Conversation 709-009

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The strong conviction here is that Irving's from St. Helens.

If he says no, McGregor will then immediately call him and say, I just want to confirm my understanding of the meeting you had with Senator Bannon as to whether I should pursue this any further or not.

It's my understanding that you declined this suggestion.

And I want to confirm that that's correct and unequivocal.

And the senator will say yes.

Then we put the whole claim against public bullying into motion.

That's easy.

exercise or that's urban actually maybe that's the likely result and that's the uh if it's if that's what happens we can move on now but the problem the likelihood or another possibility which carpools is not likely it seems to me it would be a bourbon smart enough because urban is bonding on this so he may not be smart enough he may say you know that's an interesting idea i'll think it over and we'll talk about it on thursday and then what are we going

There's no point worrying about that until 10 o'clock.

We'll find out what happens then.

Why don't we just wait a minute?

I think we just got there.

We were going through all these things, and we finally decided the same thing.

We can drink on 37 options, and we're all out in an hour, so we better just sit and wait around.

The problem is, we're all here to move fast.

The difficulty is, you don't believe.

I'd go over again, and you could flash it.

without this urban thing.

Do you see what I mean?

Yeah, it's awful hard to... Well, I wonder, could you have long stayed in the rest?

I don't know.

I guess not.

Buddy, I'm sorry people would buy that.

Mitchell won't, because Mitchell strongly believes that there is a possibility that Mondays can get confirmed.

McGregor's view is that there's been a clear political decision made that has something to do with Kleindienst.

In fact, it's probably, in some people's minds, very unfortunate that it is Kleindienst, because they like him.

But liking Kleindienst doesn't stand in the way of trying to win an election.

And there's an interesting article in the Post this morning that comes up with the obvious conclusion, which is that Democrats are going to play this, and then

They're going to turn to their campaign team, which is, we will appoint an attorney general who can be confirmed by the United States Senate.

And by that time, we'll have Mr. Weinberger up there, right?

Well, yeah, if that's the jewel.

I don't know.

You're sure to sell a risk?

What?

What was the risk on anybody?

They won't take anybody.

Well, they might not.

You can find problems with anyone.

You can make him up.

It's a little harder for him.

I think he'd be very unusual in person.

What do you think?

I would think so.

And I don't think their idea of going to the Lewis Powell type is...

Okay, no.

You can't take the chance of putting a string on him.

Unless you've got somebody that you know is doable.

Nobody's suggesting that.

I don't think Bill Smith answers it.

Oh, because I don't think he's the towering figure you're talking about.

The difficulty with Bill Smith is that they, which John is the one, they talk about his clients.

Which gives us an impression that represents everybody in the investment industry as oil.

Well, you can be damn sure they have an IT&T subsidiary.

Oh, it's inevitable that they do.

No, no, no, no.

You've got to get the poor man on the poker.

Smith would be a good attorney general, but also, he doesn't have, Smith is no towering figure.

I mean, he is a five-eighth cap or whatever.

A nice fall.

A nice fall, according to the earlier ones, the Dean and Duke.

Yeah.

Now, that type, the Dean and Duke type, you might, you might ask, but how solid is he?

That's how you know earlier ones are solid.

Oh, I don't know.

You know what I mean?

Solid is the name.

If a people would tell you Charlie Ron is a solid fellow too, would you like Charlie Ron to turn you down?

He's your close personal friend, great campaign supporter.

Well, anyway, I'm not worried about the post editorial about that.

That's not, I mean, their story.

That's right.

It is, sir, where they have picked up the whole thing.

scenario and figured it out.

Well, we'll wait for that one until the end.

I don't know.

Give me a, do this for me.

I want you to just, over these next two weeks, until we get past this Vietnam thing, to cover the news things, you know, as we did during Cambodia-Laos thing.

Is there anything in the news that I should know about today?

I've read the paper.

I mean, I don't have the time to post it.

I will do that every day, but I'm not going to read the news summaries due to the fact that it's just a rehash.

Vietnam is a big story beyond that, but I don't need to tell anybody about Vietnam at all.

