that in mind.
42:26I'm sick of this environment.
42:28I mean, in terms of, I don't mean to hate it, but I'm sick of it in terms of, you know, saving the birds and the mockingbirds and that kind of thing.
42:36Let the humans die instead of the geese or whatever it's called.
42:39I'd like to see, I'd like for you to summarize, Mr. Shepard, the differences between the Shepard and the original, what our people call me, because I am signing papers all the time on the environment based on political analysis.
42:51Now, God damn it, I can't do that.
42:55I've got to be right, you know.
42:57What does it seem like we're signing more papers on the environment?
43:01The current environment doesn't matter, so we get this resolved, isn't it?
43:04This is resolved.
43:06But he got on a lot of rioting.
43:08He used to be rioting.
43:09He spent a scanty time.
43:10I don't worry about what's going on.
43:13It's all the same thing.
43:14I mean, he's not bad as Whittaker, but I just want you to know that I had a few moments.
43:18I can't imagine.
43:22I know that he's... Oh, guess what?
43:31I'm on fire.
43:32You can find out for a cigarette.
43:35When I was talking about the Japanese being the biggest customer, the term, my recollection is that, basically, it's biggest overseas customer, which would leave Canada out.
43:48Actually, Canada probably.
43:50Canada, because one of the transactions we have is bigger than Japan.
43:54We're their biggest customer.
43:55We're Japan's biggest customer, and they are our biggest overseas customer.
43:59You could just give that to Duke.
44:03Again, not to give to the press, you understand?
44:05Yeah.
44:06But to give to the man that asked the question.
44:08It's the biggest overseas customer.
44:13He's probably Canadian.
44:18I think Lucy, if she could get that out of his head.
44:24Yeah, we go around the press a little.
44:25It's a nice little story.
44:28Tell Sanford not to worry.
44:29You understand, even on this other thing, I wouldn't, I don't like the way that operated, but there again, you can't blame him.
44:38He was trying to come up with some hot idea, and our staff should have stepped up to him.
44:42But then again, they, Sanford, you know, ropers are pretty hard.
44:48FP, as well, the president wanted something, see.
44:58Ray's got the five all done, basically done.
45:06He's doing the final polishing.
45:09He doesn't want to have you start on it until he knows he's got enough so that you can keep going.
45:17He thinks it ought to be done as a series.
45:19In effect, yeah.
45:20Or at least after you think it's going to happen as a series.
45:25And he expects to have them done this week.
45:29and things that you ought to start on in the first part of October.
45:34Is it possible in Detroit to plan any questions?
45:38Sure.
45:38I don't know.
45:41I think we can find a way to talk.
45:43For example, because it looked perfectly fit, I think we ought to get one on bus conveyor, since they've had this problem with a pilot.
45:50I want to put a bus in on national television.
45:55Am I fine?
45:55Mm-hmm.
45:58Right?
45:59Another very strong line, which was not mentioned by any of the others, which I'm sure you saw, a variety of detail on this idea of America first, its isolation, and so forth.
46:14Where I said that a weak America would inevitably be isolationist, a strong America is essential to the event if America is to play an international role.
46:24And the strength of America was
46:35Why does somebody already go through a press conference when you haven't mentioned this before?
46:44They've got a few leads to get around to people.
46:45Can somebody do that?
46:47Is that who we've got to do that?
46:50We can.
46:52And he's scouting.
46:53He sees leads.
46:55Well, I mean, quotes.
46:57I'm not speaking that.
46:58What I'm getting around is camera rosters.
47:09should really pick up on things, on the speeches.
47:21Well, that seems true of the congressional speech, too.
47:24That's why I had some stuff up there.
47:26Have you got somebody doing that?
47:30Yeah, the race works when they're doing the material that they do race through.
47:40Right here, guys, when they're doing the material for speakers, that's the basic.
47:43First, we also pull those into Monday.
47:45We run a lot of correctness and quote things in there, which we're getting to pick up on.
47:49Okay.
