Nixon, Roberts & Henley on Television broadcasting and Public image

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Nice to see you again.

Well, you look so young and heartless.

You are.

I've been behind you in years.

Actually, I'm picking up on you.

If you don't watch, I'll never catch.

How are things going?

You're having a fantastic, I guess, reception.

You're a part of the country.

It's radio, television, et cetera.

I must tell you something.

It's about to settle.

I related to three and a half years ago.

You've just become president.

And what I consider the most improbable loss that you have run towards.

Yeah.

Very good.

This was 1900.

What year did you die?

This time, well, 68.

69.

All right, Jack.

Right in there.

And he was in March after that.

March, March.

I didn't know if God would occur with me or what would really happen.

And you came to my mind with such force that this man didn't let anything

I met with the officials.

I came up with a new television format.

I went back in the year.

And that year, my biggest year, I received a million and a hundred thousand letters.

This year, I will get five billion for my work as a cripple.

And let me tell you something.

The fact that you have gone through all this, having a

I just related this to him.

I didn't know if they were going to have a chance to tell people about the narrative.

But the fact that he became president under those improbable odds has done a lot to many of us.

Well, I'm grateful to hear that.

I hope it's true.

On a new show.

I have 22,900,000.

I do a lot of radio.

It's all the way every week.

It's all Russians.

You're the specialist.

Well, I have a handout on television every Sunday morning.

Oh, I see.

And I'm the number one ranked program in all of you, secular or religious, on Sunday mornings.

I have 80% of all TV sets turned on to watch us.

This is given to me by ARB, which I pay for.

But now once a quarter, I have a primetime

killed J.J.R.

I had $22,900,000 at my last one.

I just finished a special in London.

I just come home with some great British cards and I should have my largest reading.

But I tell you, you see there's only two and a half people in my home watching me and telling me.

And I'm a person that relates to you.

I only talk to you.

I never talk to an audience or

proud of America, I talk to you.

And I teach you.

And the reading comprehension of the American public is the seventh grade.

This is a new public figure.

It's only the seventh grade.

So I'm a born red Oklahoman.

I came up the hard way.

away now your last your performance on TV back from China and Russia you talk more to me than you ever had before it's like you were saying I don't know if anyone told you this or not but there's a change coming from your eyes and from you

in your manner before you seem to talk to the nation.

Now, Billy loves this.

Billy and I are very, very warm friends.

In fact, he's going to be a guest star on a fall special.

But Billy talks to America, and somebody has to do this.

I talk to you, the more than a person.

The last two times I saw you was in China.

After Russia and China died, I don't recall the incidents, but you explained to us what had happened.

And like you were saying before, I was over here talking to the premier of China, and he said this to me, and I said this to him.

And I turned to my wife, and I said, honey, watch this.

He's talking to us tonight.

See, there are only two of us in the room.

Right.

I'm sure I can't answer that.

I can never advise you, but if I had a word, if I had a word, basically for my three and a half years, coming back up, out of the ashes you might say, this is what I have done.

There may be a change in your feelings, I don't know.

But you're talking to us now.

Give you a more relaxed answer.

Now, I teach myself.

When you're supposed to change cameras, they have that light that goes off.

That's a human being to me.

The moment that light comes on, I'm talking to John Smith, our married children.

And her level of comprehension is the seventh grade.

Now, of course, some show in the book

He did that.

It was subtle.

It was a subtle change in you.

That's right.

After the China trip and the Russia trip.

Yes.

I don't know if anything happened to you or Eric on the Russia trip.

Here's what you communicate to me.

Do you want me to tell you?

Sure.

When you got back from China and Russia, your face, your eyes,

Even some of your words, but mostly you.

Just the man who's saying now.

This thing has been tough.

We've been far apart.

But I went over there as a man.

I sat down with a lot of human beings.

And we talked.

And we probably never settled all our differences.

They see it one way.

We see it another way.

I didn't compromise.

I didn't give up anything.

And they didn't compromise to give up anything.

And there was a feeling that came out that was priceless.

It's all over the country.

You gave us the impression that you're thinking.

I quit thinking of you as a Republican.

See, I'm a registered Democrat, sure.

I don't think of you now.

I think of you as the leader of our country.

And this came about mostly

through these pressures of God.

And you gave me the feeling, and my wife summed it up, and she said, he probably has thought more about what he's going to do to bring about these changes in our lifetime.

That's what you're communicating right now.

Before, it was a kind of battle.

I'm up here fighting for this and fighting for that.

I didn't solve everything, but it was incredible.

Now, did you feel that way across?

I think so.

Well, that was an actual fact.

Well, that's what you said.

That's the thing that is important.

See, I don't even remember your words.

I remember what was coming out of your spirit.

It doesn't matter your words so much.

And that's what we learn on television.

It's what they get from me, apart from me.

A lot of people can sleep better than I can sleep.

But they can't feel better than I can feel.

That's the difference.

And I, as a human being, I only want one thing.

I want to know if this man is concerned.

If he's not, he can indicate.

And whatever is happening, this is what you're beginning to communicate.

If you're concerned about me as a person of America, I'm upset about the problems in the country.

It's happening to me.

I don't like us when we're in a Western country.

But you're coming and you're saying, well, I'm very, very concerned about that.

Now, that makes me feel better than all the words you say.

you have an image of America that's probably a 60 degree turn from what I see and feel for it.

Yes.

They say, they don't actually want to tell you.

They don't think of it as a part of the church.