But is there anything else coming, like any other stories that I need to know about at the present time?

Anything on the San Diego Convention, for example, or anything on any of our other people assaulting somebody else?

I'm just trying to think.

There's nothing that comes to my mind, and I'll take a quick look just to be sure.

You take a quick look at them and say, look, there's about four items in the summary.

It's much better if I keep clear of it.

But I will count on you in a hurry.

And Colson, between, you know, you go with the hammering.

Right.

Okay.

Despite the ITT, the Colson's crowd is able to, they are going to undertake the defense of the president line this week.

They're willing to do that.

Oh, yeah.

Do they have enough horses to do that?

Yeah, they have ITT as well.

Yeah, oh, sure.

And it's different people, I guess.

ITT isn't that much of a thing.

I don't think you do.

And then to be perfectly frank with the Vietnam thing, I don't think you want

They're going to make a thing about the President's son and the captain in the emergency session.

That's what I need to warn them, but it doesn't seem to be a good idea.

I don't think you need to.

I don't think we're planning.

It also turns out to be the best cover for Henry.

I definitely will go to camp here Thursday night.

I can stay through Sunday for sure.

I may stay through Monday, and therefore Monday must be cleared.

What do we have Monday?

I don't know.

If there is a meeting in Paris, I have to be away at that period of time.

Now, for the purposes of the press, Kissinger is there with me.

You see what I mean?

Okay.

We'll just, he goes up.

In other words, we'll have Kissinger enter and he can just say,

Let me say it.

Ron isn't there, he's just guessing, see?

That's where he's going to be though.

We're going to have a perfect color that way.

You see that you cannot do that if he was here.

But you can do it if you can't leave it.

Because the canvas clothes ain't nobody, nobody comes in or out.

So when does Hayden get back?

Once he, he would have him come up.

The whole point is, I've got to say that Kissinger is there, because then it's going to be the hell out of town.

Yeah.

But you could also, when Haig comes back, he's got to report to Kissinger and Ewan.

I think Haig's got to shoot Haig up on the face of honor.

Excellent idea.

Excellent.

Haig can't come back and not see Henry.

Well, I think Haig will.

He's got to report him to the president and so forth.

To Kissinger about this.

Excellent idea.

There she is.

Oh, no, no, no.

There she is.

You're here.

That's right.

They will have already reported to you.

So then forget that.

I see that Wednesday night.

But we'll talk about it.

It's a nice part of the case, sir.

Has he still up to you Wednesday night?

Yes, sir.

That's all right.

There's no problem.

If he goes to a party, nobody's going to notice him for one day after that.

Nobody knows who goes or if he can't make it, gets taken out of the car and so forth and so on.

Go ahead.

I'll have it.

Okay.

So you go up right after the reception?

I go right after the reception.

Good.

And you're still, on a tentative basis, at least thinking of a press conference next week?

Oh, yeah.

Next week?

Yes.

Okay.

We're always thinking of that.

We haven't heard very well.

But that, I think, will be a good time.

Because we will have a true withdrawal announcement of some sort, actually, in any event.

If we don't do that, we'll have something else.

Ron or whoever goes to the Capitol today that used to be here, stayed fairly close to keep the idiot reporters' mics out of my face, you know?

Yeah.

I don't want to, I mean, I'm not concerned about it, except I just don't want to be blocked in a way that I have to respond.

Yeah.

Getting up or something like that.

They didn't even find some other entrance.

I think if you block some of the bridges off a few little, you see what I'm talking about?

They get down here and go and block us a little way so they are right on me.

Well, I'll be playing each thing.

Fire ahead.

He does about 70%, but he still has that 30% that he thinks may go the other way.

Obviously, if it would, we'd be better off.

on live TV today.

10 o'clock it starts.

A couple of minor things.

I talked to Connie Stewart this morning about the panda picture.

And Mrs. Nixon apparently insists on doing it tomorrow afternoon.

I told Connie that I'm totally against that and will continue to fight not to have that take place tomorrow.

You have a table tennis team here tomorrow.

So you get two tennis stories in one day and go on both.

Maybe she doesn't know that.

Well, I've made the point.