47:49I'm just saying this.
47:50If I had a little guy who was living in my office in the house this Sunday, here in my office, and he was getting something, so they could read the speech.
48:05down the way that I told you can to give me.
48:07I said, give me another copy.
48:09He said, well, I'll give you a copy.
48:12Well, he sent it to the US, and it was already along the line.
48:19And I read it.
48:1999 out of 100 would never read it.
48:23What you've got to do is to give him about five simple, you know,
48:37I still think that what we ought to do, Mr. Martin, you can have your meeting after Colson and all, and I think you ought to bring him.
48:50I think Dan should be honored for this.
48:53We ought to get him off, but he isn't going to make it.
48:55He's going to party around with the governors.
48:58This is a dead-end street for the portion of the bench, even though he doesn't think so.
49:05You know, revenue-sharing, the governors, you know, they are a total bunch of nuts.
49:12But what he really ought to do is to assault the Democrats with partisanship.
49:21He also should, and he ought to get on to this, he also ought to get into the strong
49:29He should assault them on the defense issue, but defend the president.
49:35You get the point, Bob?
49:37He's the fellow that could get the right wing off of the kid.
49:41I mentioned Buchanan since 1936.
49:43The right wing is talking to the choir, but they could go after me.
49:47They should be talking to the Senate.
49:50And I just don't feel that our people are doing this enough.
49:53I don't know that they understand this problem.
49:56Do they or don't they?
49:58They do, but they can't do anything.
49:59They understand.
49:59They don't make too much knowledge on it.
50:01Okay.
50:01They don't think I'm great enough.
50:11I'm not great enough.
50:15talked about and that's why we're gonna try and look at just some whole different way of going at it.
50:28Today he's been moving on this TV, you know, trying to get some, I guess the TV, he thinks he's got something going on.
50:37He's got a guy that's taking on the project of station owner, because that's the best place to get the real pressure done.
50:45Station owners are organizing, the independent group of station owners are organizing for a whole program of accuracy and television news where they're going to set up on their own initiative, their own monitoring system.
50:58And then they're going to move to the, this guy is a CBS affiliate, so he's going to move to the CBS affiliates meeting, and they think they can do it at the other two networks.
51:07and demand a fair presentation of the news and make the point that they are going to stop carrying the news, the network newscasts, if they will not shift them away from their biased presentation.
51:18They're going to start monitoring to do that.
51:22And they've got it worked out with their lawyers and everything.
51:24They're worried that the networks might kick them out of their affiliation, lose their affiliation, but they've been assured they can do that.
51:30The networks will get antitrust.
51:32proceedings that they did and the other thing is there they uh the networks need the station worse than the station needs the network because they've got to have them order to sell their commercial lines so uh there
51:52They think, I guess I'm going in.
51:53We're going to get the whole data on that Galaxy Book to this group and let them see if they don't want to use that monitoring system.
52:01This may be the way to get her book into an ongoing activity.
52:05The station owners of the country would rise up and say, by God, we demand this commission be set up.
52:10You know, I've had these station owners, how most of them are forests that are gone over here.
52:16And I know it's, they are.
52:18It's like a bird flying, I mean, you put it around so that everybody's forced and then you get screwed.
52:24Basically, I'm that person who's a full of Jews and they're screwing us.
52:28That's all they're screwing.
52:31My God, it's a, I don't know.
52:37I don't know.
52:40There isn't any doubt in this.
52:45We've done it.
52:46She's documented it.
52:49Isn't that great?
52:50Yeah, we can do it.
52:52We can get it going now.
52:54Yeah.
52:54We've got to test ourselves against next year, don't we?
53:01Yep.
53:01Well, that's it.
53:02We can get any kind of, either one or two things.
53:05If we can get someone unbiased, that would be a bunch of numbers.
53:12I hope they are able to.
53:14Of course, thinking that the interesting thing is in the draft, Sparty can say, well, White House pressure, because he's going to vote the other way, and it wasn't.
