Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on Vietnam War and Presidential rhetoric

49:12Why don't we get up there, you know, to acknowledge this?
49:26Before I do this work, I want to say...
50:08It's moving to the editorials and the columns, which is what you'd expect to happen.
50:13What reactions have you had?
50:17I was wondering if it might be useful, if you have not done so, to get a broader judgment.
50:26And maybe college, doesn't it?
50:30That's true.
50:31Maybe it would be useful to see what I had as the push that Sidney is getting from, or has gotten from.
50:47For that thing.
50:48I think what I'm trying to do is to see what, I mean, see what my, I mean, tomorrow's,
50:58If you talk to Bill or anybody of that type... Talk to Bill, I haven't talked to Sonny about this.
51:03Why are you talking to Bill?
51:06Oh, well, I wasn't in my mind.
51:10On the country thing, if he had given me an idea, I said, I think it would be a good thing for him to visit some countries afterwards to inform them of China.
51:19Give me a job.
51:20Give me a list of things.
51:22I know what the Henry thing in Europe is.
51:23It's the builder of the Congress.
51:26For God's sake.
51:27He always goes to it.
51:29He's been going to it.
51:30He went up to it in Canada.
51:33Yeah, he's been going to it for 20 years.
51:34No, it's up in New England here.
51:36Yeah, it's going to be in Vienna or some damn place.
51:38It's going to be all the way up.
51:39All the way up to the Americans.
51:42That's right.
51:42It's going to be in New England.
51:46He's going up to Europe.
51:47And he's been invited to the Gap and has been.
51:51Yeah.
51:51And so I'd like to go to Europe, is what he said.
51:53And make this a day over.
51:54Do you know what I mean?
52:00for the second minute to the Build-A-Bird Conference.
52:03But that's the only thing that's on his schedule.
52:05In fact, it's invitations, because he's not going to be letting me play.
52:08He's accepted none.
52:09And that was the first of the ensemble.
52:13He's been invited to Japan.
52:14He's not decided anything about that yet.
52:17He's going to wait until after he gets back.
52:21He's been invited over there to do something at a university.
52:26In Japan.
52:27But we decided not to do that yet.
52:29But I think it would be, as I said before, very useful for Bill to do Latin American countries or anything else he wants.
52:35You see the thing that they sent the vice president, someone announced the vice president was going to Japan.
52:39I don't think we've got that scheduled either, is that?
52:42Correct.
52:42Why is he going?
52:43I don't know, but I think he'd be good for a pretty good ride over there.
52:50Like if he got ridden on a ride?
52:51Is that what you mean?
52:53Yeah.
52:54A huge old bill, that's got to be checked out.
52:59He's got to check her name with it.
53:02The old bill, I think it's, I have no concern at all.
53:12That will avoid my having to breed people and so forth.
53:17We've got to think very, very carefully about what kind of breeding to do, of having that for, you know, everybody wants about the giant shrimp, and he's got some ideas on the mind.
53:30He just wants to cut Henry out, I don't know what he thinks he ought to do.
53:38He had several ideas.
53:41His thoughts were on the South American line, to the NAO meeting, which he has to go to, and then he's got sent to a CTO meeting, so he picked those up.
53:50Then he was thinking about the Romanians, and you could sponsor a book, and then wondering whether he should do that in America.
54:02Fine, fine.
54:02I think all those are very lively, very good.
54:05They're fine.
54:05You should, you should, the cart, obviously, the needle and so forth.
54:09Yeah, we'll come and see if you can get any remains on him, and if he was locked in, I see no problem at all.
54:44He seems to think, at least the impression I get, it's a little hard for me to get a reaction, because they don't want to say anything.
55:04I think maybe we ought to get someone else to ask, because...
55:15It was funny, last night I went to this premiere of Nicholas Southend, and I was, you know, an invitation, thanks to a lot of people.
55:24It was here in Washington, a movie theater.
55:26It's a movie, a new epic movie on the... Oh, I saw it.
55:31You mean with Raskin?
55:33Yeah.
55:33We saw it on the floor.
55:35Did you?
55:36Well, I had the Washington premiere of it last night.
55:38Everybody was there.
55:40And it was amazing.
55:42The sense of experience, as it is, a number of people during their mission that made a point of coming all the way across the theater or something to come up to me and say, thank God you said something.
55:53And I'm sure Pete said, don't let them back you off of it.
55:57But people like Betty Neal who was sitting behind me.
56:01Oh, uh...
56:03When she gets back, I want to ask her about something I had talked about earlier tonight.
56:12She poked me in the back, and she said, I have you in my bedroom every morning now, and all I can say is it's just a damn good thing somebody's saying sometimes.
56:23And a lot of our OB shows practically tears in her eyes.
56:27She came running up through the crowd, and she said,
56:31I saw that Monday morning.
56:33It made me feel good again.
56:35I feel like a little remote once again.
56:38I'm certainly positive.
56:40The negatives are the ones we have to recognize.
56:42The Democrats wheel, the American crimes, the press release.
57:39I was pretty godlike responsible.
57:43In fact, a lot of our people thought you were responsible.
57:48I remember a great frustration.
58:16It probably is.
58:17Wouldn't call me.
58:19I think.
58:19Pretty good.
58:21Yeah.
58:22You ask him.
58:23Yeah.
58:23Roger would.
58:24I think maybe Rogers would too.
58:26I haven't talked to him this morning.
58:27Let me see what he thinks after last night.
58:31And today's news and so on.
58:36They've shifted the ground now.
58:37They've started into a pattern that the Washington Post editorial...
59:01And Rogers.
59:02Rogers hit, and Ziegler hit, and I hit, and Agnew.
59:06Agnew hit, yeah, they keep bringing his.
59:08He was the first one.
59:09What the hell did he say?
59:10He said something about the, just what he should have said.
59:13I forget, he had one of them standard lines that we gave him.
59:17Right, exactly right.
59:19So what did they say?
59:20They're looking for a sellout or something.
59:23They are.
59:24I probably know he said the best piece.
59:26He hit it really hard.
59:29True.
59:29Sure.
59:31And, uh, so they're saying that he, the secretary, and Sigler, and me, that, uh, this is an orchestrated thing to, uh, get them on board.
59:42Well, let me read something to you.
59:44Well, let me say something.
59:44I think I'm going to do this.
59:48I'm going to let everybody see it.
59:49They have something to do with it, aren't they?
1:00:09It's bad, but it's cute.
1:00:12I guess I'm just... And for me, it's satisfying.
1:00:27Hell, I'm sure that...
1:00:29I'm sure as far as the rate of crisis concerns is concerned, and Sapphire, probably have gotten rid of at least with the...
1:00:43I think it's bad, but I'm not concerned about that.
1:00:46I'm just quite at it with it.
1:00:48I saw Sands last night.
1:00:50He was very enthusiastic about the rest of it.
1:00:53He said you made some good points in the speech, and it was very good to go into the China foreign policy business.
1:01:14Coffee read his speech yesterday at lunch, and Stan said, this is the first time I've seen him read the speech, and he was kind of anxious.
1:01:25Let me turn it over to you now.
