On April 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:46 am to 11:46 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 701-009 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
loyal, intelligent, great brain probably.
Who has a great brain?
But he's always with us, totally our man, yet subtle enough not to have done that.
And he said an interesting thing.
He said, you know, I just want to say I'm proud of you to take this job.
And I said, well, he said, we drove by the memorial last night.
My daughter had never seen it.
And I said, well, isn't it time to see it?
He said, yeah.
I sit there and saw a man sitting there, and I realized what a lonely, terrible job he had, and I realized what a lonely job you must have.
It's a rather emotional little thing, but we don't have any sons of bitches in this government that think that way.
That's true.
No, but you have millions of them in the country.
I think we do.
You really do.
I have a feeling myself that there's more than we realize.
We frankly wouldn't hold as well in that.
God damn, we must be using, you're reading the fucking press.
And it's really, I mean, I think that our boys do leave a little bit of work in terms of, but I did one thing today that I feel very strongly about, and I turned off the light.
I know we're cutting over, but let me cut off our nose where I don't think it matters how much.
I would never let that happen.
The other thing I want to cut off is,
I read, I saw Ziegler's funny names, and I sent it back to him, indicating how he had special attention and so forth.
But his funny names are friends.
But his funny names, John.
There are 10 on there who, all together, I'm sure, have not had as much fun.
A few sidey loans have, or John Osborne loans have.
Now, I'm going to compensate in the few months I have left before this election.
Osberg and Seide are just not going to see me.
Return the calls to those poor dumb bastards.
I said, oh my, I didn't even know we were friends.
You know what I mean?
I do it.
I mean, I use that for a second.
For a second, well, do a second.
So Peter Andrews, he's only in the Buffalo paper.
Maybe, however, what happens in Buffalo is more important than what happens in the New Republic or Life magazine.
I had a dumb damn trick of picking up Osberg every time he got on there.
We are constantly playing.
We've made the same mistake Eisenhower made.
Not as bad as Eisenhower made.
But frankly Ron doesn't know.
You know, it's one weakness he's got, but he feels he's got to get John Hustler in because he'll influence the others.
And I think he enjoys taking on a very smart man.
He's got to get Sidi in because he knows that that's Henry's problem.
Goddamn, don't talk to him for a while.
Will you enforce that?
No?
I'll try.
I'll help him to do it.
Why is this?
Because it slips out of the way.
Well, we've done pretty well, haven't we?
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Well, I think you have a really good cover.
This is the one we all thought was the best.
See, the name of the book is I-E-Y-E-R-M-I-T-I-O-N. And you see, there's what's called a wraparound cover, which I think is really good.
Well, that's a new show, though, if you don't want to see it.
This is the eye.
This is another idea, but the only thing I don't like is too much Kennedy over here.
And then this was an alternative, but the face and arm is pleasant.
And then this is the best picture in the book, this one.
But I think, but the only problem with it is this is the way they would have to set it up.
And I thought, I think the... No, no, no, no.
This is the back of the field, right here.
Is that the way you're going to use it?
Yes.
And then I...
This is the field here.
That's all right.
We're using a full toupee in tie.
I think it will be very good.
And the text is great.
What are you going to do?
I'm just talking to you.
All right.
I think you're going to sit down.
I don't know what I'm saying.
I don't know what you're doing today.
Maybe we can do it tomorrow or the next day.
I'll be here Thursday until about 4.30 or 4 o'clock.
So anytime.
Sure, anytime.
Yeah, you're too busy walking, aren't you?
I think I am today.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think he'll wait.
You and David will.
Sure, I just wondered if you wanted to go.
I think I better not.
It's sure to order movies.
Now listen, those clowns.
Those clowns.
Mommy's always saying that unless I'm there, he can't call Mr. Fisher.
That's what he did.
That White House spat.
It is unbelievable.
They've never had it so easy.
We don't have late parties.
We're through dinner every night at 7 o'clock.
And they go home.
This is the laziest man job.
They're never gone.
And they're all spoiled.
But Paul Fisher, all he is there for is to have movies for them.
That's what he exists for.
It's OK.
I just snapped it at Troy.
You can compare it to her judging.
I really mean that.
With, let's face it, I mean, she, in fact, she wrote both Sapphire and Ollie, particularly the profiles.
And they were both wrong.
And as a professional, I told Julie, I said, you ought to get McCaffrey, which is in Franklin.
