Nixon, Haldeman & Rogers on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Political Strategy

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The page is not exactly the 534.

It's 534 and 35.

But necessarily, he was coming back into power.

Back into power, he'd been out.

He'd been practicing for a short time.

And then he was 16 years of age.

He came back into power.

His speech was disappointing to some of the scholars.

He did not say much about social reform.

His main thing was essentially negative.

straightforwardly conservative attack on incessant harassing legislation and the dangerous opinions of the advanced liberals.

This rather negative one probably accorded better with the public mood than a more constructive declaration of policy.

Often, after a period of strenuous reform, a moment arrives quite suddenly when the British people tires of being improved.

Now that's a man.

My hand doesn't have to realize this thing that John Bergman and his group have got to realize.

Start realizing it by hand.

Show it to them all the time.

Frankly, I've done it.

I've done it a lot.

Why do they make this, you see?

They're becoming, they're the, you take people generally.

They have a gut reaction to something.

Christ almighty.

Individuals.

Yeah.

Let me, if I work hard, let me, let's work a little harder to make more money.

You said, you said, we're for you, Mr. President.

We don't want welfare.

We're working.

You made the welfare point damn well in the speech.

You said they believe in work.

They believe in getting what they work for.

When you were citing...

The Italian family, kind of your view of the Italian people, what they believe in.

They were builders.

They're builders.

And she said they believe in hard work.

And they believe in working for what they have.

They're so family-oriented.

You could see that in that whole thing.

The fathers and the mothers wanted to be sure the children heard what you said and be sure they saw you.

We will always have this kind of thing, but what I was trying to avoid in the future is to be surrounded by a whole gaggle of our own people, like Volpe, Hogan.

The county executive wanted me to mention his name, and there was another candidate, a woman there, who I wanted to mention her name.

Of course, I did mention Scalzi, which was correct.

He should have been mentioned.

But you know, it's damn difficult.

I think Volpe was the right to mention, but not Hogan.

I hope you've been up there speaking earlier.

I hope you should.

The folks, why can't I ask?

You know what I mean?

You're playing like this young man.

Oh, sure.

The famous television.

Yeah.

But you see, one thing that kind of a meeting does, I think, is to

outbound men, that you're not, that you're hidden in the White House.

But I thought that was a good thing to do.

It's a good thing to do.

It's a good people-oriented thing.

You know, even, even that, as unpolitical as it was, I think it's a, it's a step up in his game.

Political.

It's a political thing.

Well, they can't say you're a no-ya, but they also can't say you were out of the fight.

It was very hard.

All you did was talk about what a great people the Italians are and how much you like them.

You know, it's very good to pick up on the fact that the largest group are all in the service of the Italians.

And they do love justice.

They were, they were going to go on and find out that they were truly very cleverly not being taught in any way because they were picking up things and moving them down.

And of course, the speaker, he had, they had no way of saying that.

They didn't know that I was going to hear.

But they didn't even know you were going to go there.

We didn't tell them.

But they did go on and say that.

And then, at this point,

except for america

And I said, you know what, they've got to use an arm.

And he got that in, and I go, they look at it as a builder, like John Opie's a builder.

It's a church, it's a lovely religion, it's a religious heritage.

And then their fantasy, the fantasy of the fact that they're honoring their mother and their father.

That's just, that's what it is.

It's about your arms.

Well, they're your arms.

Exactly.

I guess that we want to build the future here is that basically there's, well, of course, a growing number of people are going to be suburbanites.

They're going to be in that, living in that.

They're going to be living in, shall we say, San Marino, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, you know.

do go back to poorer relatives, poorer families, and so forth.

And they hark back to it, and they want to be reminded that this is good.

And a hell of a lot of people who live in the suburbs feel a little bit inferior to some of the other people living in the suburbs.

Yeah.

You get that point?

Yeah.

They don't all.

They aren't quite as somebody as our crowd.

Yeah.

We are thinking too much of our crowd.

That's the point I think.

But I think Mitch and Rumsfeld and all those who go to the suburbs are thinking basically of them.

Okay, San Marino High School rather than El Monte High School.

He said, I've done enough dancing.

You know, there's a hell of a difference.

Well, El Monte High School or Pico Rivera.

I mean, the kids are just as good, but you know what I mean?

They come from different backgrounds.

Thank you.

I got it.

Is that a good idea?

Yeah.

Okay.

Y-U-T-E. Sure you did.

Yeah.

Did you have the phone number you said?

Yeah.

4721.

Yeah.

He's the husband.

Very good.

Alright.

Okay.

We can make a better story on it tomorrow, I think.

That was... Well, let me check and see.