53:34This hasn't been won, honestly, by the expression.
53:35That's right.
53:37Listen, to where we stand is that
53:40or the man is or hasn't been.
53:41Nobody's talking to him about it.
53:45Except on pro-formal basis.
53:51Here's what I mean.
53:52You get together, let me report it.
53:57You get together that group and then say, I don't care.
54:02I don't want to pick up paper, but we've got to attack the Democrats for obstructionism.
54:09I'd have to say I'm very angry for obstructionism or partisanship in the field of foreign policy with regard to the draft.
54:16The ones that got us in the war trying to sabotage our efforts to get us out, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
54:22We've got to attack the Democrats for partisanship on the domestic front, see?
54:37They don't want to pass any of our programs.
54:38It's a broader thing.
54:40But beyond that, they are not supporting the wage price and so forth and so on.
54:48How long does it take to go to camp?
54:52As you said, it's a long flight.
54:54Forty minutes.
54:55Same as you can't handle.
54:58It's an equilateral triangle from here to Huber to David to here.
55:06Is it a pleasant enough place to go out there for dinner?
55:08Is it too much of a problem for you?
55:14I think it probably is.
55:17They have a big log fire.
55:19Oh, yeah.
55:20It's nice.
55:21It's a big cabin, yeah.
55:24Plus, if people get big gun use and all that, I think it's probably more rustic than that place you were in at the park.
55:32But I have a feeling it's sort of that kind of a thing.
55:37I haven't been to it.
55:42And now is the time to go, but they haven't fixed up.
55:45If you want to go in the early spring, it was a mess then, because they winterized it and closed it up.
55:49But it's set up now.
55:53Yeah, I think.
55:54I just want to go back to what I saw.
55:58I was going to say, I don't know.
56:03I have two chances to see whether the situation is how long after the vaccine is.
56:06and so forth, and whether it would be possible to have somebody go up.
56:11I know we'll be doing that.
56:12I mean, I just keep going up.
56:13If there's something you need to look around a little.
56:24Back to the press conference.
56:32We are now out of the situation where
56:35We have got to use our infected essence more.
56:45Now, I cannot each time rev myself up and try to do a so-called stimulating performance.
56:53But I can go out in the day and have a press conference.
56:57It is totally better.
56:59anybody in this town, you know that.
57:01You know what I mean?
57:03But the only exception is Conner.
57:05He's got the same facility.
57:07But mainly, as I know how to answer questions, how to answer questions, I put a little verb in the goddamn things.
57:15Now, the thing about the press conference is good.
57:19You see, it just commands the goddamn news, you know what I mean?
57:22It blasts everybody else to hell off.
57:25It disciplines our people.
57:27And, uh,
57:29Also, in this sort of imaginary goddamn thing of leadership, there is, believe me, another week, week first around the law, you know.
57:44Remember I told you, I thought maybe we'd have to prepare one every week.
57:46I don't mean we're gonna do it, I mean, I might do it some, maybe two in a week sometime, maybe, maybe, maybe not for three weeks because of big events,
57:59What I'm getting at is we may be too cautious in doing this and too outgoing in farting around with stuff that really doesn't have much to do with leadership.
58:11You know what I mean?
58:13I saw that I've had 33 appearances between this summer, 16 outside of Washington and 15 inside of Washington, and a Republican appearance at Sanford.
58:23Well, what the hell do they mean?
58:25I was amazed at that.
58:26That the old Oilers, of course, and the old folks, the Nashua, the Cow Palace, or the Cow Church, or whatever it was, well, I'd be right, five of those six are those red speeches, six or seven.
58:38You know, the one in Tulsa is a red speech, the one in Iowa is a red speech, the one in Texas is a red speech.
58:45Right?
58:45Yep.
58:47Now, in terms of leadership,
58:52The press thing is infinitely more effective, unless it is a speech like the speeches of Congress or August 13th or something like that, August 15th.