1:01:28This has been our longest and most difficult war.
1:01:30It began long before I became president, and I have been doing everything I can to end it honorably.
1:01:46Almost one-half million men hang in Vietnam.
1:01:50Catch the panel.
1:01:56We're answering for the week for being killed by the National Army took office, this week there were two.
1:02:00We've reduced air service fees, budgeted for our strata costs.
1:02:04We have made the most generous peace offer in the history of warfare.
1:02:08I have no complaint over the fact that during this period when I have been ending a war I did not begin, I have been subjected to unprecedented criticism.
1:02:17I do not question the patriotism and the sincerity of those who disagree with my policy to bring peace.
1:02:23As I said in 1968, when I was a candidate for president, we have only one president at a time.
1:02:28Only the president can negotiate an end to the war.
1:02:31Let there be free debate and vigorous criticism so that our policy will represent the best thinking of our nation.
1:02:37But a candidate for president has a higher responsibility than the ordinary great.
1:02:40A candidate should make any criticism he believes would contribute to bringing on for peace
1:02:47But I would hope that each presidential candidate would examine his statements carefully to be sure that nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive to wallow in war and flash the election.
1:02:59Let us seek peace with all our might, but let us be united in our determination to seek peace without surrender.
1:03:06Trust in the United States among the 45 nations which we have truly committed is essential to peace and freedom that can be preserved in the world.
1:03:13We are ending the war in Vietnam in a way which will not destroy that trust.
1:03:26That's what Scali wanted to do in his statement thing yesterday, but does it without backing down.
1:03:38Actually...
1:03:39Now, what would happen out of that is, if they picked it up, what should it have been?
1:03:46Maybe Nixon joins the orchestrated attack or something.
1:03:56Because it attacks presidential candidates for selling out to the enemy or something.
1:04:00I do not question patriotism or sincerity, but I disagree with my policies.
1:04:06I get my point across there, but very few have used.
1:04:08You know what I mean?
1:04:09I did this, or you know what, I split that and that.
1:04:13And I just thought there'd be three or eight of the biggest criticisms of our policy.
1:04:19But a candidate for president has a higher responsibility than an ordinary critic.
1:04:23A candidate should make any criticism that he believes would contribute to breaking off the peace.
1:04:29But I would hope that each presidential candidate would examine his statement carefully, to be sure that nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive to prolong the war and revive the election.
1:04:41But it's the monkey on their back.
1:04:43You see, that's the point of that.
1:04:45I think that's the thing.
1:04:47I think it's got to be left there at that point, because you've got to realize that
1:04:53We are building the case here for something very important.
1:04:57We're building the case, putting the blame on them if they don't have it.
1:05:01Dan Ryan?
1:05:08I don't want to, I don't want to shop this around, because I don't want Dan.
1:05:12Dan Ryan.
1:05:18You know, you have, in something you were giving us earlier, you had a great line that we've used, but it hasn't gotten any play picked up, as the other way of saying, quote, prolong the war, which you say there, which was postpone the peace, which is in a way a more hopeful, because it's, if money fit right here on there, that would prolong the war, or like say, candidate,
1:05:46It's not doing anything to prolong the war till after the election.
1:05:49Postpone the beat.
1:05:50I don't know that I...
1:05:59I'm sorry, Mr. Red.
1:06:00I know.
1:06:01Be sure that nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive.
1:06:09Maybe it's better to prolong the war there.
1:06:16The other thing is whether we want to put the thing in terms of surrender or in terms of turning over Vietnam to the communists.
1:06:30I have a feeling we have a stronger thing on the communists than we do on surrender.
1:06:35I don't know why, in fact.
1:06:37We're almost getting to the point where surrender is honorable.
1:06:43Where they want surrender.
1:06:45Or let's put it the other way, where surrender is a code word to victory.
1:06:50God just didn't want that Nicholas and Alexandra in the currency of today's times, you know, when they kept saying we'll go, Kerensky and Mazar both saying we'll go for victory.
1:07:00And people kind of, you know, in our time, victory is a dishonorable thing, you know.
1:07:08This has a long, very, very stagnant share.
1:07:13It's sure that I put in there that, you know, I have no complaint over the fact that this is a very good, this is a top-down line that needs to finally be set.
1:07:22And by me, it's about the fact that I have no complaint over the fact that during this period, when I have been ending the war, I did not begin.
1:07:30I have been subjecting unprecedented criticism.
1:07:35Correct?
1:07:44Because we have been handed the query department, and all the partners who already made it have been handed it, correct?
1:07:54And you say I don't question the patriotism and sincerity of those who disagree with my policy.
1:07:59That way I have, for the press, I'm trying to cover that.
1:08:01They say, what about the sincerity?
1:08:03See, that's the only thing.
1:08:04It's just that I'm not correct.
1:08:05I've covered that.
1:08:07What question?
1:08:10Patriotism and sincerity.
1:08:19I'm sorry for the state to bring an honorable piece, though.
1:08:23Oh, yeah.
1:08:25The difficulty is, if you start turning over the comment, it has the... Yeah.
1:08:30It has the cohort, you know, uh... Yeah, then if you are, I mean, if you've got a... Or you can say it without turning over the comment.
1:08:44Oh, no.
1:08:44See, that's fine.
1:08:49Maybe it's without abandoning.
1:08:50It's not abandoning.
1:08:56Then you get an emeritus.
1:08:56I think you're better off just the way you are.
1:08:58See, that's the thing that bothered me about Scali's statement.
1:09:03It got back to putting it on the framework of the argument of the POWs versus the president, too.
1:09:11And that's the last argument.
1:09:12I agree with him.
1:09:13Ron's absolutely right.
1:09:14That's the wicket on which we want to be finished, or we don't end up
1:09:19For there, you don't have much support from the American people.
1:09:22I don't think it's against prisoners of war.
1:09:25On the other hand, it's hard for even the mother of a prisoner of war to get the United States to surrender.
1:09:36That's right.
1:09:37It's different.
1:09:39You're not going for victory.
1:09:41You're going for peace with honor and without surrender.
1:09:48It has to be said.
1:09:53I think by you that nobody can argue or quarrel with that.
1:10:09I'm going to say this in
1:10:12If I say this in answer to a question, then they will continue to grow and grow, and I know a little bit of a thing.
1:10:25If I say it however today, it's just part of the speech.
1:10:28I've covered that yesterday in my mind.
1:10:31Cover it thoroughly.
1:10:32Yeah, but you're in an office press conference.
1:10:34You don't have to worry about it.
1:10:35I have another thing to say about it.
1:10:37I have another thing to say about it.
1:10:40You couldn't do that on television.
1:10:41That's my point.
1:10:42You have to answer it again.
1:10:45But in the office, you don't, because they have to be present to be with what you've covered.
1:10:57Sure, they can pick out the...
1:10:59I mean, I agree they can pick out the one thing...
1:11:02Thank you for watching!
1:11:22And I put it in a way, I would hope that each presidential candidate would examine his state of concern.
1:11:29Does that track you into endorsing all of that?
1:11:34I know you didn't, but you see, what the editorials write is they say it's patriotism.