No, Leonard, but the other one from New York.
You know, the Irish, Tex McCrary.
He would have picked the one Julie did.
Sure.
See my point?
We've got to get a little of that field.
Leonard does it.
Franklin was the same type.
And he was not the same way.
He was .
He would have done it that way.
Well, tell a story with the picture.
And one story, this is a Polly picture story to tell.
It tells the story that Richard Nixon is a stern, aloof, cold, alone man.
That's right.
Is that the story you want to tell?
That's right.
That's right.
Or do you want to spell it at times, but not in history?
That picture has great strength and all that.
But that's not what this one's about.
And this one, the story it tells, I am Nixon.
The title is perfect.
And that picture tells the story.
I wonder if anybody would ever buy the damn book.
No.
I think the book market is, none of the books that we've gotten out have stolen.
I guess we've seen a can of books today.
Is that damn thing sold?
I don't know.
They'll know what the thing is.
I haven't seen their, well, listen, at least, can we get it?
You are trying to get it to conventions and women's and so forth and so on.
except for getting a few of our folks out.
Oh, yeah.
And that's what we're gonna do.
This one will have, we have a back-to-the-bench, a big bar table.
The president, for Christ's sakes, this year, let's give him a few things.
Absolutely.
No, we've done that in the past week.
That's one thing we did a good job on in 68.
You asked about the California primary Democrats.
The question is, in the order that they'll be on the ballot, is McGovern, Muskie, Chisholm, Lindsey, Humphrey.
Lindsey, you mean?
Humphrey, McCartney, Yorty, and Jackson.
All right, so I'm going to vote back.
Eight.
Eight candidates.
In that order.
Great, great answer.
The one thing I saw in the news summary that did appeal to me was a statement to be affected.
Who was it?
Was it the president who quit worrying about personality and just used to be confident or something like that?
Yeah.
Who said that?
It wasn't Oswald.
It was on Spectrum.
Oh, that's right.
It was one of those commentators.
They just gave the last name and then somebody added them up.
He probably did.
Don't tell me it's terrible.
My point is that it gets back to the conversation we had the other day.
The days were warm, and the young people were kissing and so forth.
We get a little bit.
I mean, when we go out in the country, people will be surprised that I'm human.
Just as they were surprised I was human in China.
But in China, I wasn't kissing my babies.
None.
You know what I mean?
When I was gone, they were nice to people.
And they all got that from us, certainly.
You see, the press was created.
The press is adopted.
The reason China then had such an impact on humanity from a personal standpoint was that the son of Benjamin Christ had created an image of a man that didn't exist.
A man, you know, that was nervous, tense, clumsy, and stupid.
That's why a personal exposure to you is always a surprise to people.
Because they say, you're different from your women until there's not a bit of that difference.
And this is what I looked, but it's what I read about.
It's what other people, yeah, come here.
Ollie was mentioning we needed a family picture.
Do you think you'd have time tomorrow after work?
Since everyone's in the house?
Our dad's adorable today.
Or to Thursday?
Sure, I can do it tomorrow.
Oh, wait a minute, though.
Mommy leaves for, uh, California 5 o'clock tomorrow.
Does she?
I know she's having her hair done, so it's a good day as far as that goes.
I think she leaves tomorrow.
I can do it tomorrow.
You can do it at 4?
I can do it at some time.
Oh, we'll play it by ear.
No, don't play it by ear.
I have to do it tomorrow.
Don't play it by ear because you've got to get it set up so you do it right.
It might be the last time we have the whole family together for a while now.
Maybe you'd be better to do it when everybody was ready maybe to do it around 12 o'clock in the morning or 11 o'clock in the morning or something.
Wouldn't she get back in her hair?
Any time that will suit her.
Good.
Before, say, 4 o'clock, because she's got to leave at 5.
I think it'd be great.
I'll do it.
That's awesome.
And if you set it up properly.
Good.
Don't have any other people in the room and all that sort of thing.
Right.
All right.
Good.
Thank you.
How he or she looked.
Yeah, that's true.
When you take the pictures of your office, I thought the other one was all right.
Well, I do think that there is something to be said for just .
Yeah, the press thing is good.
It was so impossible.
I had never seen this analog, but you probably have thought of it.
If you haven't, you'll see it in something when I describe it.
I saw something on our staff several months ago.
It was a gesture of love.
Why didn't we do the press conference the way Kennedy did?