I'll continue to make the point, but I've only talked to her.

To Mrs. Nixon?

No.

No, I've talked to Connie.

I've talked to all of them.

I'm not concerned about this post story today about secrecy and so forth.

It's fine.

Why didn't you read the bottom paper?

Well, believe me, I didn't hear what they were writing.

That story works to our advantage for this reason.

You can play it this way.

The musk oxen in China are sick.

They are.

It's true.

That's right.

Why?

Because they aren't being, we can't say they aren't being properly taken care of, but you can make the point the other way, that the zoo and people here are taking every precaution to make sure the pandas get the proper treatment and they will not be exposed to it.

Or even we don't even care about the fact that the AP runs a story saying that they're keeping them secret and we're not allowing pictures.

The answer is that's right.

It's more important that the members' health be preserved.

Whenever the zoo gives the approval, they will.

We don't want these.

We want the weight so they're perfectly acclimated before any pictures are taken.

That's my review of the fact that most hospitals are sick.

But what's her problem?

She'll be away Wednesday.

Why can't she do it today?

Probably a bad day.

All right.

They might be.

I don't know.

I'd say it's a bad thing.

Let me work it out.

Come on, sir.

Of course, they're a big story tonight, too.

They're in Washington today.

Yeah.

And they'll, I don't know if it makes any difference.

They play out of Bethesda High School today, and they play at Kogar.

It's not going to be a lot of a picture.

Why don't we just do the random thing you are then?

No, no, no.

Here's my view of the table tennis.

I mean, look, we've been looking for ways to reopen the China visit.

And these are the two best shots we've got, the ping pong and the pandas.

We're on the right course here.

I'll just stop and listen.

Call her.

Call her directly.

And you can get her.

You can just call her and say that you're in it.

And then you say that it's your idea not to have it.

that it would be very bold and because the table tennis team will be the story of Martin and Cap.

And it will be a major story.

And we just have to separate the two.

Now, why do you want her on the man story?

She can't do it Wednesday.

If she could do it Wednesday, that would be fine.

But I understand she's got a kind of Wednesday, so that's what she can do.

OK. Now, on the Polish ambassador report coming out at 10.30, the question comes up, do we want to have a picture with the Polish ambassador in light of everything else?

Have you talked to him yet?

I haven't been able to get to Henry this morning.

Let me do this.

Don't tell him a thing.

I'll get Henry in just before I see the Polish ambassador and talk to him about it.

It's not up to you.

But I don't want to do all the English to him.

Okay, fine.

One argument for it is it makes a positive story on the Russian trip going ahead as planned.

Well, that's what I thought.

It does.

That, together with the advanced people.

But I want to get this deal as to whether or not we want that buzz.

For any reason, we don't want it.

I'll wait for your comments.

I'll raise some memories.

And if you get a buzz, that means we have them.

We do.

There's one there, which, of course, you wouldn't think there's anybody who would think about it.

I got to be sure about it.

It's a Polish thing.

Nailed it.

I don't want to have the son of a bitch come in and have a picture and say, well, my government now says I'm not going to go.

Yeah, he probably didn't understand the fact that we knock off any trips.

I want to knock them off.

I want somebody else to knock them off.

So everybody that wants to grab some story, who wouldn't have thought of a positive story?

I thought of that a month ago as whoever happens to be the Polish ambassador.

That isn't the fight.

The fight is, see what I mean?

The fight is whether this is something we can handle.

Well, we'll wait until you get the word.

We'll get to it.

There's an inordinate risk that it would run contrary to what we mean by the way it started.

But your whole line, Ron, and everything else should be causative, right?

No Russian.

protests in our area.

We expect that.

And we expect the Chinese protests, we expect that to start.

On the other hand, we're seeking good relations with our allies, with the Soviet and Chinese, recognizing there will be some areas of the world where we will have very fundamental and profound disagreements.

This is one of those areas.

We can have them in the past, we can have them in the future.

You're sleeping right there.

You can say about anything more.

Now, uh, I think we've got rockets pretty well positioned today.

We've got a tough line.

We've told the press we didn't say anything about the consulate.