1:11:42What they should do now, which is much more cleverer,
1:12:03And I gave them, it was my fault, I gave them the opportunity to say, yes, they're all playing, but I would accuse them of treason.
1:12:10That's the reason the Patriots were so just right.
1:12:13Yeah, you're repudiating me on that, which is good.
1:12:15That's the thing, I want to keep them on this issue.
1:12:18But keep them on the... You're saying they are aiding the enemy.
1:12:23Absolutely.
1:12:25But you're saying it's not a treasonable...
1:12:26They're not doing it with treasonable intent.
1:12:33And I just don't think you want to get locked into a thing where you're accusing them of treason the way I am now.
1:12:41It's illegal, that's what.
1:12:43And that's the opposite of that.
1:12:46Except for this, that you can't leave it out if you do it.
1:12:50The one line you have there, let them, of course you don't.
1:12:53You say let them be sure, they're not.
1:12:55I don't mean by that, I mean if you see a presidential candidate, you say I'm just being scared.
1:13:00Are you sure?
1:13:00I mean, he says he might hit the enemy.
1:13:03Yeah.
1:13:03And I'm saying, we're all in the war.
1:13:05Yeah, that's completely different.
1:13:07I see that.
1:13:08It's a very different way of saying it.
1:13:12Yeah.
1:13:13Should we try it on Zivert?
1:13:16Yeah.
1:13:16I think he's the best one.
1:13:19And he'll keep it.
1:13:20He'll keep his mouth shut.
1:13:21And he'll be much more negative.
1:13:23He'll be very sensitive.
1:13:24He'll be as negative as anybody else on this.
1:13:29And I wrote this, but I think it's, I think, you know, I think this is a good possibility to just copy that figure.
1:14:19I believe that I'm going to have to say that tomorrow if I don't say it today.
1:14:24You know what I mean?
1:14:25I'm going to have to get at the point.
1:14:27A lot of scouts are concerned.
1:14:29I think he wanted to state that in order to get you out of it, well, he didn't want me to say anything, which I think is a point, too.
1:14:38But I don't like this business to say that I won't speak out on what you say, and that I'm pushing it to others to take the logo and all that bullshit.
1:14:46This is the goddamn truth.
1:14:49Well, in a way, isn't it better for it to rhyme in the context of the state of the world?
1:14:54We have a court and all that stuff.
1:14:57then if you do it tomorrow, it becomes an overriding lead of your press conferences, and tomorrow should be China.
1:15:04Yeah.
1:15:10That wraps up the case for having the, well, and also totally lays the groundwork for the case that they, that is their fault.
1:15:21We're late.
1:15:21You can go back.
1:15:23Anybody can go back then.
1:15:24On the basis of that.
1:15:29See you get up.
1:15:30Hi, how are you?
1:15:32Oh, last night was not better than that.
1:15:35The PTA was white.
1:15:37I said, the PTA?
1:15:38I said, that sounds like Christmas or something.
1:16:17I don't want to get Scali and everybody else in this conversation up with you here.
1:16:27I have a reason for it.
1:16:31It's that we're going to have lots of battles.
1:16:35I have a rule that I just don't want to lock up.
1:16:48I don't want people to feel that you come in and may let down somebody, or something of that sort, which is the overshadowing, you know, because I have always had the practice of standing up for my people, and not just saying a word.
1:17:14I just didn't like them coming at me that way.
1:17:25I mean, why?
1:17:27I just didn't like them coming at me that way.
1:17:39On the other hand, I've been thinking about the way this story has evolved into, you know, we had a good break yesterday.
1:17:46On the other hand, the Democrats were popping around and doing a little story in this very game about the...
1:18:04The business that we're accusing him of treason, that's the first line of blow.
1:18:16I don't think the rest of them...
1:18:17The rest of them...
1:18:19He has the ultimate case, and then he goes...
1:18:22The contacts started to separate a little bit last night.
1:18:26The Post this morning...
1:18:28The Post is now moving to what I think is the...
1:18:33the new ground, or the basic ground they'll use from here on out now, which is, there's a conservative thing here, that the vice president let it off, and the secretary hit it a little harder than you hit it, and then I took the total load, and I did the whole thing.
1:18:47Shoved it all up.
1:18:48Well, I think it's possible.
1:18:53But, my feeling is that tomorrow
1:19:04That I will be in a position of having to duck too much.
1:19:09And also, my feeling is that what I say on this will override the positive things I'm going to say on China.
1:19:22Now, the course of action is for you to say something.
1:19:27But I think that would be, if you were to go out, it would look like you're reacting to the Democrats in here as they were kind of spoken of.
1:19:35My approach, which I've talked, I've talked to, and I've been waiting for a while to read, is never to have a bunch of people parking around like this.
1:19:51In a way, you want to realize we've got these bastards.
1:19:57This isn't out.
1:20:02On a way that they aren't going to particularly be comfortable with.
1:20:08The reason that it isn't comfortable to be in a position, and probably, you know, I still come off about it, you know, of, well, what the hell are they for?
1:20:16You know, what they are for is eternal surrender.
1:20:21And they are, and they are, they are torpedoing the negotiations.
1:20:24Don't you agree that some of that, that it's to our interest to have that out?
1:20:27Because basically, right, negotiations aren't going to come off.
1:20:30They may, they may just, right, we might get a negotiation at Russia.
1:20:34That's where you want to be.
1:20:36That's what we expect to get if there's a chance for it at all.
1:20:39Maybe not.
1:20:41But if they don't, you have to read it.
1:20:43But if they don't, you say, we must lay the foundation.
1:20:47You get my point?
1:20:50You agree with that?
1:20:52It's basically an undercut, a motion of undercutting.
1:20:56Now what, after you're reading the morning things and so forth, you go with the skeleton, you think you ought to say something today.
1:21:08How do you understand?
1:21:09What I'm contemplating is something that goes much further for me to say something.
1:21:12So let me tell you how it happened one night.
1:21:19You see, I'm ancient, so I say the word, but I'm saying nothing else.
1:21:24I'm asking to be a non-philiocrat.
1:21:33Maybe God will say the word.
1:21:36And also a way to answer it so that I don't do it sort of very precisely is to put a paragraph right in there.
1:21:45Let me turn it over to you, Tom.
1:21:50This has been our longest semester of the Cold War.
1:21:53It began long before I began prison.
1:21:57And I have been doing everything I can honorably do to end it.
1:22:01I have brought almost one half million men home from Vietnam.
1:22:04As high as 300 wheat were being killed in action when I took office this week for truth.
1:22:11We reduced air servings, budget cuts, draft calls.
1:22:15We had made the most generous peace offer in the history of warfare.
1:22:20I have no complaint with the fact that during this period when I had been ending the war, I did not begin.
1:22:24I had been subjected to unprecedented criticism.
1:22:30I do not question the patriotism or the sincerity of those who disagree that my policy should bring peace.
1:22:37As I said in 1968 when I was a candidate for president, we have only one president at a time.
1:22:43Only the president can negotiate an end to the war.
1:22:47Let there be free debate and vigorous criticism so that our policy will represent the best thinking of our nation.