And of course, we get the big play in the evening news and all that sort of thing.
The reason for that, of course, is very important.
A half hour at a Kennedy press conference would not have affected Brandon.
But the bigger reason is something else that I'm sure
one Kennedy answer wrapped around in a dynamic manner.
President Barrett's press conference, President Kennedy has said this and that today.
My point is that Kennedy's press conference is on the evening, and he's always got 10 minutes.
And they got 10 minutes, five minutes of which was lowly entities, and then just little bits and pieces of Kennedy.
With us,
It just ain't that way.
We get screwed by the damn either.
And I feel so strong enough.
You've got all of us inside you.
That's my only thing for today.
Sir, fair enough.
Just don't, I don't want to see them.
I just want to see them.
No, and the point is, I want to see the others.
I want to see the rest.
He says he sees them, but no, I know they don't.
Osborne comes in, well, we've got to see that bad-ass bastard.
How about him?
He comes like everybody else.
Don't do it opposite.
But just don't get the call returned.
Don't put out a note.
Don't write a letter.
Don't put out a memorandum.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Just say, look, fellas, we want some attention paid to our friends.
We're in a collection here.
For Christ's sake, start paying attention to this list of our friends.
You see my point?
And of course, what Ron has on there, the wire searches, two, three hundred people.
I'm ready.
Did you get a chance to look at that drug thing last night?
Yeah.
It boils down there to the only, the only, I know, nobody, nobody else, you know, I think, I think John Ehrlichman still thinks it's a very good TV thing and is disappointed in any thought that it wouldn't be.
Nobody else agrees with that.
The general feeling being that there's, you don't have a reason to be going on television.
You don't have it.
It isn't relevant enough now.
You've got to, I told you a thousand times, I can't go on.
Brian, when I told him, you know, he's thinking about the family fireside chat.
He can't do that.
Well, you've got to go on and say something.
I think we could have done the fireside chat and maybe go with a thin photo over the years.
I don't think we can start it now, though.
And just do one.
I don't know if the radio is worth it.
You can do radio.
I think it's worth something.
Is that it?
I think it would be.
All right.
I'd love the radio.
I think doing it on radio and letting them take a picture of you so that they put the picture on and then carry it on television and a column.
That's right.
All right.
Good.
All right, I'll do the radio.
You can set up a tour this weekend if you want.
Why not?
Is something wrong with that?
No, not at all.
I thought we'd get something done down there.
Did we Friday morning before?
Friday morning.
Quite Friday, yes.
I mean, pick the best time, because I'm not going to be leaving the place, I'm not going to.
Did you get Friday night television?
No.
Did you get Friday night television?
Fine.
Fine.
Friday night was good.
And that's when the hotline goes in.
Provided.
Provided.
Otherwise, it's good.
Do it here, right here.
And I might decide to say, we'll see if I can play this right here.
No, this is kind of a, I don't know why, it seems like kind of a good time to do radio, and it gives us plenty of time to ride it through the traffic gallery and all that sort of stuff.
And it'll get on the TV news.
Well, I see Lucy predicts the governor.
I mean, the governor's still insistent in texting.
You know, that's the tactic of the big lie, isn't it?
You know, it's got that, well, it's not true, so he's now obfuscating it by saying, well, some mess is off.
Some subsidiaries did this and this and that.
What do you think?
Well, the press is unconscionable here.
They paid $243 million in taxes.
Now, what the press are they talking about?
So there's subsidiaries that lost and some didn't and so forth and so on.
But IT&T, they said, didn't report it.
Well, not for Christ's sakes.
That's what the goddamn thing's all about.
IT&T isn't comfortable.
They have to report it all together.
So they reported it over 300,000 times.
Isn't that bad?
Well, no use in doing it.
You know, it isn't our people's fault.
I'm convinced the media were not going to.
I think on that one we're getting a fair break.
Yeah, I think the government's coming out bad on that one.
Not too bad.
I think Terry said a lot of the others.
Fantastic, yeah.
President of Jackson, California.
I would assume that most of those, you know, like Lindsey and Yorty, probably Jackson, will not campaign, won't campaign.
And will probably go out, like Lindsey will probably go out and say vote for McGovern or something.
Jackson will draw up his hands and order.
So will Yorty.
Maybe Jackson will stay on, I don't understand how.
Christ, you think of what's involved in campaigning in California.
