Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 659-010
Date: Friday, January 28, 1972 at 2:24 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Bull, Stephen B.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/659-010

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[3:16:02] Say, are the Conways invited tonight?
[3:16:04] Yes.
[3:16:05] I wonder if they're coming.
[3:16:06] They are.
[3:16:07] Well, he's sick today, I think.
[3:16:09] The flu.
[3:16:10] The flu.
[3:16:10] Is that what it is?
[3:16:12] And Mr. Weyerhaeuser.
[3:16:32] Mrs. Connolly, if she calls and says they can't come, tell her to come, that others are coming.
[3:16:49] I know you like W&U Tech, you can photograph it.
[3:16:56] Yes.
[3:17:03] It's apparently an epidemic state in parts of the country.
[3:17:13] Do you have time to think a little bit about your case tonight?
[3:17:24] Would you like to think about it?
[3:17:27] I'm sorry, the wall at the Threshing's home suggested that my drunk fellow might be at the table with Mrs. Wallace.
[3:17:32] No?
[3:17:33] Mrs. Wallace, she's with me.
[3:17:38] Oh, fine.
[3:17:39] You can have my drunk fellow.
[3:17:43] He's fine.
[3:17:46] So if she likes him, how do you know?
[3:17:48] Well, they're invited because they suggested it.
[3:17:52] I guess they work together on those things.
[3:17:53] But don't get me wrong.
[3:17:55] The Lindberghs,
[3:17:57] The host.
[3:17:58] Would you like Bob Wolf at your table?
[3:18:01] It passed.
[3:18:01] Well?
[3:18:02] It passed.
[3:18:03] Wait a minute.
[3:18:11] He is such a celebrity, or was he going to be at another table or something?
[3:18:16] Lucy was thinking of, and I agree with her, putting him in that center table with Mrs. Connelly as the host of that table and have Bob close to that table.
[3:18:24] Right.
[3:18:30] For me, I just don't know where I correspond.
[3:18:34] You want Mrs. Waller here?
[3:18:38] Yeah.
[3:18:40] She should be at my table.
[3:18:49] Well, put someone there who also dominates us.
[3:18:51] We won't put her right next to you, though.
[3:18:54] Oh, no.
[3:18:54] Yes.
[3:18:55] Let's put Mrs. Waller on your right and her on your left.
[3:18:58] Sure.
[3:19:01] That's going to be a very entertaining evening, isn't it?
[3:19:08] We have a teenager in your scene, and she'll take more of the load off when you grow up, actually.
[3:19:18] Fine.
[3:19:18] It's sort of funny this, because, you know, at the last minute, there's quite a few.
[3:19:21] We don't even have one senator or congressman now, and we've had quite a few.
[3:19:27] Um...
[3:19:29] And we're going to put, you know, Billy Graham has to be the table of his own and peel, I think, don't you?
[3:19:35] I don't think they should be.
[3:19:38] Because they're big enough to keep the table going.
[3:19:40] What about Lionel Henson?
[3:19:44] I don't suppose you want him or even yours at Pat's table?
[3:19:46] He's young and he could do that.
[3:19:47] Pat's table.
[3:19:57] And do you think Steve Royce is apparently a very good friend of DeWitt Wallace?
[3:20:02] Steve Royce is a...
[3:20:03] He used to be out at the Huntington.
[3:20:06] Fine.
[3:20:06] I'm sure he's fine.
[3:20:07] Okay.
[3:20:10] And I don't know, maybe she might like, well, either Jenna Lindbergh or maybe Chris, maybe she'd like Crescent Myers or two.
[3:20:15] Or he's big enough to be at a table by himself, too.
[3:20:28] No, he's not very good at talking.
[3:20:30] He is, but he's smart and he won't talk.
[3:20:37] I don't know if there are any other women here, but you need to quiet them down.
[3:20:43] Well, if you have Alice and DeWitt, you don't need any talky ones.
[3:20:48] Well, you don't have DeWitt.
[3:20:50] You've got a lot of Mrs. Lawson.
[3:20:51] Mrs. and Alice, you see.
[3:20:52] Well, how about putting maybe Mrs. Rawlins there?
