Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on 1972 Presidential Campaign

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Yes.

We're a quadruple team all the way around and also the Jewish group.

We're putting the team in ahead with them to go over everything before you go.

I don't stop.

Mitchell is taking him on at the price that we're paying.

He's too high of an idea that we're going to agree.

I can't agree to take a Goldberg on someone like Scott.

I mean, it says in here that I have to agree to that.

I haven't seen that.

Yeah.

You sure as hell shouldn't.

Well, it says I have to agree to it.

He wants his own man.

Why not Scott and Groovy at the end?

Bob, we're not going to play that big of a battle.

Let's get back to it.

Okay.

So you know I'm going to call on that.

But he's too high a price.

Correct?

Yes, sir.

These must be it.

Everyone, Garland, Garland, and Garland.

Hey, Kissinger.

Because, you know, he had some foreign policy stuff.

Mitchell, McGregor.

And they carried in, gives him a chunk of it every now and then.

Max is a, is a just, you know, like a big, and this, this, this, you know, octopus that surrounds everything.

But he's, uh, they've done a pretty good job.

They've kept him happy.

They've kept him working.

Obviously, he's got every reason to leave.

Wouldn't it be good to make him ambassador?

Make him?

Yeah, I really think so.

He's really a guy that has enormous energy and recognition.

I'm really getting the hell out of the country to have him here.

Well, I don't...

There's no reason to pay any price to him.

Either now

Just to avoid the problem, because he does, he takes an inordinate amount of effort on people. .

And he's done a good job.

He really, on some of these things, he really has the New York, Bush, Michigan efforts.

Other guys have done California, he hasn't.

Wow.

It's a juice.

Exit permits for Ukrainians.

Exit permits for 35 million Ukrainians.

We're talking about that place.

We're talking about that.

Well, the day-to-day is real.

So now he's going to redefine it to all nations over 22 miles long or something.

What does he do?

He's coming back.

No problem.

He's coming back.

Well, I don't want you to feel that he was being a problem, but I'm actually doing it for him.

Because, you know, that's when I watched the news.

They're watching for little things to pick on him.

That was my view to begin with, and that was why I said to him to begin with, we should come back.

I don't think there were any, but my point is, if there were, they would never let him forget it.

See, I was there so much, but he has been away a hell of a lot.

Look, he got a good story on the radio news this morning.

It says, another critical vote on the end of the war, and then stuff comes up to a Vice President Agnes flying back from the campaign show to be present for the vote.

Now, that's a hell of a lot better story

Today spoke to a bunch of old retired employees, federal employees.

And we've got the federal employees anyway.

I mean, this retired group we've got, we've played a different game with them.

So that, it's a good move for him to come back.

But I- No problem, they thought it is.

That's a good story.

Well, the governor is back.

It's a crucial vote in the Senate.

It's going to lose.

The anti-war amendment is going to lose.

And McGovern wasn't even here to vote his conviction.

Not bad.

Agnew was.

Not bad.

Yes, sir.

We have an outstanding meeting with the Jewish people there.

We have a meeting.

now, but also Rita Halser called from New York.

And she said that I should be aware, and also I should be aware if I have a chance.

Whatever you say in that meeting will certainly be, you know, right into the picture.

So I'm going to give, I'll just give a little film afterwards in general terms to try to get a straight version out.

But she called out for that specific

Particularly on the Soviet term.

But UPI and AP are starting to query now, I guess, if you get 35 Jews together.

But I wanted to get a touch base before I did that.

I'm meeting with several groups.

It's a very good question.

And I'll tie it into the fact that you're meeting with the Democratic next leaders up there, and also the committee during the election.

We did all that, did not we?

I'm sorry?

Just after the meetings, before the dinner.

Fine.

OK, good.

Fine, John.

OK, that's a fine line.

Go ahead.

If he could have been here, I imagine, so he could talk rather than me.

And Jews, they are impossible.

Anything I can do.

All right.

The problem with that juice is that you just can't get up.

There isn't.

The main thing is that the meeting must be limited to the amount of time.

Max Fisher says 10 minutes.

He's got to have 10 minutes.

You know what I mean?

Just walk right down.

You agree?

The longer we have exposure, more of the danger is that something's going to be said that can leak out.

Maximally do that.

Absolutely.

The user's got to do it for 30 minutes, right?

Yeah, maximum.