They've had peanuts up to now.
In terms of money and physical effort and everything else.
With regard to the stance, I do think you could have more of a report on that if you hadn't already.
There must be a better way to say that.
I think that we're complying with the law.
I mean, you say, of course, we have to put out the total amount of contributions in the end, and what would contribute to what?
Not a quarter of a cent.
Well, how the hell do you explain why you don't put it out?
The law doesn't require it.
That's a pretty goddamned and inflexible excuse, isn't it?
Mitchell's argument stands as if that's a, I say we're hiding.
The only option is to put them out.
And if you put them out, you've got a real problem.
See, you want to really put in that Flintstone, $2 million.
I'm going to let him check and locate one that he knows.
So... Do you think the problems can be managed?
I think it's going to be a problem for that...
I don't think it's of all that much interest to the people.
If we could do it, I think it would be better to put out the list, because I don't think people pay any attention to the list or care about it.
Why not put out the list of all the accounts?
Well, because everybody...
I don't think we've got time to hide names.
Everybody else has...
In fact, that's what we wanted to do.
Sanctus Gentile put after us the names.
See, everybody else has given the amounts, five names.
Jackson put out the names, none.
And I have this understanding it's not going to.
But he will put out the names, so that will help.
We get the names out, we have nothing behind.
But what they wanted to do on the names was wait until they'll do it.
They'll do a subject that all the country, this is a list of all the contributors prior to the April 7th.
And this is the amount of money that was contributed by it.
Because we have to put that out.
The law requires that we put out our money.
It doesn't require, we all say that we put out our money at midnight.
And it's not going to go back to the primary because I have no primary opposition against somebody other than me.
Say that once.
But we have to sit down all the time.
That would be good.
If they could say, if they could say that we, the names and the total amount of cricket in the log that would be put up, that person would say, how much is each of the cricket?
I guess about a hell of a lot.
There's not a lot of names for that issue.
Yeah, and that's what they want to do for the whole period, because they've done a mailing, and they'll have a, by April 7th, and then, yeah, the mailing's been done.
They need a lot back in from that of small contributions, and they want to do that to amass a big list of names.
I think on June 2nd or something, just put it out somewhere.
That's one way to do it, is to get that list out a little sooner.
I understand.
I'm just trying to get a voice.
I've got a loss of supply.
Tell them to go out, you know, and say, I'm coming.
It's not quite as easy as I thought.
Maybe you're right.
I don't know.
Well, John Gardner's going to hammer away at it.
I'm sure the Democratic candidate will.
I wonder if anybody's going to be that disturbed about it.
But also, in that meantime, you're a pro, right?
So you've got to push out some problems that are going after them.
I'm there to see if there's a good service there, right?
The more we stick to that, the more they'll push us.
They'll push us.
Just assume that whatever we do, they're going to push us.
don't ever say the more they're going to do, the more we do, the more they do bullshit.
They just want to attack us for everything they possibly can.
Don't you agree with that?
Oh, sure.
I don't think it's a question.
We leave them alone and keep our mouth shut.
That's right.
You know, those hard guys all keep saying, we just got it cleared that if we turn off this IGT hearing and everything's going to be all right, it just couldn't be.
Because as soon as that's done, if Teddy can't move to a subcommittee thing,
You know, damn well they're gonna move up on an investigation of something else.
As long as they can control the majority and have the investigative power, they're gonna... they're gonna come up with stuff to keep the heat on us.
Sure.
And we're... we're foolish to think we can get one done and have it black out.
I think I'd like to get that out of the session.
I'm pretty curious about that.
I mean, it's a funny thing that we got a lot of group that we call in.
You're sure we didn't ask or anything?
They didn't call somebody that they don't even know in your office?
No, they don't.
Oh.
Why do you think they didn't call?
They did before, you know, before China.
Same thing.
Yeah.
I think they're following the pattern of, you know, we sort of, who we used to pursue them pretty strongly, and then we sort of moved on for a while, and I think they want to maintain their time here.
They're trying to be cooperative.
You can probably see what Eric's doing.
I don't know if Dan will know exactly why he's doing it, because we're talking.
Sir?
Could be.
And also, we talked to Senator.
That work all gets around anyway, when those guys all sit around.
You know, it's been pretty good about that, though.
They've screwed up, though, they are, and all the way up over here, so they've been reporting to us that
They've never said they were doing so, or there's never been any indication that we had any interest in the boats.