But your old line should be, uh, the most, the most important thing is, any man, any man, don't call the thing.

You know what I mean?

It's a, in other words, if they say, well, how about the limits of bombing and the rest?

Are there going to be another strike like this?

What about this and this and that?

That's a military situation.

I'm not going to comment.

I don't want anything, any belligerent said out of here.

I don't want anything controversial kind of said out of here.

I mean, there was some story in the New York Times, and I don't know why, but most of the things that were stirred up by many, by the White House staff, at least a little bit, terribly dumb, to talk to this son of a bitch, Terrence Smith, who's a lousy little bastard.

Anyway, I've known him for years.

I can put out a story that who ate balls and that sort of thing.

You see what you do with that?

The great mistake that was made with the French, and the Germans, of course, fell for the mistake, and so it was, what I think was the cost to the French of two million and the Germans of a million and a half men, was redundant by making them send them to fight it to the goddamn rock.

Now, the minute that you have any jackass in White House style with the best intentions going out and talking to one of his friends in the New York Times, first he should have talked to anybody.

But I've given orders that that's the case.

The only man on the air time should be talked to.

But I know this is probably some well-intentioned guy burbling around in his cuffs.

But my point is this.

Don't read anything of it.

Don't, don't, don't read any.

Just describe it to a very common, very strong man.

How is the last Friday going better?

What about the protests and so forth?

No comment.

What about what must be in Hungary and so forth?

I have no comment.

I'd sure like to... We'll get that from elsewhere.

Elsewhere?

The point of this... You don't need to get it.

I'm not pushing for that.

The point of it is they should be passing resolutions in the United States Senate calling on the Northeastern League

Maybe we should be standing up and dignifiedly addressing the North Vietnamese invasion, not all of a sudden the stark emotional response against something that is dealing with an invasion.

They failed, apparently, to even comprehend what is going on.

You might say this, critics are shooting at the wrong target.

They should direct the fire at the communist forces from North Vietnam that are invading South Vietnam.

stop this invasion violation so and uh instead of uh you see my point yes sir i think you would say that much and they uh they're directing a strong target if they want peace uh to keep using that invasion order too it's taking hold you should use it i think you also might uh sort of give another little act that the uh

What I'd like to get all in, Ron, is the point that it's very puzzling to you, my son, the critics,

always end up taking the side of the enemy, who are invading South Vietnam, rather than the side of our allies, the South Vietnamese, who are defending our country.

I see you're just shade away from taking the side of the enemy, who are invading South Vietnam, rather than the side of our allies,

who are trying to defend their country against the communist division.

I think you should say that.

And let them, let them spill it.

What do you think?

Well, I think, I think we have a case to make.

And now Rogers is supposed to say these things today.

We should see whether he says it.

We'll bridge over to him.

We won't.

It's the end of the White House backing up.

Well, we will.

We'll do the three.

The other point we can come up with.

Let me say that on that, these two points could well be made.

You say it.

If you have a chance to say that, say it.

But if not, you say it.

Let's put it right to them.

We have a negotiating point to make.

We can say, here's a president who has withdrawn a half a million men.

And it's made and negotiated off in January.

I have all the material.

We've said it in the briefings and so forth.

But I just have a sense that we don't go out today and cover any broad new ground.

But I think it's worthwhile at 3 o'clock if they comment some questions.

You can just look them in the eye and say, look, here's the situation.

keep the invasion thing going.

And he showed that we're not backing down, but we're getting in the course.

Now, they say, if there are any limitations on them, I called the drivers on this, if there are any limitations on what we're going to do with regard to bombing, except for the military weapons, the President will do what is necessary.

Do what is necessary?

The following will stop when they stop invading.

If they stop their invasion, withdraw their forces across the DMC, does that mean all the people

just say withdraw their forces across the EFC, and then across the district, and they stop the invasion.

That's all right.

Another way you can put it, which I worked out, I turned it over to Roger, and he said, we will stop our bombing of military targets, or anything like that, before it.

to show confidence in the South.

He's sure to praise the South Vietnamese for fighting courageously to defend their homeland.