1:22:54A candidate for president has a higher responsibility than the ordinary great.
1:22:59A candidate should make any criticism he believes will contribute to bringing an honorable peace.
1:23:04But I would hope that each presidential candidate would examine his statements carefully to be sure that nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive to prolong the war until after the election.
1:23:21Let us seek peace with all our might, but let us be united in our determination to seek peace
1:23:34Trust in the United States among the 45 nations with which we have created commitments is essential if peace and freedom are to be preserved and worked.
1:23:42We are ending the war in Vietnam in a way which will not destroy that trust.
1:23:50That's very good.
1:23:52It's much better than me climbing around out there, and I think that puts it in the right place.
1:23:58How does it tell the sign?
1:23:59Good.
1:23:59I know.
1:24:00In the context of the way it's sent here, it tells a lot.
1:24:04Is it?
1:24:05I think so.
1:24:05It's a hell of a hypo.
1:24:07Right.
1:24:08Now this is something, if I do understand, put it in the coffee, and I want you to give the coffees out.
1:24:16The moment I just delivered the speech, you know what I mean?
1:24:19I don't mind.
1:24:21And I'm not going to clear it with anybody.
1:24:23Or I could do it right after.
1:24:24Well, do it right after.
1:24:26Have them ready and give it to them.
1:24:27Well, give it to them so they can follow.
1:24:30Yeah.
1:24:31Yeah, just bring that up.
1:24:32Here's the speech.
1:24:33Well, you've got Capo and who's this on at 11?
1:24:37Live in the White House.
1:24:39They should not have this until after they go out there.
1:24:43I just say that we're, I just give it to them at 11 o'clock.
1:24:50Now here's what I had in mind too.
1:24:51I mean, you're on at 11 o'clock.
1:24:54Yeah, I'll give it to you right when you start up.
1:24:58Yeah, I'll say here's, I just say that I have to be, they don't dare to be crashing for the documents.
1:25:04You know, that's a, it's an action story.
1:25:08But when you see here,
1:25:12You covered several things.
1:25:15I don't question patriotism of those who disagree with my policies.
1:25:20We're in peace.
1:25:20That covers, that does all of what's happening.
1:25:23When he's fallen, some will write it that way.
1:25:25That's all right.
1:25:27But I don't agree.
1:25:28I don't know the person.
1:25:29I guess I have a question.
1:25:31Which is, of course, you said you were speaking for yourself.
1:25:34So I said I was speaking for myself.
1:25:36That's clear enough to represent.
1:25:42It's an amazing thing.
1:25:45The New York Times, in your story, ran, you know, all in a blast.
1:25:50And Ziegler says, not necessarily, he's speaking for himself, not necessarily for the president.
1:25:56Dan Marshall Post picked that necessarily up and put it in quotes this morning.
1:26:01I've just checked the tape of my transcripts.
1:26:04I did not say necessarily, and I'm going to skewer them if that's what...
1:26:07There's a couple of them, every week at 9 o'clock.
1:26:17What about the fact that President joins others in saying that presidential candidates prolong the war?
1:26:34And my answer is, that's just fine.
1:26:37I said that to the leaders the other day.
1:26:39I said, no, if the candidate, if they say we'll wait for the candidate, that screws in the Gestapo-Taxi negotiations.
1:26:48I think we want that issue.
1:26:49I are on the right.
1:26:53I feel that we want the issue along this line, that they can criticize the human being, but they should not undercut what is being done in negotiations, because one man has a responsibility, and that man who has a responsibility is doing what he can to end the war.
1:27:10And that is separate from being critical.
1:27:15It's attempting to present a program
1:27:19which goes around the program in the manner that it's responsible for.
1:27:25That's the issue.
1:27:26That's not a bad thing to do.
1:27:27A candidate should make any criticism he believes would contribute to bringing an honorable release, that lets him get out and beat for a cop all he wants.
1:27:42That's like, for an honorable, of course, I'd cop right there.
1:27:45And then I say, but I would hope
1:27:49I've done this very carefully.
1:27:50I worked up to, well, I had a bunch of talk earlier.
1:27:54I said, I think it's well to put it in a gentle way.
1:27:58I will, each presidential candidate, will examine his statements carefully.
1:28:03Sort of puts them in an above-the-battle way of, oh, you're all around here running for president.
1:28:09I just said, just examine your statements carefully.
1:28:13So how do we be sure?
1:28:14How do we be sure that nothing is said?
1:28:18might give the enemy an incentive to prolong the war without resolution.
1:28:23Well, that lays it out there very well.
1:28:24Does it bother you?
1:28:27No.
1:28:27I would have only one suggestion, which would put it into a little deeper.
1:28:31Instead of saying presidential candidate, where you hold the highest office in the land, it gives the person listening to it a sense of, here's a man who is in the position thinking about other cities.
1:28:42Each man who is seeking the highest office in the land, or each man who is seeking the presence, instead of...
1:28:50I had that in my first draft.
1:28:53Instead of referring to them as presidential candidates, it's sort of... What's the highest rank?
1:28:59Yeah.
1:28:59Yeah.
1:29:00Yeah, I think it's the way I heard from the... Yeah.
1:29:07Those who seek the presence.
1:29:09Right.
1:29:09Because if...
1:29:12But I can say that it doesn't bother you to say that a candidate for president has a higher responsibility or an inquiry.
1:29:22It doesn't bother you at that point.
1:29:24A candidate.
1:29:28But I would hope that anyone seeking the presidency...
1:29:31Right, that's it.
1:29:32...seeking the presidency...
1:29:42Don't you want credit?
1:29:42For the examiner's sake, it's fair that you should.
1:29:47I think he says that you're the only person in the wrong bar in the election collection.
1:29:58You know, I'm the candidate up above here.
1:29:59I can't say something.
1:30:00No, no, no.
1:30:00Because you cover it in the next sentence.
1:30:10So you say he should make it?
1:30:16There's a part I'm trying to recall when you refer to you use the word surrender and then
1:30:45Yeah, we don't like surrendering.
1:30:47How does that... Let us seek peace with all our might.
1:30:52Let us be united in our determination to seek peace without surrendering.
1:31:05It doesn't bother me as a statement, I'm just trying to put it in perspective of the news flow of today, and what is being said, and how they may seize upon that word used by you, and apply it out of context.
1:31:21Do you see what I mean, Mike?
1:31:24Maybe we could strike that out, totally.
1:31:32We could end this way, but I would hope that any man seeking the presidency would examine his statements carefully to be sure that nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive to prolong for any length of the election, period.
1:31:47And then, trust in the United States among the 45 nations which we have redeemed as essential of peace and freedom and order.
1:31:54We are ending our war in a way which will not destroy it.
1:31:56Or should we say, let us end our involvement in the war?
1:32:00Let me in a way.
1:32:01Let us end our war.
1:32:04In a way.
1:32:09End our involvement in the war.
1:32:11In a way which will not destroy that trust.
1:32:17That surrender thing isn't common.
1:32:20It's a code word thing.
1:32:23Others have got to say it.
1:32:26Others say it.
1:32:27But this is a perfect way to put it in perspective.