They've been very honest, and the only thing we know is that we never know what screwed up, that they don't know when the hell they're coming out, what their figures are.
You know, it just stays.
But we know other people do, too.
It's not an exact science.
Well, it's not, because they go back and wait for their samples, and that gets into them, sure.
They think you're doing it to get more activity than others.
You know, it's an interesting thing how so many writers are really going on television, and thereby raising huge problems with regard to their credibility as objective analysts.
I know there's a McNeil of time, well, the inspector of the
He's quite careful in the way he uses my pieces.
My TNT has done a great honor to the administration.
Now, what does that do to a call like that in terms of being, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
Listen to what we're doing now.
Listen to what we're doing.
It's what they're all doing.
I mean, not deciding.
Yeah.
Kind of show themselves.
Yeah.
But that would be a pretty good thing if you went through them, but all that you could find pretty well were, they were, I guess, fingernails that aged pretty well.
Maybe I'll look some time.
Osborn's attack on Keogh was ridiculous.
And why he...
That's the last thing.
Readers, that just does a very big compensation to Kehoe Booking.
It would get a big readership.
That's my hope.
Jesus, yes.
Osborne, hell, it would get a hundred times what Osborne's getting.
And it would get a hundred times, it would get a thousand times what Kehoe Booking does.
You know, you're so right.
I'm doing a superb job with every single one of you.
You might have left over and over that if he thinks well, there's this enormous interest in acupuncture, and I decoupled him yesterday.
He was doing three articles for various medical journals.
There's no skin on our back either way, but we don't care who we like it.
Because, you know, it's fascinating how much there is to a man, you know, cure your aches and, I don't know, your aches and pains.
Well, people are always fascinated with any cure, and this one is so, so, so like, kind of dramatic and different.
I didn't realize.
I keep on cheering.
They had been doing it for centuries in China, but Mao had abolished it.
And then in the Cultural Revolution, he brought it back.
But in the first, then they had liberation.
force them to go back to the forms of medicine.
I guess that's it, Mitch, or is there anything else?
What would you attribute the, uh, our being able to open the fridge as well as we have in, uh, in this, uh, uh, that, beyond what I mean, that Muskie, well, Muskie we understand, but I'm afraid we just don't.
uh, in spite of the, the, uh, the savagery we've been getting.
Well, I think it's the potency of the office setting.
It's the holding effect of China.
It's all, uh... China's effect must have more... Well, it isn't just China.
I think it goes clear back to Trish's wedding, uh, all the things like that where people have seen the President.
They...
But we have some...
The local interest is this.
We've made... We've got to get across from other people.
Maybe the people that, you know, come and others, our people have got to have some.
Well, go into the country, we'll do that.
You know, your own troops may reassure us.
Maybe that's so goddamn important, Peter.
Well, I'm sure they should reassure us.
I'm sure they should reassure us.
We've got to be careful they don't get over to the reassurance.
Oh, that's what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about reassurance in terms of they've got something to fight for, and we've got some people out there that are willing to stand up for us.
You see what I mean?
Rather than be a business fellow, JV, there's an issue with the time, because basically after all this time, you know, it's sort of the
What's the big move?
How do we, what do we do next month?
What about this week?
And how do we do this and that the other day?
And that's the fighting spirit.
That's always looking for, you know, it's not sitting down.
It's great.
It's great if I ever make a particular use of the fighting spirit, but it isn't.
You do not realize that.
That's me.
That's what I'm talking about.
I think there is something there.
After all, I think there must be.
It's not creating something.
Well, I guess that's your analysis.
He makes the point, you look at the major reversals and downtrend, which is automatic downtrend, all presidents go down, you look at your reversals, you come about when the president went directly to the people in a highly visible manner on an important problem.
jump after the Vietnam speech in November 3rd, after the commitment of troops to Cambodia, after the withdrawal from Cambodia, the economic discussion of Phase 1, the economic discussion of Phase 2, and the Peking trip.
And his point is that the President has exhibited the ability to capture the public's attention and get them to listen to complex discussions of serious problems and get good reactions.
And he says, it may be frustrating to break away from the 50% level of popularity and then fall back, but it may well be unrealistic to establish a base as high as the 60% level in a way.
I agree.
He says, I agree for a hundred reasons.
We can't take, when you're in the office, that's all that counts for.
You take hell of an impression.