He's going to be very proud of our Air Force people who have provided to help this country preserve our homeland against a communist invasion.

And he's using the word communist invasion to use the term that you did one day last week where you said, no, I think you've got it right.

Say it again.

Look him in the eye.

See, we have a tendency when we

When there's a big thing like this, then we begin to back away and withdraw and get defensive.

Well, damn it, we shouldn't do that.

The actions we're taking, there's no reason to be afraid of it.

The problem is that we didn't.

Colson and his outfit didn't drop the ball.

They dropped the ball, actually, because they didn't know what they were supposed to do, apparently.

But they did exactly what Henry told them to.

Henry was very adamant that he didn't want to escalate the debate.

Now he's saying, since the debate is escalated, we can do it.

Well, the debate was escalated last week.

And, you know, the thing is, you see, Henry's line this morning, you know, was, well, I didn't want to get the attack started any sooner than we had to by the Democrats.

Well, what the hell?

Obviously, they're going to attack the day we...

dropped the first bomb.

We're all right.

I think we're doing good.

There's uncertainty a little bit, but the invasion thing is there.

I want you to hit the idea.

I would suggest that some of the critics should start speaking up for the South Vietnamese who are defending their country against the Communist invasion of the North.

And those brave American pilots

airmen and seamen who are helping them uh rather than taking the side uh always always finding a way to take the side of the economy put it right on there and put it down there as fine as me i mean

Well, the other point is, too, many of the critics seem to suggest all they have to do is close their eyes and the problem will go away.

The North Vietnamese will stop invading.

That's the line they're taking.

They're saying, well, the efforts on the part of the United States to deal with an invasion, the way to stop the problem there is just close your eyes and forget about it.

And we'd take it to the United Nations Security Council and call for a ceasefire.

Why didn't they do it?

You know why?

You know who sits in Security Council?

The Russians!

And now the Chinese!

Gee, I'm not going into too many details.

One's enough.

It's the silliest goddamn thing I ever heard of.

And I listen to the ads.

both Russians and Chinese are in the Security Council, and that's the reason why the Humphrey's administration was not taken to the Security Council.

Okay, the Muskie's good resolution is to stop all military operations immediately.

That's going to solve the thing.

Stop all of ours?

Yeah, that's his resolution.

Stop all U.S. military operations.

That's the .

I'd like to.

What has been done about it as well?

That's the whole need to hit.

And I don't think you should hit any of the individuals by their proposals.

I don't think you should.

Well, we don't.

I wouldn't.

I would want to .

I'll just keep it to the critics.

Keep it to the critics.

The only other thing we'll get here, and we always get it when there's an action like this, when did the President decide on this?

When was he?

Tell him to go straight to hell.

I'm not going to tell him a goddamn thing.

And don't you, I've given you this order before, but given under no circumstances from now through into the election, anybody in this White House to see John Osborne or Hugh Siding alone.

No call is ever going to be returned to either.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

Absolutely.

Fine.

And as far as when the president decides, I have no comment.

All right.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

I've made my decision.

I'm not going to do anything.

I don't know what I had for breakfast, whether I slept well or not, whether I'm calm or not.

None of their goddamn business.

Don't talk about that.

We're going to speak totally on it.

I'm not going to discuss that.

I have nothing to talk about.

I have nothing to comment on.

Okay.

Fine.

If the rest is silent, I have nothing to comment.

Well, then we'll make the point.

We're taking a very hard line.

We're going to continue to take a hard line.

It's too bad that I didn't realize that they were everything Henry's.

Henry tells me, because I asked him about that, that that isn't what he said.

He said that he launched attacks on the Democrats.

He said that he ought to at least launch some defenses of what we were doing there.

We've done that.

We've answered every attack as it's come.

But it doesn't work unless you attack the opposition.

The only thing we haven't done is to, on our own, well, maybe it isn't all that bad that we didn't.

I don't think it is.

I'm not concerned about it.

There comes a time to attack.

Maybe the time is to attack.

We've had the invasion line firmly established.

We have a posture of calmness.

We have the double-track thing going in some sophisticated ways.