59:04I suppose one of the reasons it's more effective is that it has the advantage that
59:14that my words, whatever they may be, come through in the press conference.
59:18And by the time, in the speech thing, it's like torture to eventually, you know, get a speech where I've got anything in it that has me in it.
59:27See?
59:27Yeah?
59:29In other words, I just wanted to be sure to quit the contact speeches.
59:37Almost quit them.
59:39I really think that, Bob, I don't think they're worth much.
59:42I mean, I guess I'll take the word, but John Luther had a great deal of talks on this.
59:46That's a nice little idea for history in this snack.
59:50But in this not coming period, it's sort of a need.
59:57Scali had brought in the U.P.
59:59and A.P.
1:00:00guys.
1:00:02I think we've got you.
1:00:04I had already finished.
1:00:08No, no, but this was a good way of ending it anyway.
1:00:17I thought really what you did yesterday, it was undoubtedly effective in a public relations sense, but it was high policy because it
1:00:30It ended most of the speculation.
1:00:33These guys aren't fighting or sneering.
1:00:36I said, what is the president trying to do?
1:00:39What's McGovern fighting about?
1:00:41What is McGovern's argument with the president?
1:00:45I said to them, does anyone doubt that he's getting out?
1:00:52So all McGovern is screaming about is his idea that maybe he could get out a few weeks earlier.
1:00:58He has no information.
1:01:00Then I...
1:01:00I'm not going to use him right now.
1:01:02Let me suggest that I...
1:01:03I'm going to use him as a credit citizen.
1:01:06I'll say, now look.
1:01:09We don't have a client.
1:01:11Under our plan, I assure the American people that it is one that is decided, and I believe we can accomplish this goal of ending the American war, of ending it in a way that South Vietnam has a chance to defend itself and avoid a communist takeover and to get our business back.
1:01:30That's what my plan is.
1:01:32Now, others disagree with this plan.
1:01:34If they sabotage my plan, then they must take responsibility.
1:01:42I used the first part of it.
1:01:46I didn't use the second part.
1:01:48I didn't use the part that they sabotaged the gun.
1:01:52But these guys were saying, I analyzed for them the McGovern comment on ceasefire and softening the terms.
1:02:00But luckily they've now toughened them a little bit again.
1:02:02Yeah, that's good.
1:02:08Well, I have this view, Mr. President, now as I am, I still think, we don't have to go into it now, that this game plan I mentioned to you is a good one, because also it gives us a move from which we can accuse people of having sabotaged things while we were negotiating them domestically.
1:02:27But leaving that aside, if we can keep the thing going through next year, if we go into this low route, by necessity,
1:02:38They will settle by negotiation before the election, as long as the polls show that you have any chance of winning.
1:02:45They will not let you get elected and get a free shot at them not having to be re-elected.
1:02:52If you watch when they have settled, it's been before your inauguration, before your election, those have been the two big breaks.
1:03:02So we have a pretty good chance of bringing it off before November anyway.
1:03:05Well, now, one thing I'm going to suggest is this.
1:03:07I think it's important to give it a shot right now.
1:03:11I'll tell you why.
1:03:13You can buy the provocation, any kind of a provocation, just for a little pop.
1:03:19I see.
1:03:19Because it isn't enough to be up there and say we're going to support you.
1:03:23I think just a little pop, I want to stir it up a little bit.
1:03:26Now, find somebody to say any of it.
1:03:33I'm in favor.
1:03:35Well, the best place to do that now is just north of the DMZ.
1:03:55Now, and then I'll say, they were building up for an attack on our forces as we were withdrawing.
1:04:01And I'm using the air bar.
1:04:03I think now is the time to hit them.
1:04:05Right now.
1:04:05I mean, this weekend, I understand.
1:04:10That's what I want.
1:04:11Right now.
1:04:12I don't know whether they can do it this weekend, but they can do it during the next week.
1:04:15I know.
1:04:15I told you.
1:04:16Tell them I want them this weekend.
1:04:18They've got the flags.
1:04:20Let's take the targets.