You lose this group, this group, this group, this group, because you make decisions differently.
As President Nixon came in with a much lower level of general enthusiasm than his former predecessors, he has so far maintained an extremely high average of approval when this basic fact is taken into account and when one considers he sprung from a minority party and elected by a narrow margin as a minority candidate.
He obviously could not have maintained a base at the 50% level unless many critics had been won over to respect for his leadership and performance.
It's also apparent, Exhibit 2, that the approval of Presidents Johnson and Truman went to disastrous levels when each finally came face to face with an unsolvable problem.
Truman with Korea and Johnson with Vietnam.
And if some unsolvable problem such as rampant inflation or another war somewhere came up, a similar result would be President Nixon's.
That's, look at, there is one of the major accomplishments, is that without having completed Vietnam, you have maintained the posture of solving Vietnam instead of being dominated by Vietnam over three and a half years.
That, of course, is the immediate problem.
Then he says, most fundamental is the simple fact of life that Republicans are outnumbered almost two to one by Democrats.
The sales curve of the Republican Party has not looked good for 30 years.
President Nixon has done a remarkable job of maintaining public support in spite of this imbalance.
To expect a one-fifth greater level of approval, in other words, a raise from 50 to 60, almost assumes a radical change in our political culture.
It's hard to see how this could occur in a short period of time.
It assumes a state of public happiness and contentment.
That seems highly unlikely in this period of time.
Actually, I mean, that is what it is.
You've got to be realistic.
Your base is 50%.
You ought to be damn happy with 50%.
That's right.
But we had talked about whether it wasn't realistic trying to move our base along.
And he says, forget about raising it up.
We don't have a chance.
Because that turns against all the ties that are going against you.
He goes to what are some of the implications.
Also, you're going to try to win the election.
Basically, 2%.
That's what it's all about.
He says the President should continue to be unafraid to tackle and discuss difficult issues with the public.
He's done it in the past.
He can continue to do it.
He's managed to snatch issues right out of the hands of the opposition.
And he says one topic that might become a candidate for such a discussion is the recent burst of high food prices.
While sympathizing with the House Five, the President could explain food's taken a smaller share of the budget than it did 20 years ago.
In our situation, compared with the rest of the world, it can be a mystery gun.
You know, it's quite natural that many of us, various sheriff's claims, specifically the union leaders, labor leaders, never took on their real assignment to represent all working people.
That way, you're quite about to include many others.
Most importantly, if what you say is true, some chains are taking some action.
They should be very, very... Oh, they are, and they're making a big thing of it.
They really are.
Oh, yeah.
Running big ads.
Safeway stores.
And that was a decrease in the prices.
They were dying about that.
I noticed they were really squeamish about it.
There were some minor moves being made.
Well, there are minor decreases in the prices.
That's right.
And they're not just freezes.
It isn't just a freeze of half prices.
They're pushing back down.
He makes another interesting point, to try to base up and hopefully to improve it, is to work with issues on the key subgroups that have been reluctant to show high approval for the president.
Independent voters.
Well, that's not a subgroup.
Well, they are.
There are people who don't call themselves Republicans or Democrats.
Well, obviously, we're always saying that those aren't right.
But his point is, this group votes on the basis of how they feel problems are being handled.
and leadership, rather than on the basis of party loyalty.
Bob, and there we have a number of people with party loyalty for three to five years.
Right.
And it's got to be able to look.
Here is one place where we have problems with Mitchell, our Republicans general.
People talk Republicans.
Got them on their day wrong.
Then he says, another group are new voters.
While this group is registering more Democrat than Republican, a large portion are refusing to affiliate with either party.
And even those who do commit to a party have a stronger commitment than the habitual order.
You know, the president has made inroads in this group with his de-escalation of Vietnam and his daring initiative in Peking.
One issue that should be dramatized with youth is what the president's done to eliminate the draft, which is a tremendous statistical story that needs to be co-traveled.
The best way there is to say, oh, there are thieves who are not going to have that right.
And his other group is women.
So each of the president running less well among women than among men.
This may well be related to prices and inflation, possibly a lack of appreciation of interest the president has in women as a group.
I don't think so.
Bettering of their general status in terms of equal opportunity.
It would be a mistake to assume that because Nixon's administration has appointed more women to high positions than any of his professors, that this fact would speak for itself.
Nobody knows until we get hit.
Would you not agree with my mother that the problem must be
Now, basically, the women have got to be pretty satisfied with the math.