Well, I can say that on both, on both, on both, I think about the negotiations.

Now, I thought it was a great job, the co-op and the secretaries.

Three, almost three years before the speech, you fully ragged me.

of whether or not we were negotiating in every area.

On November 22nd, the full record of our negotiating efforts, privately and publicly, was put out.

And a lot of you who had written that the administration was not going far enough in terms of seeking to negotiate, had pretty red faces.

I'm not going to discuss what is taking place in private channels now, but I will only say the record since January of this administration in seeking to negotiate a settlement publicly, and privately, and privately, when it is reviewed, is going to also leave some very good visions for you gentlemen in the press to stay that way.

Thank you very much.

Well, Rob, are there some privacy regulations?

Are you suggesting or can we speculate?

I have nothing to say about that.

But just leave a hand out there.

Just say you're going to use the term red faces.

There were red faces, those of you who said we were here doing everything we can.

Well, what about this breaking up?

Don't assume, gentlemen, don't assume

It's true, they did have red faces, didn't they?

No, no.

Call Mrs. Nixon right away.

Just tell her that the press, tell her the press duration question.

They really have, they can't run more than one China story a day and give that a good play.

We want, the president wants the Panda story to get the big play.

So the respect for the Bing Bong team, we've got to get the Panda story.

I mean, I personally basically don't like to see them ever put their heads in the water.

I like to attack.

But on the other hand, there's something to be said in this instance to allow them for four days to, and that's when they really started to like it, you know, when they started bombing, to allow them to get right out there at the end of the continent and just tear the hell out of them.

But our people now have to tear the hell out of them.

That's the point.

Do you see my point?

Sure.

I suppose not.

Would you do that?

It is the time, it's better.

Eggman could go out and kick the shit out of them, kick them right in the balls.

Get Buchanan to write a vicious speech for Eggman and deliver someplace.

Or maybe that's a better plan than anybody else.

I know, for example, you can get Rockefeller and Reagan to join in this joint statement or anything that you like.

We might put that down as a possibility.

That would be a nice little combination.

Maybe they got better plans, Bob.

I don't know.

I don't think they were planning on it.

I think it would be good.

Or he's doing a supermarket institute today, which isn't the place to go.

But he's got a Tulsa speech tomorrow, and that would be.

Mm-hmm.

Get Buchanan to write the pieces, the fetus, taking the side of the enemy, and all that sort of lying.

God, I really pray that the writer should be strong today.

His relations will, can't be a bad nut, but his relations will be totally broken if he ducks and runs.

I don't think he will, but, you know, having him be there, and then take it right down to the, that's my ground.

Yep, he will.

The best gun in the war has been that Lieutenant Colonel Liffey.

It's a new cross-bansion.

It is the greatest pleasure I'm going to have.

Just to get those cross-bansions whining, hell-eating about it.

You know, there used to be a time when fellows like Dick Wilson would be about, Bill White would be about even or slightly better than even in terms of PR effect, you know.

Now there are counting voices in the meetings.

They're columnists, of course.

Of course, excuse me.

I have to think that some of the people who are a little bit ginger about this thing.

On the TV, people have had Ed Locke lost.

They should be lost.

And they've had, because of that.

Who in the hell do you think is the right outside to be talking to Eric Smith?

Who in the world?

That was that.

I'm not blaming anybody.

I just sort of wanted to find out who was sitting on the staff, you know, who went out and talked to that son of a bitch Harrison.

If they had given it to Joe Alsop, I wouldn't mind to decide that if there was anybody in the staff meeting because that isn't the line that any, that's the opposite of the line that's been consistently taken.

That's the strange thing.

Whoever said it is somebody who has no concept of what the plan is.

Because losing Ann Locke is something.

I mean, losing the way is, you know, don't, don't, don't, don't.

The boys are going to work hard and so forth.

They had a nice time with John.

I don't think anybody wanted him.

Poor little chap, they had a hell of a problem.

They couldn't get an audience for him at a great price.

They'd break it away when people wouldn't come.

They invited the diplomatic corps, as they always do, and set up a special plane for them, and only something like eight or ten accepted, so they canceled the plane.