It's not scheduled as a sit-down deal.

It's scheduled as a plan, you know, a chance to meet them.

Be sure they don't sit down then.

Because, you know, because they can't allow the office to be treated that way either, you know.

There's a bunch of Jews in there pushing on one thing or another.

I don't know.

What is your reaction to that, uh, or Kelly's, uh, argument that's, uh, burned me on the bed because it was mainly with our friends in North America and everybody else we've broken our butts to give contracts to them at all?

Well, he was saying the fact that we weren't, as people weren't reading, we were too worried.

He talked to his agents, which is how they talked to each other in this space.

They weren't written on their own.

I think the Congress were letting their way with what he'd asked for.

I don't think, I think this was North American, the B-1.

Yeah.

Because, boy, their life depends on it, literally.

Yeah, for their idea of saying, well, it's making a difference whether we've got our kids in or not.

No, it doesn't make any difference.

It makes all the difference in the world.

Well, that's one of the new reasons.

Oh, it depends.

We should hit Tom Jones.

We ought to hit some of the Tom Jones.

Yeah.

He was quoted as a bad boy, too.

Really?

Yes, sir.

You've got to read this for me.

It's unbelievable.

Well, you'll be at the dinner tomorrow.

I'm sure.

Yes, I'm not.

You said that you'd give him $1,000.

Is that $1,000 for that?

That's a lot.

You haven't made it.

I'm not kidding.

He's supposed to be a great supporter of our defense policy.

Well, anyway, the point that I make is that you can't let that LA crowd get away with that.

It's probably on the Los Angeles Times and most social media banks.

It could be.

Although, I suppose they're as scared as anybody else at this point.

It could be.

And it's the law in the store also.

And sure, it's the IT&T.

I mean, the campaign excited about that.

That's a cynical thing.

You know, isn't that really it?

It makes it closer by having these hearings.

Don't you pick that up from basically the also?

I'm sure at least they're pushing it pretty hard.

The Kennedy thing, we apparently have no problem with.

Why?

He doesn't want to do it.

There are some other, he's worried about Jeff quitting among other things, but there apparently are other things, and he has committed that he will not.

He says that he ain't going to have any hearings.

Period.

The problem, one, that we don't have any good control on is right now.

Oh, well.

They're playing some pressure games there on some of the other ranked Democrats on the committee because we don't have any strength on our side.

Right.

Because right now those, it would be unfortunate to get into a congressional, an open hearing kind of thing on all standards.

You saw all those people back into, they've been worked over so much now.

And we've got everything else in good shape, the civil suits taken care of, the criminal suits taken care of.

The issue is basically we've got to go pretty much down the tubes, and they know it, which is why they've got the pressure on them, I'm sure.

I can't understand Alsop.

Dan Shore, I don't understand Dan Shore.

I think Alsop's a big person for the Washington Post.

I guess so.

It's the Washington Post's newsreader.

Yeah.

And it's their case.

That's what also we want to remember this.

The All-South thing is another proof of a noose man in my noose man theory.

Don't do things for people.

I mean, you know, Henry bugged me and bugged me and bugged me.

And I said, I'm still ready to die.

And what if I gave it some time?

So I finally did.

I said, are you ready to die?

He's got a long way to go.

But you don't do it.

You know, I really believe that.

I believe that the only way to do a favor to a guy, then he has to prove his virginity.

Correct.

Yeah, like Eddie and Kiki De La Garza.

Four people voted against the solid ring yesterday.

One of them, De La Garza.

I don't care about that.

I know, but it's just, I'm sure he just did it because he knew his vote didn't matter.

It was a way to show he was independent.

He was probably getting beat for sucking around in the president.

That's the thing.

Okay, but Alasson, he's kicking us now.

He gave him the story, which was good.

On a personal basis, we gave him that flight down to the convention and drank, you know, which was a nice thing to do.

Drank on top of it.

Let him call and talk to you.

No more.

And he's an intelligent and basically honorable guy.

He knows the coverage of his ex-girlfriend.

And he says they're so private that every time he gets a chance.

But you see, but he also thinks Watergate is a disaster or pretends to.

And so emotionally, that means he knows what he's doing with that.

Well, no problem.

It's a small thing.

But I'm just not going to let it go again.

That's why we've got to get our whole scheme put together here.

Thank you.

Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on 1972 Presidential Campaign

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on September 26, 1972

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