[3:20:56] Or Mrs. Lockheed.
[3:20:58] Go for it.
[3:21:16] We've got Harold Kellner, Keith Bunsen, Tom Patterson, Alan Wallace.
[3:21:21] You've got to have him.
[3:21:22] No, not Wallace.
[3:21:24] It might be a really good name for men.
[3:21:28] Well, you've got just yourself.
[3:21:29] Oh, you could put Bunsen.
[3:21:30] Bunsen's all right.
[3:21:31] You know, you've just got yourself a lot of trouble.
[3:21:34] What about George Tenney?
[3:21:37] He's just a little sick.
[3:21:37] He's always going to be hitting me.
[3:21:40] I know.
[3:21:40] Always.
[3:21:46] don't mean a hell of a lot.
[3:21:48] And either of mine or Pat's one of the two.
[3:21:52] You know, he's likely to be better than Pat's, so that he doesn't do... Or anything, anything.
[3:21:57] I just don't want to... Well, he may not think that there are a lot of other people much more important than all those other people.
[3:22:05] And, uh, but in my people, the function's fine.
[3:22:08] I'm just, I'm trying to, you know, he's kind of an older corporation now, so...
[3:22:19] Martin Hayden, you wouldn't want him on your table.
[3:22:24] Yes, he'd be fine.
[3:22:27] Yes, he'd be fine.
[3:22:29] Because it's hard to pick out one man.
[3:22:31] Yes, it's fine.
[3:22:31] Of course, maybe you were making a mistake.
[3:22:35] I don't think so.
[3:22:36] I'm sure I'm talking all right.
[3:22:37] Sure.
[3:22:37] He's hurt.
[3:22:38] They haven't been here before.
[3:22:40] he could be i don't mind but he doesn't need to be he can be he's a great father yeah put him in the table now that's enough that you got him
[3:23:05] Well, you could, yourself and Mrs. Lawler, and Lyons are from Mrs. Lawler.
[3:23:11] Mark and Hayden would be five, and then we'll take...
[3:23:14] There's six of each, so twelve?
[3:23:18] Eight, I guess.
[3:23:19] Eight.
[3:23:20] Give me these people.
[3:23:21] You want four men?
[3:23:23] We need three men besides me.
[3:23:26] Well, why don't the others want... And Hayden and the Mary and Ethel are seven.
[3:23:30] That's good.
[3:23:39] And you know, now, the way people have understood it, there's even, there's going to be an uneven number, and I'd be an extra woman.
[3:23:45] So I don't really think I ought to go.
[3:23:47] I'll come in later for the entertainment.
[3:23:49] Oh, you know, what's the difference between the two?
[3:23:54] Well, extra women at least, and there's a change in the next.
[3:23:59] You know, they, it's down to 91 now.
[3:24:05] And you just can't invite outside people, you know, like we couldn't.
[3:24:08] We got these calls yesterday and today.
[3:24:21] Do you know who we were when Mrs. Mila Ting was, T-Y-A-G?
[3:24:27] She's Henry Luce's first wife.
[3:24:30] She's the mother of Hank Lewis and was a good friend of Ben.
[3:24:33] She's coming.
[3:24:35] I'll write that out on a note.
[3:24:36] I just now found out who else she was.
[3:24:38] I asked Hope.
[3:24:48] That's fine.
[3:24:49] Okay, well, Lucy just wanted to have your table be thorough.
[3:24:52] It would be wonderful.
[3:24:53] Sure.
[3:24:53] Fine.
[3:24:54] Fine.
[3:24:59] Well, there are two inches of snow in Kent this morning.
[3:25:04] Oh, really?
[3:25:05] I bet it was.
[3:25:06] Was it quite cold up there?
[3:25:23] It was cold last night, but I, of course, I missed my house.
[3:25:33] It was nice.
[3:25:33] It was a good break.
[3:25:36] Good break.
[3:25:36] Just to be... Well, just to get away, I guess we're not even... Out of here.
[3:25:43] Really get there and spend here.
[3:25:44] Well, yeah, it's just good sometimes to be able to look out across the country.
[3:25:47] God, this is a wonderful place.