1:32:32If you use that word, then they will take that and generalize it.
1:32:37And then the question becomes, does that mean that he feels that Senator Rasmussen is calling for peace back home for victims?
1:32:46This is the person.
1:32:46Real stingy way to get it to the back.
1:32:49Show him how to eat it.
1:32:52Because you know that take this little part of it off.
1:32:58Here it goes.
1:33:00Now Henry's going to greet me this morning.
1:33:03I'm not going to discuss this with him.
1:33:05But I'm going to make it clear that if that's, you know, the subject that he should just say, it's been covered, period.
1:33:15There's no reason why he should say anything at all.
1:33:17He doesn't want to anyway, so there's no problem.
1:33:20The last thing he's going to do is say anything about it.
1:33:24I think.
1:33:30Why you really gotta watch Sapphire?
1:33:32Goddamnit, Henry should have watched this too.
1:33:35All the way through the vibe, wherever they say China.
1:33:38But the People's Republic of China.
1:33:43You know, he's got it in here four times.
1:33:45China.
1:33:47The United States and China.
1:33:50You really shouldn't realize what that does to Taiwan.
1:33:53Mainland China.
1:34:22I need some other changes I can trigger, right?
1:34:28There it goes.
1:34:30Hold it.
1:34:30I've done it there again.
1:34:35Four o'clock.
1:34:36I know it's four o'clock.
1:35:28I think it's a good little needle too, sir.
1:35:31I've got to do this to point out the fact that this is not my war.
1:35:39Right.
1:35:39Absolutely.
1:35:40I've got to try, sir.
1:35:41I've been in a war I did not begin.
1:35:45And the fact that it hurts, I beg you to... That's simply wasted.
1:35:54I'm ready to...
1:35:57When you use unprecedented, the critics always say, well...
1:36:02I've been subjected to...
1:36:26Uh... Constance Sharpe?
1:36:28Constance.
1:36:29Constance.
1:36:29What?
1:36:30Constance is like...
1:36:39Figures.
1:36:41Figures.
1:36:42Figures.
1:36:43Figures.
1:36:43Figures.
1:36:44Figures.
1:36:45Figures.
1:36:45Figures.
1:36:58Figures is a better word for some guys who do a great deal of criticism.
1:37:02Figures.
1:37:02Figures.
1:37:02Huh?
1:37:03Do you like figures?
1:37:15I've got the word.
1:37:16It's kind of weird, that one.
1:37:273.
1:37:27To make any criticism he believes would contribute to bringing an honorable peace.
1:37:37But I would hope that anyone seeking the presidency would examine his statements carefully, to be sure nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive to prolong the war after the election.
1:38:01Why don't you tighten this off?
1:38:10Down to here.
1:38:18There's one thought I have.
1:38:20It's a payoff.
1:38:21Which would just go back out of there, I mean.
1:38:27When you end this, I'll tell you what I had in mind.
1:38:33The stakes are too high.
1:38:34We must stop the killing and bring prisoners of war home.
1:38:40Our forces have a better way of saying that.
1:38:44But that pays that off.
1:38:46In other words, don't give the enemy the incentive to prolong the war.
1:38:51There's too much at stake here.
1:38:53Our prisoners of war...
1:38:57There's too much at stake here.
1:38:59We must stop the killing of the bears.
1:39:01We bring our prisoners home.
1:39:03And, well, are you saying peace is true?
1:39:06Definitely.
1:39:08It was beginning to end.
1:39:11As I said in 1968, peace is true.
1:39:13Peace is true for partisanship.
1:39:15That's the specifics.
1:39:22Are you saying the lives...
1:39:25No, with the lives.
1:39:31See, what you're paying off would be the consequences of prolonging the war.
1:39:36What are the consequences?
1:39:38With the lives of Americans.
1:39:41With the lives of American men.
1:39:46And the fate of our field of agency.
1:40:04Let us unite.
1:40:05It's called the unite.
1:40:07Let us unite.
1:40:12It's a story.
1:40:13A policy.
1:40:15It's a great peace.
1:40:22It's a great philosophy.
1:40:23Go again, not again.
1:40:26Go again, not again.
1:40:36It gets in more personal terms, don't you?
1:40:42Mm-hmm.
1:40:43You're not going to be nice.
1:40:44Say it.
1:40:51Tell you they're wrong.
1:40:51It's the lives of American men and the failure of U.W.s.
1:40:55So if you do that, they'll say, fine, just get the hell out.
1:41:02That's the only thing.
1:41:04They should be driving, you know what I mean?
1:41:12They'll say, fine.
1:41:12One point, honey.
1:41:13I don't know, I... That's what gets you back into discussing the...
1:41:15Yes, the particulars, which is just what you don't know.
1:41:17No, I had an idea about this, too, that...
1:41:23From a technical standpoint, so as to get on the tube, to put this on the teleprompter.
1:41:30But I don't want five cameras there.
1:41:32If I'm on the teleprompter looking into one camera, and then all the others in there from the crash point, I'm not looking there.
1:41:39Now, can we put it on our own teleprompter and our own camera?
1:41:44...and the district into the fire.
1:41:45We should put it on our own teleprompter and one camera.
1:41:49But it should have speedy.
1:41:50They're cool.
1:41:51They never can be sure they do that.
1:41:53But will they be cool?
1:41:54No, absolutely.
1:41:56I don't want it to happen at the speech.
1:41:58You have to request to do this for television in the presence of...
1:42:01One camera.
1:42:02One camera.
1:42:02And one teleprompter.
1:42:05How about that?
1:42:07And no newsman or
1:42:28No, absolutely not.
1:42:29Now, where is the best place to do that, Father, here?
1:42:32Right here.
1:42:34Oh, can they set the camera, please?
1:42:35Sure, put it right there.
1:42:36All right, take them.
1:42:38All right, well, I'll leave.
1:42:43I'm going to go over to the OB now, so they can set the camera up.
1:42:49And, uh... Well, we can do that afterwards.
1:42:51No, I can do that afterwards, can't you?
1:42:52Right.
1:42:53You should do it afterwards.
1:42:54I'd rather tell them.
1:42:56I'd rather say to them, after this, you don't want to say this before you go on the air.
1:43:00Oh, I see, right.
1:43:00I want them to come back.
1:43:01I've heard this before.
1:43:02You get this from Kevin, you tell him, and you say, yeah, I'm going to be glad to see the highlights.
1:43:08And you go out and...
1:43:09But I also like the highlights.
1:43:11Absolutely.
1:43:11And that'll be it.
1:43:13And I don't think that takes more than a minute and a half when I get straight.
1:43:22About right.
1:43:23It's of it.
1:43:23I think they'll, do you think they'll carry this line for you?
1:43:26Like how it sounds?
1:43:26I think they'll carry it.
1:43:27I don't know.
1:43:28I think you should remove this whole thing.
1:43:35They'll carry what you want on it.
1:43:39Well, every day I'm worried.
1:43:41I'm afraid about it.
1:43:45That's when some of the best stuff comes out.
1:43:47Sometimes, sometimes it doesn't.
1:43:50The point is that at least you go to the juggler in the middle of the night.
