Nixon & Haldeman on Vietnam War and Congressional strategy

1:43:10How's it going?
1:43:10Oh, he looks great.
1:43:14Could you approach us for a moment?
1:43:16My God, really?
1:43:16He's pretty wild.
1:43:22He has some problems with bone.
1:43:27There he is.
1:43:28Slow it down.
1:43:29Sugar, that would ensure that he's not going forward.
1:43:31My view is that what we should do in that period is
1:43:36They can sit down there and you can sit down on the pier and fish and have a nice vacation.
1:43:45We'll sit down there and might as well take the dogs down and they can go down there and the two of them.
1:43:49We could probably just use a plane.
1:44:02We'll do that.
1:44:05We're gonna try to get him knocked out of the conference this week, which is Monday.
1:44:21Take a look.
1:44:22And because at one point, they've tried to get out.
1:44:25Yeah, but the really is kind of a, you know,
1:44:33Let's say he'd appeal in terms of that I'm taking the hard line.
1:44:36Sure.
1:44:36Here he is taking the... You and Laird and him.
1:44:39He's got all of you out on the hard line with him.
1:44:42And then he just comes right around the backside and hits the peace offer.
1:44:49I think the point to make with it is the peace offer is fully known and is being observed by people, but that that's not what we want to appear to be pushing at this point.
1:45:04Yeah, I just say that the next week we're gonna need, we're gonna need a shot.
1:45:13Let's, let's wait.
1:45:14For the P.O.W.
1:45:14wives thing, we'll wait till next week and do anything, don't you?
1:45:20Yeah, I...
1:45:20Concerned about doing it at all?
1:45:23They feel now you should do the three, not the full board, just the three.
1:45:27Oh, I can't.
1:45:30Unless you want to give us a pick today.
1:45:33No, no, no.
1:45:34We can't do it once in Boston, once in Richmond.
1:45:38We have to bring them in.
1:45:39All right, Monday.
1:45:41And if we can do it, the thing to do would be, let that be a story to start off with.
1:45:47It's a good enough story, it'll re-pick up the positive side of the issue there.
1:45:51All right, sorry for Monday.
1:46:03We've still got the question of what our congressional strategy is.
1:46:27Clark says now that
1:46:30What our friends up there are pushing for is a sense of the Congress resolution, but with leaving the fund cutoff in.
1:46:44Which is to take Chase Church.
1:46:51Change the December 31st cutoff to 120 days after the ceasefire.
1:46:56You really got the question?
1:47:00It's weak in the one sentence, but it strengthens your position.
1:47:04I don't think you need your position strengthened, maybe, but... Well, let me ask you to do this.
1:47:15Why don't you try the damn thing on Henry?
1:47:19I mean, collect the damn wall.
1:47:21But I mean, just work on it.
1:47:23Don't say, but mainly don't say Clark is for it.
1:47:25Right.
1:47:26You know, you say that this is something that our friends, the Hawks and the Bears, they gotta be, they can live with that.
1:47:34What's he think about it?
1:47:35I, my own view is that he's got a reaction to it.
1:47:47The Congress fighting in Syria is a problem.
1:47:50They have to worry about it, too.
1:47:53I mean, as I do think it does, we in our position, I think, in terms of our goal of keeping the South African minority at least guessing in the race,
1:48:03I didn't think it was our decision for us to say we're going to do this.
1:48:12I think we could choose the morale and all that sort of thing.
1:48:17So maybe the Congress goes ahead and passes the commandment.
1:48:21I don't know whether that would do well.
1:48:22The other thing is the Congress could pass something worse.
1:48:24But the other side, too, is maybe the way to do it is let them stay out of it, but let our people in Congress move towards this.
1:48:33As being, if they've got to pass something, it's better for them to pass this than it is for them to pass a straight group of charity.
1:48:39Case charity.
1:48:49And then if they do pass it, we can say, rather than hailing it as a triumph, just say, well, that's what the person said in his speech earlier.
1:48:58So what?
1:49:06I think the difference there is the comics, they're going to pass on.
1:49:09Yeah.
1:49:09If they can do this without a fun cut-off, would you feel better about it then?