1:04:21I want to see what the weather is and all the rest.
1:04:23And if there are, I want to go in there and right north of the big DMZ, let them get a hop out.
1:04:28And then in and out.
1:04:30And we'll send bludgers as a protective reaction.
1:04:35Because the protective reaction does better for our forces.
1:04:39Air buildup.
1:04:40We'll get it done by the...
1:04:42I couldn't agree more.
1:04:42I think that is essential.
1:04:46If we can do it, particularly
1:05:05Maybe hit Dong Hoi, where they have all these supplies piled up, on Monday.
1:05:09Good.
1:05:09Good.
1:05:09Well, get it lined, please.
1:05:12Right.
1:05:12And then send Haig out right afterwards.
1:05:15Haig is... Haig is planning to leave Monday night.
1:05:18Fine.
1:05:18Well, then, get them hit this weekend.
1:05:20That's what I say.
1:05:21Get them centered here Sunday.
1:05:22That's a good time.
1:05:24They can hit while Haig is out there.
1:05:25That doesn't make any difference.
1:05:27That's right.
1:05:28Get it done, though.
1:05:29Oh, we'll get it done within a week.
1:05:31It takes two days.
1:05:32Don't postpone it.
1:05:33No, I won't postpone it, but it takes them two days to get the planes assembled.
1:05:35It takes them one day.
1:05:36I want to respect each other.
1:05:37I want to respect each other.
1:05:39I want to be handled from a public direction standpoint.
1:05:46and their violation of the understanding by going across the DMC.
1:05:51Incidentally, at one point I mentioned to Bob that I thought he ought to.
1:05:56If you do read his notes, there are a couple of very good lines I recall.
1:06:02The one line was particularly good.
1:06:04I thought this word.
1:06:07I thought about what our economic policy is when somebody said, what about our friends abroad and so forth?
1:06:14But I said, we must remember that there are those who say that this policy is against us.
1:06:20On the contrary, it's just the opposite.
1:06:24That a weak America will end with the isolationist.
1:06:27Only a strong America...
1:06:28We'll play a national role.
1:06:30We'll continue to do this.
1:06:31We need this long America.
1:06:32We must strengthen America so that we don't get isolated.
1:06:37That's what's going on.
1:06:38That should be poured out very, very strongly.
1:06:42Very good.
1:06:42That's a very good point.
1:06:43And I think we've got to start to stall such old laws.
1:06:47Now, we've really got to do it.
1:06:49His people aren't, haven't just yet been able to grab hold of this, but they've got to, and I think we're going to have to use that.
1:06:56You've got to stall the Democrats on the draft and on, particularly on being on the ground that they are
1:07:06I couldn't agree more with you.
1:07:08They're partisan.
1:07:10They're putting party above country.
1:07:14Party above country.
1:07:17Let them squeal at us and party.
1:07:19The ones that got us into the war are sabotaging our country, I guess.
1:07:24You know, for example, they aren't.
1:07:26The press, as you know, they won't play out what I said about them.
1:07:31Will they?
1:07:32No.
1:07:32I don't think they even mentioned it.
1:07:33They didn't even mention it.
1:07:34You notice what I said, what I mean is that's what I'm not being unholy, but that was a very important point where I said that the way to get out of it now
1:07:48I mean, the way you got into Vietnam was through murder in Vietnam.
1:07:52The way you got out is not by throwing out a cube.
1:07:56And I think those, hey, can't you get some of our guys to get a hold of some of these things, Bob?
1:08:02There are some things like that.
1:08:03Goddamn it, get them off their bus and they can do this.
1:08:06They've got to fight.
1:08:07They just can't say, well, the person's off next week.
1:08:09I'm not going out next week.
1:08:11I mean, you coming out fighting yesterday, it gives one really a sense of awe about the power of the presidency, because...
1:08:18It does.
1:08:18It's got to be followed up.
1:08:20It's got to be followed up, but I really thought...
1:08:23I have to be...