And, uh, not many.

It's over.

People just aren't, aren't interested anymore.

They had a, you know, a nice crowd down there, but it wasn't like our kids when they were getting a hold of a celebrity driver.

It wasn't like what they'd been before.

See, they're all living in their own world.

But people will watch it when they go to the movie, which is right.

Well, there's apparently going to be some spectacular television from the zone on this trip.

They've got new cameras, and they're running a lot more hours of TV and all that.

So that'll be...

We had thought it was a possibility, but it seems to me it's incongruous now.

Did you find, on the way to the comrade lunch today, one of some of the... No.

your 19th and Constitution site where the Bicentennial Gardens are going to be.

They're going to present the plan on Wednesday.

Well, no.

No.

But I don't think it... No.

Homer Lunch is going to be just done.

Yeah.

I think it was a nice idea, that, but I... Well, it might have been, you know, if nothing else we're having, it would be a...

I think it looks a little bit as if we're trying to play it too cool.

Yep.

And apparently you talked to Frank Boa and said you wanted to have him come in to talk to you about his future plans.

No.

Well, it's January and you talked to him.

I'll see him in the dinner.

OK.

I think he's probably been ranking after Homer.

You know, have Frank.

Have Frank.

And any of that, have him be seated by me.

At the dinner.

In other words, on one side or the other.

Is that clear?

I don't know what the hell he wants to do.

I'm 75 years old.

I'm going to call my first.

Go ahead.

You know what?

They must have burned the ass of Teddy Gooding.

I can see, of course, many that this is the war that is on their side.

It still locks the shit out of their story for a few days, doesn't it?

Huh?

Yep.

And it's, you know, they're all making the point that your whole strategy was to keep the war out of view was an issue.

I'm not sure.

They don't realize our problem is exactly the opposite.

My strategy, I didn't want to create anything, but that's their strategy.

One of our problems was that the war was disappearing.

The positive side of this issue, it would see the president as a commanding chief, but we, as I told you, we're going to give a goddamn of a public reaction here.

Not a damn.

I don't want anybody to even talk to me about it.

We're going to do the right thing.

Everybody around here is going to start thinking that way.

But I think everybody around here should be talking to yourself.

I don't know what, but he called me and said, oh, I'm doing the right thing.

The Americans for Freedom are even sending you resolutions.

Bob Hannaway?

not what i mean people around here mean like they're research types except if you can saw these god damn it they all stand up and say we're proud of the president is willing to risk his political future and everything else in order to what's right for the united states now somebody else put it that way that's really what's involved here you know and a lot of people know that don't they yeah it's been recognized oh sure i mean it's been recognized by our critics you know it's been written the other way

Well, it's been a good one from the standpoint of a leader.

Leader types, in my opinion.

Governor Rockefeller or something.

Billy Graham and things like that.

Well, the poster types have the feeling that it's good enough to people that there's a...

They can't tell yet.

There's a hawkish feeling that this is... Well, the reaction of Billy Graham's people had as a chancellor of the university.

I told you.

Yeah.

There's, he said, he said, because we had withdrawn all that bullshit that horses that just didn't seem right, that now they would invade, you know, I mean, they're all defaults on their side.

Now the invasion line, of course, State didn't want to put that out in the press gate for printing, but that's the only good thing we've done in the PR side.

was a good thing to do just like our invasion of cambodia which they played the other way it was us invading cambodia that was a terrible thing we were doing if you can play then invading across the dmc violating the understandings there's right three divisions and all that

Raid of South Vietnam.

It's danger to American soldiers.

It's danger to the South Vietnamese.

Raid of civilians.

Interestingly, even the battlefield, I mean, not battlefield, but the horror story stuff that they run on television has been the other way.

It's been the horrors caused by the North Vietnamese invasion.

You mean like the strategy?

Yeah, showing little kids all shot up and the usual stuff that they do.

They do it by fire look every night.

They are, but it's, they are showing it, yeah.

Yeah.

They're not showing, as us now, of course they'll try to, they'll bust their asses to try and show that, play the, the Hanoi line of, you know, that you killed a lot of civilians in the bombing of Hanoi and all that sort of stuff, but we're not sure they'll get away with that either.