1:49:18Well, that's just our proposal.
1:49:19Hell yes, that's fine.
1:49:21Or maybe they have to have a better cut-off.
1:49:23It sure means that their bill or whatever it is, the Senate doesn't have to be here.
1:49:38Oh Christ, if we could get that one.
1:49:39That's fine.
1:49:40I see no problem with that.
1:49:41It's a fun color.
1:49:52Cause is related.
1:49:54Offensive action is something like that.
1:49:55They say it's the sense of the Congress that has the fun speed.
1:49:57And if that doesn't... Well, it sounds like it.
1:50:02Yeah.
1:50:02We've been through that before.
1:50:07Yeah.
1:50:13I suppose you have a goal with Henry on the thing.
1:50:14And after we've had lunches, I think there are certain I'll call down here and get the people and I'll make the decision.
1:50:26But I don't know how I can think about it at all.
1:50:32Okay.
1:50:32I bet you have another hour, I suppose.
1:50:35No, not really for Monday.
1:50:38Was that right?
1:50:39I haven't saw it for long.
1:50:41At least that's what they said this morning.
1:50:46It's my understanding that the moment of salvation is coming, my friend.
1:51:29Ben, in his poll analysis, comes up with an interesting point.
1:51:32He says there's obviously a wide chasm of difference between the reaction of the public as a whole and the reaction of the radical students who are getting so much attention in the demonstration business.
1:51:41He says that without taking a survey, we can be sure the public has strongly disapproved of negative behavior every poll we've taken.
1:51:48You know what I'm saying?
1:51:50It may well be that it would want to crystallize and articulate a public opinion even more strongly on that thing.
1:51:55In other words, it may want to
1:51:58go for a device in there.
1:51:59I'm not sure you need to.
1:52:00I mean, if that's a point we could use or hold in reserve, it would demonstrate how to be packing.
1:52:07Hmm?
1:52:08Pay with anything?
1:52:09Yeah.
1:52:10To demonstrate.
1:52:14I'm not sure we have to pick them.
1:52:15I think they'd maybe just, that kind of takes care of itself.
1:52:18And there isn't all that much ginning up.
1:52:24Minnesota's the only place where any is.
1:52:27Where do you find him?
1:52:31I don't think he ever got left.
1:52:41I have a question for you.
1:52:42Do you have any of you sitting with Henry's credibility on this thing?
1:52:44I mean, thank you since he's talking, but...
1:52:50Probably will be, because it's a press conference and stuff.
1:52:52Probably not a bad idea.
1:53:04Yeah, I think maybe that would be good if you could talk to Henry a little bit.
1:53:06The first thing I said, if you could talk to him a little about this other problem.
1:53:08And then I'll try to...
1:53:09I don't see anything you'd like to go over there.
1:53:11No, you... You might as well stay here.
1:53:14Actually, then it's better for me if you just go to... Do that.
1:53:35Good.
1:53:35If you can't stretch this, yeah, come over here.
1:54:05Yeah, everybody's been pushing a whole lot of stuff.
1:54:07You know, so if anything, Johnson couldn't have ever gone through this kind of thing.
1:54:27He had to watch himself.
1:54:29Worrying about the Senate.
1:54:32Worrying about the Russians.
1:54:35Worrying about, you know, everything.
1:54:36Boy, you couldn't get yourself in the worst position because they don't know what they're doing.
1:54:39They're flopping back.
1:54:40You know, they're bouncing around.
1:54:42You're so much better off to stay out of that and steer your own course.
1:54:48Oh, right.
1:54:51We're getting excited about the prices, and we've never seen them so confused.
1:54:55They had some World War III this morning.
1:54:57And he said to the guys, it kills them.
1:54:58It kills them for a while.
1:54:59I don't know if it's a matter of this World War III thing.
1:55:10I don't think people are that scared.
1:55:13But they know one other thing.
1:55:14They cry a little too much now.
1:55:17Well, I wasn't supposed to.
1:55:20Oh, I can't believe it, especially Chinese or others coming in then.

Nixon & Haldeman on Vietnam War and Congressional strategy

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on May 11, 1972

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