1:44:33This is the best, I think we could, we get away without it.
1:44:38And I can handle the rest of them, because I think the story, and it's not, I mean, I think it's the one with Ron Geary, I think Ron is probably correct, or Ron, or Bob, I think it's correct in the sense that this is moving from the news pages to the editorial pages, and they all mull it about the goddamn thing, but...
1:45:44I knew this about a place called Beebe today.
1:45:47He's George Walsh's cousin.
1:45:48It's a very close association of his.
1:45:49He advises George in his Florida campaign.
1:45:51And it's one of the reasons George is kicking the shit out of the Democrats rather than us at the moment, because we kick ass very much.
1:46:02Tell his cousin, tell Beebe that if he could get a hold of the cousin and say, look, we need a real opportunity for you in Florida.
1:46:11With Beebe.
1:46:17would be, so that you're just not a one-issue man.
1:46:23That musky country hold themselves up, musky, particularly, hold themselves up.
1:46:31And that George being the patriot that he is,
1:46:35But he did not criticize Johnson.
1:46:37He and I both, as candidates, did not criticize Johnson in 1968.
1:46:40And that he might want to take Muskie on.
1:46:44What I meant is, I think it would be good to inject that into the floor of the Democratic primary.
1:46:49Aren't you agreed, George?
1:46:51And that he ought to take him on for, that he ought to take him on for his, their undercutting the president, undercutting the chancellor for peace, and calling for
1:47:05Surrender to them.
1:47:06He might say a few things.
1:47:07You can ask him what to say.
1:47:14Don't draw again.
1:47:16Yeah, good.
1:47:17Try it.
1:47:19But I said that, but on the other hand, I was thinking of my deal tomorrow, and I'm confident that the way these people are, you know,
1:47:31Two things they have to do, too, because it's been covered in a briefing, because it's personal view, and then you challenge your view, so it locks off.
1:47:51And if they begin to follow up, nothing puts them down faster if you just look them in the eye, you know, and just say, I have nothing more to say on that point.
1:48:01What you can do in here, you can't do under the government.
1:48:05And that allows the China story, right?
1:48:08China could probably go tomorrow.
1:48:11Our statement, what I have said, what I have said, what the president has said is clear.
1:48:18My position is clear.
1:48:20There's nothing more to say.
1:48:22Because then they just chop them off and make them feel, you know, ridiculous for trying to follow up on something.
1:48:30You know, it's amazing, I mean, this is, you think about it, I was thinking about it last night, it's all kind of a story.
1:48:37It is.
1:48:39It is.
1:48:40It really is.
1:48:40You know, all these grown men getting all excited out there, and the pressure of God, you know, it's foolish to be resting right now in this stuff.
1:48:51She said, you know, it's rather interesting.
1:48:54NBC made the full transcript of the Hall of the Interview that was run on Monday.
1:48:59Available to all the newspapers and television news services on Friday of last week.
1:49:06Not one of them picked up this point at all until after it was on the air Monday morning.
1:49:13Then she twisted it her way.
1:49:14She said, I guess it's because it was a woman interviewing.
1:49:17They figured it wasn't worth taking seriously.
1:49:19Very clear, though.
1:49:21Don't let it sound like that.
1:49:26They have always underestimated me.
1:49:29patriotic forces in the country.
1:49:32Do you think so?
1:49:33Or do you?
1:49:34I think so.
1:49:34I think this town has.
1:49:36I think the people that we deal with.
1:49:38There's absolutely no question.
1:49:40It always starts with someone they find out that people put flags out on the roads and it comes into town.
1:49:44They wear flags and they lapel.
1:49:46They don't like it again.
1:49:52It is a state that can be made in this town.
1:50:14If your mom said, you know, he goes out to the show last night, that there's still a few hardhats around, because there's the only number of people at the time in the quarter air last night that came up.
1:50:24Did you manage to get a wife?
1:50:25Who was that?
1:50:26The one?
1:50:27All of the number of people.
1:50:28A lot of them.
1:50:29There's apparently a person called Anna Chenault down here.
1:50:33She's like... And she grabbed the Chinese ambassador who was over there and brought in one of them.
1:50:37And a little man, you know, and he said...
1:50:40Very pleased with what you set up for the television program.
1:50:48I need to ask her about this.
1:50:51It's hard to say what's the best thing.
1:50:53I think the best and most cunning thing that's been written is Crosby and I.
1:50:57You see, that thing was probably written before this story broke.
1:51:03God damn, didn't he come to rescue his son?
1:51:05He's done it.
1:51:05He's followed that one in a couple of times.
1:51:07Now, he is, he's no wild man.
1:51:08No, he's not.
1:51:10Not always for us, usually.
1:51:12Not always.
1:51:13But Jesus Christ, didn't he slice them up, you know?
1:51:16Of course, it's surrender.
1:51:18It is.
1:51:20Get out.
1:51:20Bug out.
1:51:26Well, they had this as their life.
1:51:28For that, I mean, so that, because the war is in the people's minds, of course, it's get out for a while, it's good, and everybody was saying, great, I remember the 70 campaign.
1:51:41Everybody said, isn't it wonderful, or wasn't peace an issue, or was the war an issue?
1:51:47It wasn't wonderful at all.
1:51:50Do you understand?
1:51:51Do you agree?
1:51:51Hell, because all of a sudden the Russians are riding around in these cars, wearing flags, and all of a sudden they didn't realize they were undercutting the president.
1:52:00We should go the other way.
1:52:01The war is a bad issue for us.
1:52:04Yeah.
1:52:05But the peace in Vietnam is a good issue for us.
1:52:08And if I plane down the war as an issue, we can make the mistake of also plane down the peace.
1:52:13I'm planning on the fact those veterans got us in, and I've got them out.
1:52:18There's no question they're drunk.
1:52:20Do they get that much?
1:52:22Yes, they are.
1:52:23I think even the men... No, let me say what I said.
1:52:25With that, it wasn't a lot.
1:52:26But that's what our case speaks, really.
1:52:30If they had an effect, the major effect they had would put us on the side of the pieces.
1:52:36But they run those charts.
1:52:37They run the charts of the number of men and the charts of the number of men.
1:52:41I don't think there's any question...
1:52:44The impression is certain in this country that you are moving to end the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
1:52:53I think we are beginning to set the impression, and I don't think it's certain yet, that there are forces attempting to undercut your efforts.
1:53:02And that is why you and I have talked about this.
1:53:07We're tied up here in this town about it, but it takes a while for that type of thing to permeate the whole, you know, the thought process of the country.
1:53:22I think the worst thing that can happen to us now, as far as we can hear it by the critics, is to tear it off.
1:53:32That's why it would have been a mistake.
1:53:35I wish to hell I hadn't said Aiden the vet, because that's the finest treason.
1:53:38I didn't want to give him a treason, but that's too bad.
1:53:42On the other hand, if I had just said something, he wouldn't have gotten mad at me.
1:53:48So, maybe it was worthwhile.
1:53:50Whether it was or wasn't, it's in the pot.
1:53:53The thing now is from where the ball is now.
1:53:55Yeah.