[3:25:50] You know, I have no complaints about it.
[3:25:52] Yeah.
[3:25:53] It was nice.
[3:25:55] That building was very pretty.
[3:25:58] They restored it, you know, to the old high ceilings and stuff.
[3:26:02] They read a nice letter from you.
[3:26:04] Chief Justice was there.
[3:26:07] It was very, very, very nice.
[3:26:10] And I saw John and Ollie Volpe at an earlier thing.
[3:26:21] I told him you were at home.
[3:26:23] And he said, this is the third time the son's been in the hospital.
[3:26:25] And he had changed his mind.
[3:26:28] And I told him that you had mentioned calling, but we thought maybe later we'd see how it's going along.
[3:26:34] He said, oh, that's right.
[3:26:36] And I said, if you get to this point, you know, if you make a call with helping me, that's the point.
[3:26:41] So you let me know because the president wanted to call him.
[3:26:44] And we thought we should wait and talk with you first.
[3:26:50] Good, you've done it right.
[3:26:55] Incidentally, when you're thinking of dinner lists sometimes, a burger's always a good one to have on, so why don't you see it?
[3:27:09] Just a very good sign.
[3:27:10] Well, this list, I take no blame for, because I didn't do it, but this is done by Hall and Schultz, and it doesn't have as much liquid in my hand.
[3:27:20] Because we're too many of the same people.
[3:27:22] How many have been here six, seven, eight times?
[3:27:27] And like, we've got so darn many people who have done more than friendly quarreling to a hater, and they're back again.
[3:27:32] They weren't the ones who requested the walls.
[3:27:39] They were put on by tax drivers.
[3:27:49] There are a couple things that I think you might not be aware of.
[3:27:52] Sam's written a very nice letter.
[3:27:54] And here's a memo back from Erlandson on that.
[3:27:56] He will write the memo.
[3:27:58] But I think you ought to read it.
[3:27:59] He said that he wanted to push it with John Rachel.
[3:28:03] Yeah, John, yes.
[3:28:08] You don't want to see this.
[3:28:10] Grant sent a copy of the letter he wrote to John Connolly on it.
[3:28:17] I don't think so.
[3:28:18] Unacquainted, that's better.
[3:28:20] Unacquainted.
[3:28:23] The tattoo of John Connery, unacquainted, was initiated by his recent visit to the Buckeye Commission.
[3:28:30] So that's John Rumsdorff, is that right?
[3:28:33] Rumsdorff, exactly, yeah.
[3:28:36] Is that alright by this?
[3:28:37] Yeah.
[3:28:37] I think what he's usually in California.
[3:28:59] Well, in our text, he's written... My idea is that Laurie would probably have a cop-out to him out there.
[3:29:05] You know, he'd probably want to give him the cash.
[3:29:08] He might.
[3:29:09] But he needs personal basis.
[3:29:14] We were out in California.
[3:29:16] He's done all the things, but...
[3:29:18] I already said I didn't think you could do it, but Kenny Ball wrote the letter, and Clint Harris wrote about it to me.
[3:29:23] What did he write?
[3:29:24] Well, he had to put your name on a fundraising campaign to raise $10,000.
[3:29:27] And I said, oh, you can't get a president's name on something like that.
[3:29:32] So I just...
[3:29:33] Yes, I had to put my name on any blogger.
[3:29:41] And if you're reading over the weekend...
[3:29:44] I've heard from him for years.
[3:29:46] She's known in New York.
[3:29:47] And an interesting one from Irv Davidson.
[3:30:02] Oh, very good.
[3:30:03] The lobbyists are in the meeting.
[3:30:04] Yeah, but the letter's about a talk he had with George Meany, his wife, on an airplane.
[3:30:08] I mean, the memo.
[3:30:10] And so I think you ought to read it if you have the chance at all.
[3:30:13] Put it in my little...
[3:30:15] In my little thing?
[3:30:16] Yes, sir.
[3:30:17] And then there's a letter to you from Franklin about European community, et cetera, and, you know, a lot of things.
[3:30:28] I think maybe you might hear that.
[3:30:29] Hear that?
[3:30:30] Hear that?