1:08:24I thought that if we got into another one of these retreating actions, where we'd have to explain why this deadline wouldn't work, it'd kill us.
1:08:35But by what you said, you've gone on the offensive,
1:08:40I think it's going to save the domestic situation in Saigon, if it can be saved.
1:08:45And that, in turn, is going to help us.
1:08:47All the other questions will not be picked up on us.
1:08:52It gets your little boys to do this, too.
1:08:57I mean, two-thirds of the countries in the world, did you see that picked up in England?
1:09:02I didn't.
1:09:04Uh, yeah.
1:09:05Two that we put off aid to a country because it doesn't have a leader elected in the next election.
1:09:11Two that we put off aid, including about, uh, about 30 countries that are animals.
1:09:22That last point didn't come up well.
1:09:24The other point I want to make, I want to tell you, I'm not going to state off the hook on those 30.
1:09:31Here's what I want.
1:09:32So that they don't give me the other country.
1:09:36I want a simple election.
1:09:39I'll let you know.
1:09:41On the last election, they gave me in the case of each country.
1:09:48on the last election, the percentage of the vote received by the head of government and the percentage of the vote received by all others who ran.
1:09:58It was a parliamentary system.
1:10:00Percentage of vote received by the heads of government's party had the percentage of vote received by the other party.
1:10:06That's all.
1:10:07That's a simple budget.
1:10:08Those Congressmen are never going to be able to buzz out of that.
1:10:11I'll get that.
1:10:12All the money that they have misled us.
1:10:14Oh, I can't name 31 countries, Mr. President.
1:10:17You just don't like it, do you?
1:10:20But I was impressed.
1:10:32This was Stuart Hensley and who's the other guy, Gulick?
1:10:39Hensley.
1:10:39Yeah, they were both good.
1:10:41And these are tough crows.
1:10:42And I went on the attack.
1:10:45And they were feeding me questions, really, no cynicism at all.
1:10:52I said, what is the president trying to do?
1:10:55He's trying to get the country out with dignity.
1:10:59Most of his opponents are screaming because they know he's getting out, and they're taking a free ride on it.
1:11:05Yeah.
1:11:18I'll see you later.
1:11:19Drugs.
1:11:19Drugs.
1:11:20I've got a lot more to say.
1:11:21The most typical thing on this planet is a black hole.
1:11:27Minority of this planet has black holes.
1:11:31Black, black, black.
1:11:32This is a black hole.
1:11:33I don't know what it takes to get in and out on a subject.
1:11:35The point is that the reason he's being drugged is to fill it up.
1:11:48and he's supposedly wants to raise a question about racism.
1:11:52I mean, I want you to know that I am really not, really not an anarchist, as I understood it, but he's, in fact, I mean, he told her in the reference section, but I'm not gonna explain it.
1:12:02Screw him.
1:12:02I'm not gonna do it to you anyway.
1:12:04That's good.
1:12:06And you?
1:12:07I'm not gonna tell him that.
1:12:08He's the one that's gonna set up the next thing if anything comes up on that.
1:12:14Yeah.
1:12:19Okay, well you, will you arrange this meeting now?
1:12:23Yeah.
1:12:23Yeah, that it is.
1:12:25The attack is going to be, the assault is going to be made on the other fronts.
1:12:32What are they doing on the street?
1:12:32The gold thing there.
1:12:33How are you?
1:12:33I'm sorry, how are you?
1:12:34How are your travels?
1:12:34Oh, all right.
1:12:34All right.
1:12:35So, I understand you saw that video.
1:12:35Yes, I did.
1:12:35Yes, I did.
1:12:36I was just saying that I got on good with the old gentleman by telling him what a beautiful place he had that.
1:12:38Yes.
1:12:58I didn't see that.
1:13:00Well, it is a beautiful place.
1:13:02And my boy stood me all around and said, I did this, I did that.
1:13:08He said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said,

Nixon, Haldeman & Kissinger on Public Relations and Vietnam War

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