That's a people.
Math is a people.
So that is a problem.
I think, on the other hand, I do not believe that when we speak of women, you get out there and see a great mass of people that concern that women have.
is with regard to the status of women and all that sort of thing.
I think the pat-head approach and all the rest, I think it's fine for the young, particularly the young women.
It appeals to young.
But I think, basically, that when you really get at it, the women are more peacemaking.
And I think the women also are more idealistic.
They're more affected by something like ID&T.
And also, women, of course, are totally budget-conscious.
Is that a good question?
on the food budget and the special handling budget.
But when you get the prices of refrigerators down or frozen or automobiles or something, that is their purchase.
They're not very concerned about that.
And even clothing, they don't want to pay.
I don't think it's a question of whether women like the president or like Muskie or this thing so much.
Because I think if you were to run next against Muskie, you'd get a total of two years back to Mike or next against Humphrey, either as well as they would.
It isn't that that we're talking about.
No, from the personality standpoint.
The thing is that our people around here are likely to say, and we've got to do something that will get the president's warm personality across the web.
I don't think there's any.
Listen, I have a great question.
The president would like to do it.
Isn't that your idea?
Yeah.
Or do you think that is the answer?
No, it is the answer.
And it's because we've tried it with me, and you've gotten that.
I've had it hard to do.
The award is for women.
You know what I mean?
I've heard it over and over.
It's on my ears, Bob.
You only keep doing it, but it doesn't matter if you keep doing it.
Now, he makes the point that the timing for the president's presentation seems to be very important for now in the election.
The president needs periodic presentations to keep the bases from slipping, obviously with the objective building of the economic October.
The key would be that the president comes to you as president, providing leadership in key problems, rather than as a candidate presenting a partisan point of view.
That's good analysis.
This is his chart.
He makes his money today.
Good analysis.
Where you started, went up, you know, as you would at the beginning of office.
Declined in mid-year 60 in the moon landing.
Then started back down at the Vietnam speech, kicked it back up.
Started down, took the pick-up, then dropped way down between, went into Cambodia.
And then you started back down again when you withdrew from Cambodia and created back up.
We started down.
Congressional elections picked us up.
Well, not really.
See, that's September.
We started down.
They started us down.
We went back up after the elections.
And then we were doing pretty well.
And the Bible said we went under again and stayed down.
Pentagon papers, we stayed down.
And we started just working our way back up.
on the phase one program.
Then you dropped a little bit, and then phase two, you dropped, China hit, and you come back up again.
Was this in Yalta?
Yeah.
Then he shows the range.
There was a mixed average in the high and low Kennedy's and Johnson's.
Here you have the most Republican chair.
It was 20, you needed a new party.
It was 28 when you came in and stayed at 29.
Then went down to 26, 25.
Democrats haven't gone up there yet.
No.
What are they?
48 to 45.
45, 44.
Independence, 31.
Actually, the Democrats are a little bit winning.
The best guess there is you realize that a lot of that, however, you should really take the South out of it.
Yep.
Because it is not an index.
It's a part of registration.
You take the South out of it, you get a much closer battle.
They're all Nixon people.
If you took all the Democrats, the Nixon Democrats in the South, and called them Republicans, and then put this together, you would have a hell of a different picture.
Because the Nixon Democrats are a substantial majority all through the South.
Well, let's see what these... Well, if you want, I'll give you the drug radio and then take a look at it.
I guess it's still right here as you realize it.
This is more important than the other things that he's working on to get that damn speech finished.
I've got to have it by tonight, Bob, because otherwise I won't be able to get it.
I've told him you have to have it at 3 o'clock.
We're going to decide at 3.
We're not going to decide to go unless there is a speech that is deliverable.
And that's what's been wrong with this all along.
We decided it would be a good thing to go and then whipped up a speech and just decided we had something to say.
And then on the basis of that, we went and we got it.
That's why we're waffled back and forth.
That's ridiculous.
We don't do this very often.
It's a bad way to... Colson's argument is what's needed here is a decision.
You've got to decide you're either going to move on the tax help to public protocol schools or you're not going.
And my argument is that that may be true, but you can't make that decision in the context of being forced on this if we don't have the facts.
On the other hand, maybe this is the way to force it.
And he thinks it is, so... You've got a real problem, because you've got a basic, very fundamental division within your own place, I'm telling you.