I thought they had it set.

Maybe they don't.

If they don't, we'll...

He says the woman is so critical you couldn't see her.

You could go to the hospital and see her husband, which doesn't make much sense.

But he thought you might want to call the husband.

He's got the phone number for that.

You could talk to the husband and just say, I'm sorry.

He said, group captain, he's the heir attache of the Thai embassy.

Or a mentor.

He's giving a lunch for her today.

There's always a mentor.

He's giving a lunch for her today.

I think we have a center to come in in the morning.

Bill probably hasn't done that.

Tomorrow's scheduled.

There's a plan.

He's going to have to see me today.

And maybe he's going to see me three times.

You're going to get backed up, Larry.

No, I don't want to have to pay.

Good.

Well, I have to watch it.

Bill was saying it to me before the lunch, and so they'd have to leave.

I can't do it before lunch because they live in service and take 10 minutes.

And I can't just rush in and out of there.

I think, don't you?

Yeah, you don't want to take very long.

No, I don't.

That's... Do they have a number 3?

They have a number 3.

Oh, yeah.

That's what they're here for.

Anyway, you're just dropping out here to meet you.

They don't know that you're just talking into their meeting.

Fine.

But you give them hints.

That's the key thing, is to give them a little hint so they can wear it.

As they're out talking, they can talk.

You know, they talk about that.

Oh, I just remember right now, we're in the press negation.

Good.

If you want, we can see the voice of our minister.

Let me check and see, because I think...

I think it was Seth for a reason.

But then, of course, it was Butts that we were responding.

Yeah, you see.

Butts was defending himself, particularly, and all that sort of thing.

I think I didn't want to say it, but Butts is such a hell of a soldier.

Butts should have laid out that one altogether, I guess.

We should have moved on to attacking the government on the boot presses front.

He's done it now.

Now Butts is moving the rest of the game.

That is to keep it confused as hell.

That's what it is.

They've heard of the farmers, and they don't think the idea that we're corrupt and everything.

I think it's too late for them to get this across.

I'm wondering if they've made too big a charge out of too little of the water.

The price of things at the farmer's should go up.

What the hell are they going to squeal about?

Farmers are not going to squeal.

Get Buzz off talking positively to the farmers.

He should talk, make speeches about what a great thing,

of its requirements, but should get us a good speech about how Mexico's peace initiatives have helped increase our foreign markets abroad.

Get that speech out and have us make that for a couple of weeks.

That's a damn good speech to make.

Pick up the three places I mentioned.

Japan.

China.

For the first time in 20 years, there's something like that.

Right.

And just keep reminding people of it.

And then by the occasion, say, those who attacked this are trying to sabotage this great old initiative again.

What do they want, surpluses to depress the price?

No.

You're right, Bob.

The thing about it is, if you get to the minutes of having one, you're allowing him to create an issue.

It's the governor versus Bud.

I'm not so sure of it.

and that's that's how they build each other for the reason that on the attack there on the attack of a crutch and the governor was talking about defensively and it was good to make that attack because you needed to knock it again the press hasn't yet but it was good it's going to be serious about this issue it's his issue that's right

The other thing, I think, too, that we've got to remember, busing is our issue.

We'll put it as our issue.

I kicked the blacks off.

Don't have these pictures of me with blacks and all the rest.

I've had enough of those.

I mean, we're doing this and that for the blacks.

Bob, Billy Graham, other people, all right.

That's gone.

That boat is gone, except for a few black businessmen.

Just let me work that into how we schedule it.

Let's not talk about it.

Since we talked about it, we get a reaction filled up in here.

They all think we're right on the black boat.

The way to do the black is just not quite get around to it.

without saying don't do it.

As soon as we say we don't do it, it automatically, as soon as you say forget the block, you know, you've done it before in some of the internal discussions where you point out

Sure, take a look and show me your flowers.

Yeah.

Beautiful girls, beautiful flowers.

Of course, they're pretty tall, I suppose.

I'm sorry, I don't recall that.

Straight cut.

What, did you get, uh...

I don't see how tall they are.

Why don't you get the same thing here?

That's the, uh...

But you think it's good for the other guy?

Yes.

All of us.

I think that should be out of our teeth.

You know, that ought to be out on the wall.

Yeah.

Another thing, on the second term, I'm thinking of this.

After our meeting with Dean, you know, I know we can't, we've got to concentrate on the hunch and so forth, but I don't want to remember the 7th to come without our having, frankly, been placed.

I think we've got now where we're going to have to set up for everything.

He touched you.

That's crazy.

Nixon, Haldeman & Rogers on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Political Strategy

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on September 18, 1972

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