1:53:56We make a terrible mistake if we try to, I think, if we try to back off and say, oh no, they're all doing a noble thing, and never mind, this is the last thing that they're, and never, never, never, please, fucking rest.
1:54:12And rest, and look at these, this is honest.
1:54:22I haven't minded about it, but on a day when it's very calm, feeling good, won't you?
1:54:28Went over to Rebson's house, talked to John Gardner, and said, maybe we're wrong, what do you know?
1:54:33The son of a bitch has read nothing but bank columns since he was there.
1:54:37Am I wrong or right?
1:54:38When Henry said he had tears?
1:54:40Yeah, well, he said he had tears because we were getting somewhere.
1:54:46He tears in his eyes also because he had grabbed him.
1:54:49And Kissinger is the hottest property in town.
1:54:52They all on one hand reached dinner.
1:54:55He goes to the wrong places.
1:55:04Well...
1:55:04This whole thing is over with the $40,000.
1:55:08Well, it takes a lot of time today.
1:55:10Sure, and the president...
1:55:45You know, they all, that's where we want to get in.
1:55:49You, then, always, of course, just never return a call from any of these batteries.
1:55:54I wish more people around here would follow that line.
1:56:07Have your own.
1:56:11Be very considerate.
1:56:14I worked him in.
1:56:15I mean, I just didn't like to be a non-sanctioned agent.
1:56:22He won't get his views if he finds out what's up.
1:56:29I mean, it's marvelous, uh, possibly, but, uh, he had one, uh... Oh, yeah, just what did you think?
1:56:41I used to say, I used to say, I don't anymore, so I don't know anymore.
1:56:45I had fun with him, and I sat with him, and I said, don't worry about it.
1:56:52And I knew he would say what.
1:56:55I don't know what.
1:56:56I said, I don't know, and he looked up, and he said, I don't know.
1:57:02And I...
1:57:12I didn't want to hold it, but I did.
1:57:43Now, I just want to do that and make sure that the rest of it can be started from now.
1:57:49The rest of it can all be done with the insert.
1:57:52I just want to check once more for my line.
1:58:02You know, the...
1:58:10They must say they're always a stimulating group of people.
1:58:13There's a goddamn enthusiasm.
1:58:15They're good people, too.
1:58:22Were they searched at this time?
1:58:24Yeah, it was very awesome.
1:58:28I found it, I want you to make a note of this, there are conventions in Atlanta, in general.
1:58:34I think it's a very, very unlikely possibility.
1:58:37We have very confident accounts.
1:58:39Also, if you talk to Tom, Ben, Abilene, Texas, I told him that I'd like to go to a small town in Texas, and it's an honor for Houston to be the only publisher in Florida.
1:59:31And there's an event that we can do in March any time.
1:59:35That might be a good way to go to Texas in addition to the other one.
1:59:40Isn't it Rotary?
1:59:42Rotary is in June.
1:59:44Rotary is June 11th.
1:59:45The week of June 11th, the JC's is the following week.
1:59:49Starts at 20.
1:59:50On that campus crusade is also the week of June 11th.
1:59:56Well, we... Well, not necessarily.
1:59:59Darn it.
2:00:06We haven't been to Houston.
2:00:09Yet the governor's conference is in Houston.
2:00:11I'm not going to do the goddamn governor's conference.
2:00:14Who the hell is pressing that?
2:00:15Nobody's pressing that.
2:00:16It's the week before, the week before.
2:00:18This is a national governor's conference.
2:00:21I know.
2:00:22I'm not going to do it.
2:00:24I'll tell them I'll be right there.
2:01:01But remember, after this is done, hard on you.
2:01:06I'm saying you didn't know anything about it.
2:01:11No, absolutely.
2:01:12And you didn't know anything about it.
2:01:14Yeah.
2:01:14He didn't like the, he thought the speech needed a little assessment, so he put it in.
2:01:21Let me tell you, I got to ask you to play it anyway, but now I'm going to play it.
2:01:25Huh?
2:01:25All right.
2:01:27Farewell.
2:01:33You know, we sneered at the other stuff.
2:01:34I'll tell you, that environment thing yesterday got a hell of a good flood.
2:01:39Yes, one of them.
2:01:40Two of them.
2:01:41I didn't see it, but I guess it was fine.
2:01:44It has to be done with one camera.
2:01:48It looked alright, but when you get the camera...
2:02:14No, no, Roger.
2:02:15The, uh, I forgot to say, you, uh, you've left out, uh, next, Tom, next table.
2:02:22Yeah, that's all right.
2:02:24Tom, it's, in that stage, yeah, that's right.
2:02:28All right.
2:02:29Where did it go?
2:02:30You know, it's, it's page 88.
2:02:32It's called that page 88.
2:02:34Okay.
2:02:35It's, it's not in the book.
2:02:37The other night, see?
2:02:39It's between 9 and 10.
2:02:40Yeah.
2:02:40This is the bottom of page 9.
2:02:41Okay.
2:02:57It's got the beauty of being very clear to the public in the way you want to be clear to them, but it has some super subtleties in it that are going to be gotten clear to some other people.
2:03:12I'll have Jerry come and get it in a few minutes, because we've got to get ready to hand out a lot of those steps.
2:03:19We're not going to hand it out until then, but we'll have a couple of those steps.
2:03:30Goethe!
2:03:39I can't read it over again.
2:03:43I'll be back in a couple of minutes.
2:03:50One of those days, I'll be back in five minutes.
2:04:12If you do that, I want you to take advantage of it.
2:05:01Why don't you try to go to the canteen?
2:05:08I think it's a good idea.
2:08:37Like in this sentence, this teenster guy has a thing.
2:08:41I might have called him, but don't, but things were sure, I don't want to.
2:08:47And I think we're going to leave out now.
2:08:50I mean, I just got to send letters to people that, you know, some guy should save the policeman's life, and this and that, and the other thing.
2:09:00I really didn't leave.
2:09:01I don't think I can get into that very much right now.
2:09:03I mean, it's pretty deep in the bulletin.
2:09:10To do it now, to send me notes, actually, I've been looking the thing over.
2:09:16It's hard to be sure, but I think we're getting better mileage out of the notes than to get out of the phone calls anyway.
2:09:21Yeah, yeah.
2:09:23Simply because, what, I don't know what to do about the phone calls.
2:09:26I don't know whether it's personal.
2:09:27With the note, it often gets printed.
2:09:29It's amazing how many times that note gets printed.
2:09:32The picture of the letter itself gets printed in the paper.
2:09:35Those are just thin, in fact, in a local paper.
2:09:37They're not word-digging parts of the paper.
2:09:43The phone calls, and you've done an unboxing of the...
2:09:48I don't think there's any point in that.
2:09:50Maybe once in a while it'll be one.
2:09:52Once in a great while it's a John Harley motion or something.
2:09:55But I think the letter is something that... Like the New York police, you were concerned that you didn't get phone calls on.
2:10:02What's the name of the thing you did?
2:10:04Yeah, I don't know.
2:10:15We've got some awfully good notes, and we've got none of those down to short ones.