The people who think you should do something for the progress, those people think you shouldn't.
In Europe, they're still pulling out those terrorist polls that show only 2% of the Catholics care about the Catholic schools and stuff like that.
It may be true.
So we've got to .
Schultz has a big study that shows that they don't want tax aid.
It's kind of interesting, as a matter of fact, because they finance the schools not through tuition.
They don't want to charge tuition because tuition isn't tax deductible.
They finance it through the parochial funds, parish funds, because the contribution to the parish is deductible.
So I, a Catholic, can give $1,000 to the parish and deduct it.
If I have to pay $1,000 tuition for my kid in school, it's an after-tax expense.
But the argument around that is that 60% of the kids in Catholic schools are non-Catholics, and therefore the Catholics, the parishioners, are supporting not only their own kids, but 60% of non-Catholic kids who the school is servicing for when they get no income.
Well, I don't know.
The thing to do with both Schultz and Ehrlichman though is to scrape them harder to see whether the real objection is to the fact that you can't say against private schools.
Schultz is not.
Schultz is for them.
I think Ehrlichman is against them.
Schultz is for them on the basis that our edu- he looks at it in the private way.
It's young.
Our educational system will collapse if you don't have the private schools.
We really think this will help.
Our office got another twist, which is to throw some bussing stuff in.
Which is a matter of... See, this is an opportunity to throw your, throw a shot in on bussing.
But I don't, that might be okay as a second shot, but you sure as hell can't go there and talk about bussing as your primary.
I think your chance of bussing is up and down on TV press numbers.
for the next whatever he did when he passed away.
They'll ask him.
I'm proud of him, son.
Is that what we do?
You know, I was thinking of a note that you should ever sort of see the dean of the conference on TV.
I don't see it.
Did you notice that one?
both Osborne and Sidey Henry reached so hard to, you know, on the Congress.
They had the discretion to say it was quite effective because Listener and others, you know, said that we should not have reached about the office.
We didn't enjoy it.
You know, it's not good.
Not good.
Funny thing at all.
I was tempted to cut it out and send it to both of them.
Sidey said the president, showing his age, has lost his tan.
And, you know, all of us, skin has become more leathery.
And he was painting this big picture, you know, you growing old in office kind of thing.
Osborne says, the president with a vibrant tan or something and looking very alert.
I mean, it's exactly the opposite.
Here are two men both standing in the same place looking at the same guy and writing 180 degrees opposite appraisal of his physical condition, even on the specific point of whether he's 10.
I think the physical conditions are perfectly appropriate to comment upon because the person looks old.
about that but when they get into this business the rather crap you know about yeah but he obviously didn't like it it just it was his chance or this about the other thing all that and it's true but that's one thing the tv conference does get across and those guys at the president didn't think that after this conference did they the test business no i didn't think that these bastards were just making that
They're going on a more basic thesis, which is trying to make the point that you don't like the press conference and that it's a very terrible ordeal for you.
Well, it is very impressive.
Who the hell is going to like the press conference?
Well, just a joke.
Don't forget to never put it in terms of any president.
It is for this president because of the press.
As Osborn himself admitted after he revealed Keogh's book, it was basically a bunch of mad jackals.
Osborn, in his hitting Keogh's book, admits all of Keogh's theses, though, which is kind of interesting.
There's no question.
Press Corps don't trust Richard Nixon, and they don't trust him.
Well, now, God damn it, break off, you know.
He's now admitted it.
He's come out there.
He's an enemy.
Why in the name of Christ did we quit?
Can we, are you, can we gut the message now and then?
I don't want to say we're going to appeal this one.
You understand, it was the T.E.D.
guy who did it.
I agree with you on that as well.
But now, you're going to agree on society too.
Yeah.
I'm going to do that for another reason.
It might not argue society because I will not, I'm not trying to say it's like, I understand that, but my point is,
I, uh, I don't think this is a good picture today.
If you told them they're going to have a press picture, I believe you're going to solve the question.
P.O.W.
was just about it.
That's what their DABA guy's saying is.
This is just a sketch.
There's a little 60, not 30, in the .
Get out of here.
The company has said it wants to go home to Texas.
No, this won't do us a part.
I think we ought to put Burns to be on for the company as well.
I don't think we ought to be.
Okay, fine.
Just say that it's second.
Okay.
But how is it here?
I don't think the one... Well, ask him to talk about it.