[3:30:32] For their response, I think I know what it is.
[3:30:37] Yeah, I would like to have it filed.
[3:30:40] I'll read it and see what it is.
[3:30:43] Yeah, I've got another.
[3:30:46] Yeah, like when you put those red folders, I'd like to take them.
[3:30:49] Then I get them in a helicopter or something.
[3:30:52] It's just the best thing to do.
[3:30:56] And then I don't, I feel that I'm not going to use the time very well, and it's good relaxation.
[3:31:01] And then I read them all, and it's very helpful to have them do it.
[3:31:05] It gives me a little feel of the man, which I need to get.
[3:31:07] Yeah, unless you run into these people or anything.
[3:31:10] Oh, my gosh.
[3:31:11] They like to know these things.
[3:31:12] Now, I don't know if you want to answer that dinner this late and invite any of the others.
[3:31:23] I don't think we can do that very well now.
[3:31:31] I wonder if one of the circumstances that Wallace, the Wallaces and us, really wouldn't be better off tonight as Idlewants than our talk to these people particularly now.
[3:31:48] Should we more move out?
[3:31:51] I don't know, I don't think so.
[3:31:55] I think they've set it up not to.
[3:31:56] They've set it up, I think, to bring those people in.
[3:31:58] They're getting treated royally.
[3:32:00] They're going to duplicate the dinner over there or do something.
[3:32:06] They'll be brought in and be put, seated in the east row for the entertainment.
[3:32:10] I don't think you need to take care of those people.
[3:32:15] I thought you were going to say entertainment would be better if you and Pat and the Wallacians were at one table.
[3:32:25] What do you think?
[3:32:26] I thought...
[3:32:27] I don't know.
[3:32:32] I don't know what you said.
[3:32:41] I wondered, I think it isn't that way, that we just shouldn't be in sort of like a head table.
[3:32:48] It isn't too late that you put just a... No, I mean, leave it around.
[3:32:53] Leave it around the table.
[3:32:54] Around the table, but...
[3:32:55] I think it might be kind of nice for the wall.
[3:33:02] Yeah, it's nice for them.
[3:33:03] They're being honored.
[3:33:04] He gets a chance to hear me talk, which he wants.
[3:33:06] Otherwise, I'm not going to have, she's not going to have this.
[3:33:08] I won't have breakfast with her.
[3:33:10] I'll be up and going.
[3:33:14] Let's all sit at the same table for a change.
[3:33:16] Well, I'll call Lucy now and tell her that.
[3:33:18] I think it would be good.
[3:33:19] No, that's what I hear about.
[3:33:21] Just leave the people at the table.
[3:33:23] I still think I'd have Mr. Longworth.
[3:33:29] You wouldn't?
[3:33:31] I wouldn't, but maybe you would.
[3:33:32] I think she's trying to take over a little too much of all of us.
[3:33:36] Well, all right.
[3:33:37] Maybe.
[3:33:37] Maybe Pat would like her, too.
[3:33:46] Would you still put Martin Hayden?
[3:33:48] You wouldn't put Martin Hayden there, then, would you?
[3:33:50] Well, I don't know what other... You just gotta remove one man, so which one do you remove?
[3:33:55] Leave Lawrence Rockefeller, who else?
[3:33:57] He's a little bit boring, but... Is he?
[3:34:00] Oh, yes.
[3:34:01] Don't put him by himself.
[3:34:04] He likes him.
[3:34:04] Right, fine.
[3:34:07] And maybe we shouldn't do it.
[3:34:08] Oh, yes, fine, fine.
[3:34:09] But we've got to let Rockefeller regret it.
[3:34:11] He isn't gonna be... That's fine, fine.
[3:34:14] governor maybe then i don't know who's our other person the mayor of indiana steve royce lionel hansen general lindbergh
[3:34:44] I don't think I'm sure, but it looked like he was there before they caught him.
[3:34:47] He was gonna be across the line or something like that.
[3:34:51] He's coming along.
[3:35:00] Got them all paid.
[3:35:01] These are all compacts.
[3:35:04] I really wrote as much as I love them.