Well, one thing that they're having a hell of a time with, Bob, is to prove that Americans are engaging on the ground.

They're trying their goddamnedest to say, well, there's an advisor here or there.

The only thing they're pushing is the truck driver thing that we might do.

We had a truck driver who was driving in the green, you know.

He still lives up somewhere.

Isn't that unbelievable?

Yeah, but it's such a goddamned thing to do.

Yeah.

You're absolutely right.

Yeah.

What do you think we should do now, Lord?

They have complained because we...

The Turkish, the Indonesian, and the Russians complained because we bombed the high point.

What do you think?

Well, they have complained before when they started attacking South India.

Just one question with another one.

Tell us, who gives you the right to attack South India?

So what do we do now?

Well, sir, as I was telling you before, the worst, we start attacking.

It's happening now.

And this destroyed.

Every man wanted and he won't demand.

The best one is dead.

Did you?

Oh, Christ.

You'll see him in a minute.

Well, if you could, you might be safe.

Because I don't know what his mood is.

I didn't talk about the situation today, so I didn't know how to do it.

On the other hand, I think it's a good idea to really operate until I'm refreshing something.

I think, really, that that's what he ought to do.

I don't believe that has to come.

But he should walk in at this point.

I mean, the letter should walk in now and say that he's going to have to check out and see what might be.

And I must say that

But you never know, it just may be that, you know,

We do so many things through aides here.

Erwin probably told one of his boys to do something, and Schultz maybe had one of his boys do something, and Stein had one of his boys do something, and that's not the ship, it's the man.

Correct?

Sure.

I'm sure there's a way to handle it.

It's always with the big man.

You've got to do it directly, you see.

That's the mistake that the staffers make.

You know, they just mark something and check with Connelly.

Boy, you can't send that.

Boy, you can't do that.

They, I'm sure, there are things that are not at the level that should go to Connelly, and so they figured that they shouldn't bother him with it.

I know.

And most of them, they shouldn't.

That cuts both ways, too.

You know, you do, and then Connelly says, well, why don't you waste your money?

Kind of let this chicken and shit stop.

Yeah.

Yeah, we just gotta... No, I'll tell you the same thing.

You'll have to do it to the extent that he sticks around.

He won't spend more of your time.

Even earlier, basically, that's what it takes time to.

John now has time.

He's probably wandering there.

Like his last outsider's office in Tua County has time to sing.

Of course, it may be that the economy feels like a program all the time.

Now, that's another problem.

He doesn't seem to indicate that, because he doesn't raise any sense of it, I'm saying.

But, well, and when I, you know, I push on meeting with the president on that kind of thing.

And sometimes when he's got time scheduled, he'll say, no, I don't need to see him.

I don't need to see him this Sunday.

Come on, we can't really do this.

Come on, no, it's just to be sure he's here.

So I'll cover that.

I think it's going to be a nice spring after all.

Those trees.

Yesterday was creepy.

It stopped suddenly.

We couldn't get together.

We couldn't get on the boat.

We couldn't do a thing.

That's the worst of all weather.

It's literally scattered thunderstorms.

You know, you stop and think.

He can't really fill in the staff enough.

He's like, what would I have?

And I overruled everybody, all of them.

He suggested, he said he wouldn't hurt me at all about this Henry and Hagen.

But I just, when I go to order, double it with a B-52 fleet in Maine.

That didn't come from the battlefield.

We did it right from here.

And the Navy, we are brutal for more than ten times as much.

If we had not done that, South Vietnam would be lost today.

Does that figure what you're talking about?

Well, we probably said that the Vietnamization has failed.

That's what Muskie said.

The Vietnamization has failed.

And so Muskie said Vietnamization.

And so he says we should get out, is what he's saying, a resolution to withdraw all Americans.

Is that what he's saying?

To cease all military operations.

They fire.

In other words, he wants to cease fire.

We cease and they continue fire.

They fire.

We can't have that kind of a cease fire.

It must be on both sides.

He's not totally, not totally irresponsible.

Okay.