It's probably because it's happening in you.

They'd be unconscious.

And right now, people in this country, including myself, we won't be reassured.

We don't want our country to fall.

You see?

You think that's true, huh?

All right.

It's true of me.

Right.

seven-year-old mentality, for example.

Seventh grade mentality.

About 12 years old.

Seventh grade.

See, I'm concerned about what happens to my wife and my children, my job, my taxes.

I don't want my taxes raised.

I don't care how low the cost is.

The cost of inflation is

Seven years, I am now fighting for my life.

But not only am I, but everybody else is.

They get raises, but it doesn't mean anything, you see.

And right now, we're sorry.

It's like we've over-exercised.

Our bodies are sore.

And the leader comes in and says, I want you to run about for me down to the room in the store.

We don't feel like getting up.

We want someone to put a hand on our shoulders and say, look, things are tough.

And they may be a little tougher, but I'm concerned.

I'm working.

So, you know, from what my own experience is, that's very helpful.

Because they are in communication with each other.

It's great to see each other.

You take a look at James Bryan, who was the great orator of the plains in 1896 and 1900 and 1994, quickly 1916.

But he probably would have gone on to office probably

I don't think I'm any different than the typical American.

I may be more advanced because I've worked harder.

Yeah, but that's the only advancement I've had.

Sure, I have to make land runs, and we're different.

We're probably more basic American than most people because we're still close to the land.

We're conservative in our religion.

We're concerned about religion.

And Oklahoma, if you get Oklahoma, if you understand Oklahoma, you probably will get America.

See, I don't know you well, except through TV, but you're beginning to say to me what I'm saying.

And this is the way we are at the home.

didn't just touch my family.

My son, my oldest son was in Oregon, and now my son-in-law went last week to be drafted.

Through these new laws that you're putting in, whinings and that, my son comes back.

My son-in-law comes back.

All right.

You have my wife, myself, my daughter.

Through this one single act,

And it was going the other way.

And I don't think I'm going to be more sensitive to things like this than others.

Because we've reduced the driving.

Of course, no driving.

Yes, yes.

That means something to me.

It means something to me because of where I'm going.

Sure.

What I'm trying to say is you're showing a concern.

You're concerned about me, not Mr. Merrick.

And I think the thing that you're able to do, and you're going to come into it now probably 100% on your teleconferences, is read your names.

You're going to talk to us, and you're going to get what I say out of your gut.

That's not a nice word to say.

I understand.

You're not talking to me.

Also, we've got $50 million in the house.

We have $46 million in the house.

Here's the new special events center.

I'm going to show you.

It's finished next month.

It says your body, spirit, mind, and intuition are the whole thing.

That's the prayer tower.

That's the academic hub of the land.

And this will be accreditation within our six

This is the new special events center that the government department wanted me to mention to you.

It holds 10,500 for basketball, 10,000 for speed.

You can see this.

We have large rooms and by close certainty, we have 70,000.

And here is our center.

I'm a 50%.

I'm a

Flood the applications.

And get every boy out of his tie and shirt, head and legs, knees and whatever.

Really, try it.

There's the New York Times in June that just wrote an article about it.

And there's the new building.

The governor of the park said to me, how would you like the rest of this building?

I said, there's no building.

He said, I mean, there's no building.

But I'm going to leave that to you.

Leave this to God.

That would mean three weeks.

Well, he could do it any time before election day.

But no doubt in my mind, yourself, they would naturally tell him, I said, yourself?

Well, there's nothing interesting in us as well, because we're new.

We're like a Cinderella student now.

Sure.

But you'd have 2,000 students out in front of you, all with ties, all the boys with ties and

We have to use an economy that's as good as ever.

You ever had an epidemic?

Oh, yes.

A thousand girls, a thousand women.

Didn't you tell me that 80% of your super body is a public company?

80%.

We had a poll in the spring.

80% are in the company.

So I didn't plan it.

I had no way of knowing it.

This was the EU, the department.

Sure.

But I just had him out.

I'm not going to go back.

Absolutely.

I'm not doing anything political.

I know.

That's great.

So I'm not involved.

Yeah.

But I'll be back with you.

Let me take a look.

If it can be a setting for this moment, I think it's going to be a turnaround.

You're responsible.

Our kids are sitting there with their hair combed.

It's here, but not down there.

Well, everybody's working.

Yeah, that's right.

There's about like-minded stuff a little older, but not that stuff down here.

The tie's on.

So...

The last supper.

I want to give you a small amount of here.

It's not, we've got lots of vials.

I've got one of mine.

Mine's a, this is something we give to people that they, you know.

Come in, peace to all of you.

It would be about $14,000.

That's right.

I directed it to the young people.

There's a pen.

You also have... You gave me a book.

Mine, sir.

Let me start with Craig.

You don't mind to say that?

I, our father, you have done so much for this, sir, Richard Nixon.

And you're about to do something

Well, there's a saying that goes, I always say, always keep looking young.

You're not looking before.

Incidentally, you're not looking before.

You're white.

That's not, that's the secret.

It's not a problem.

That is your problem.

I'm just going to force it in.

My children believe that.

I have two sons too.

And I just played with them.

Sons, how old are they?

Sons, how old?

There you go.

Well, I'm very grateful for your good advice.

I wouldn't say it was a good help.

I think you're a successful scholar.

Thank you.

Nixon, Roberts & Henley on Television broadcasting and Public image

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on August 14, 1972

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