[3:35:06] I've seen them all so many times I haven't got a hell of a lot to talk to you about right now, you know.
[3:35:10] You can overdo that.
[3:35:14] I couldn't agree more.
[3:35:18] It's about power and business and, you know, being in love.
[3:35:22] Well, don't worry about too much, uh...
[3:35:29] I don't think we should put the comments there.
[3:35:32] I don't know whether Lindbergh may have thought of Alice.
[3:35:35] I don't know, maybe Alice.
[3:35:47] You know, I think you may be right.
[3:35:48] Alice was on the conversation very much.
[3:35:50] I don't want to hear more from me.
[3:35:53] Well, that's very nice.
[3:35:54] She had the way of trying to take over.
[3:35:56] I put her at another table where she can sort of be the grand dame.
[3:36:01] Where is it?
[3:36:03] And, uh, so then you have Wallace's and ourself, there's four.
[3:36:07] How many do you need?
[3:36:08] Four more?
[3:36:09] He hasn't gone to eat two other couples, right?
[3:36:11] Right.
[3:36:12] And we won't make them any man-like.
[3:36:13] Yeah, that's right.
[3:36:15] Well, our drug caller's okay, and we've got to get him.
[3:36:22] All right, hey.
[3:36:24] He's done.
[3:36:27] He's done.
[3:36:28] Her doctor, who saved your life, is going to be here.
[3:36:31] Are they very fond of that Dr. Howard Rask?
[3:36:33] She's very fond of Dr. Peter Manning, president of Juilliard School.
[3:36:37] Well, I have, uh...
[3:36:38] I know, but I shouldn't ask you, except I hate him.
[3:36:47] Are you bored to death?
[3:36:48] No, I'm not bothered.
[3:36:49] I can think about it.
[3:36:50] Or I'll just put anybody in there.
[3:36:52] I don't really care.
[3:36:54] But, uh...
[3:36:54] I hate Lindbergh, so okay.
[3:36:59] Of course, of course, he's a hell of a celebrity.
[3:37:01] He's all right here for you.
[3:37:02] He doesn't carry a table.
[3:37:04] I think he'll talk about himself about carrying a table.
[3:37:09] He can't carry a table with somebody else there with him.
[3:37:15] But I would say that the, I certainly think he could put, I think Howard Rust is okay.
[3:37:24] That's all right.
[3:37:25] That's all right.
[3:37:26] That's all right.
[3:37:27] That's all right.
[3:37:31] Well... No, I don't give a damn about the women.
[3:37:35] We could put... We could put Mrs. Rawlinson, Mrs. Mulcahy, if you want, or somebody else.
[3:37:43] They're fine.
[3:37:44] That kind of person is fine.
[3:37:45] Yeah, we could put...
[3:37:47] Sometimes we could put Mrs. Bob Post there.
[3:37:48] She's great.
[3:37:49] Put her at the table.
[3:37:51] Laura's home.
[3:37:52] But that's coming a long way.
[3:37:54] Right, right.
[3:37:55] That's fine.
[3:37:58] And maybe, uh, I don't know, that Mrs. Dan Seymour, J. Moses Thompson?
[3:38:03] No.
[3:38:03] Duh.
[3:38:04] Except by her, it's something more than that.
[3:38:09] No.
[3:38:09] What's Jane Sutbridge's wife like?
[3:38:12] Um, you asked me to labor, they won't want to labor.
[3:38:14] Oh, but they're against labor.
[3:38:16] Oh, what about Mrs. King, Mrs. Liz Harrington-Lewis's first wife?
[3:38:20] Sure, got her.
[3:38:24] They were supposed to be, you know, very, very good friends, so...
[3:38:27] I really think, though, that something like that was not done with that one.
[3:38:40] Hell no, I go...
[3:39:12] Maybe Julie's right.
[3:39:29] The letter to me that I've already written.
[3:39:31] I know it's a very nice letter, but I don't know what to do with this damn thing.
[3:39:37] I don't know either.
[3:39:38] What do you think?
[3:39:39] Do you care about him?
[3:39:40] Yes.
[3:39:40] He's in a private meeting in the bathroom.
[3:39:42] It's about 3 o'clock.