2:10:45Yes, and we're doing a hell of a good job now on the one-liners.
2:10:48Are you great?
2:10:49Yes, sir.
2:10:50And, Shane, I thought your speech was great.
2:10:52Great job on the speech you did last week.
2:10:55All right.
2:10:56You know, it's back to the thing, just a little greater sort of punching thing, so it's a nice thing to be great.
2:11:00It's great.
2:14:06Let me say, though, that I am totally resigned to express that I'm not going to press myself on these kinds of edges.
2:14:15I mean, I think that I've been breathing on that for the rest of my life.
2:14:19I mean, we have to do it anyway.
2:14:55They write what you say, rather than your words.
2:15:00They do have a couple of papers printed, transcripts.
2:15:03Nobody reads the transcripts.
2:15:10Nobody reads the transcripts.
2:15:12Oh, the general, that's the name I guess.
2:15:15That's the 12th.
2:15:22Oh, yeah.
2:15:23Oh, boy.
2:15:24If you want to...
2:15:31He was a good friend, you know.
2:15:36My view is that he should not.
2:15:38My view is that he should not.
2:15:40It's just because he's too low-level a guy.
2:15:43He has no public appeal at all.
2:15:46Let it go.
2:15:47Anyway, I'm...
2:15:52Another thing, for whatever it's worth, Henry has sat by Missy Chandler, because he's never been down by Missy.
2:16:00And he said she has turned around 180 degrees.
2:16:04She's with us.
2:16:10And Bob Hinch says that Otis is much better now than the Y.
2:16:15And Otis has the economy really moving in California now.
2:16:17I don't know, we get, apparently, that on the planet.
2:16:20It's beginning to come along.
2:16:22Yes, it's getting some pretty good money out of it.
2:16:24Yeah.
2:16:25It really, I mean, I've been watching that.
2:16:27You know, you get it poured with some effort, and it does some good.
2:16:29Yeah.
2:16:29Because, you know, we have poured effort for this.
2:16:32We've poured a lot of effort in.
2:16:33Finally, we get it.
2:16:36But it takes time.
2:16:37You can't pour it in on two shanks.
2:20:43Because at that point we were in the Dallas bussing business, and we had to keep you isolated.
2:20:46I want to hand you a letter from Mrs. Thompson, sir, because Senator said you might have a problem.
2:20:54One is a dear Jane, one is a dear Mrs. Thompson.
2:20:56One is a dear Jane, yeah.
2:21:00She's got you now.
2:21:01She is.
2:21:52Ha!
2:22:39On the teleprompter, you want page 8, page 9, and page 9.
2:22:42Let me suggest something.
2:22:52This is a radio speech.
2:22:54Why don't you leave the microphone on your desk and read it?
2:23:00White teleprompter.
2:23:37Because, you know, and I know, and I figured, and I didn't mention it to him, because I figured what had happened is that Ron's office got, you know, buggered, it could be, to say, we've all got it covered now with our cameras.
2:23:51It could be, goddammit, so it's Ron Sinker, I'm starting to raid here and there, and they're shooting deep in the side.
2:23:58Of course, that's usually the way it's done.
2:24:01When you're talking, I was standing up and so forth, but...
2:24:06That doesn't show the judgment.
2:24:08Somebody should have thought that true.
2:24:10I thought the moment I walked down the road, I said, well, for Christ's sakes, I said, I said, I said, I released all these cameras.
2:24:16He said, yeah.
2:24:17So they're all in there.
2:24:23What probably happened is that the press office set it up, not knowing either teleprompter or anything.
2:24:30Well, why should they know?
2:24:32Because those were playing well in advance.
2:24:34There was no last minute type thing on that.
2:24:36And I'm going to do it again that way.
2:24:39But we've always wanted a full camera.
2:24:41And also a little shirt.
2:24:44I told you.
2:24:47If I got to just get there and do the teleprompter, and I could do more, and I would be glad to do more.
2:24:53Particularly if it doesn't require a lot of moving around, and there's good things to do.
2:24:58And you know, I can send messages down, Doc's driving around, and they can see me on there, talking right into that camera truck.
2:25:05But if it's 45 seconds away when they get a pistol, that's exactly right.
2:25:09They expect to see the president on the new day.
2:25:11Yeah, a few minutes.
2:25:13Part of what's happening today is what the president did.
2:25:18You're on gross release at 4 o'clock.
2:27:14Right on, 330, level 345.
2:27:15Right on.
2:27:18Chopper 4.
2:27:19Chopper 4.
2:27:20Do you believe it's time to retype this one, thanks for it?
2:27:23No.
2:31:13a separate kind of craze or that sort of thing.
2:31:15We just realized that the job of everybody on the president's team, the leader's team,
2:31:25Must think of him first.
2:31:27Not themselves.
2:31:28That's really what we get to.
2:31:30Really, that's what we get to.
2:31:31Yeah.
2:31:32Rather than thinking of, they walk into this office while I have all these damn problems, and what's he going to solve?
2:31:38It's the national phobia.
2:31:38Of course, yeah.
2:31:39I mean, everybody, a businessman, come in and, you know, they're... Yeah.
2:31:45But here's the reason why I told her, what are you going to do about it?
2:31:47Yeah.
2:31:47And, uh...
2:32:08You won't find any on the prompter, please don't you?
2:33:21Today I have submitted to Congress my third annual report on United States foreign policy.
2:33:26I want to share my thoughts with you now on some of the highlights of that report.
2:33:31For the first time in a generation, the most powerful nation in the world, and the most populous nation in the world, the United States and the People's Republic of China, have begun a process of communication.
2:33:43For the first time in a generation, we have taken a series of steps that could mean a new relationship with the Soviet Union,
2:33:49For the first time in a generation, our alliances with the nations of Europe, Japan and other nations have been shaped to reflect their capacity to assume a greater responsibility for their own events.
2:34:04For the first time in a generation, we have laid a new basis for fair competition in world trade that will mean more jobs for American workers.
2:34:12These are great changes.
2:34:14They have brought the world closer to a stable peace.
2:34:17They did not happen by action.
2:34:21These breakthroughs for our peace took place in the past years for a good reason.
2:34:24Three years ago, we started acting on the basis of yesterday's habits and started acting to deal with the realities of today and the opportunities of tomorrow.
2:34:35Where did this new attitude take us?
2:34:38In our relations with the Soviet Union, these were the elements of the breakthrough that took place over the past all months.
2:34:44We broke the deadlock in the arms limitation negotiation and agreed on a framework for progress in the Soviet Union.
2:34:51We agreed on a treaty marking weapons of mass destruction from the ocean floor, and on another treaty to remove the threat of germ warfare.
2:35:00We agreed on a more flexible and reliable hotline between Washington and Moscow, and found new ways to consult each other in emergencies which will reduce the risks of accidental nuclear war.
2:35:11And, in respect of the greatest importance, we reached an agreement on Berlin.
2:35:17If there was one city where World War III could have broken out in the past 20 years, it was Berlin.
2:35:23This new agreement reduces the danger of the supercars and direct confrontation.

Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on Vietnam War and Presidential rhetoric

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on February 9, 1972

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