Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 793-011
Date: Friday, October 6, 1972 at 10:37 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/793-011

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Well, the Thais are the most gracious people.
[0:03] I think I don't know, but they're the civilized people.
[0:10] The Chinese are civilized.
[0:12] The Thais are the most civilized people in the world.
[0:18] Grace.
[0:19] Charm.
[0:19] Yeah, sure.
[0:20] You should have worked for them.
[0:22] Christ.
[0:23] All of them.
[0:23] All of them.
[0:24] Yeah, but all of them are the society.
[0:43] Well, I was trying to say that...
[1:00] I think it's really come down to it, but I don't know.
[1:03] The only thing to do is to never appear before the press at all.
[1:06] The only thing to do is to make the assholes appear on television.
[1:11] That's really what you have to do.
[1:14] Yes.
[1:14] Well, except we have a different purpose.
[1:16] Except for the fact that at the present time, I think I'd be concerned about whether or not we get those people going on television and being badgered and harassed.
[1:27] uh, you know, about issues and so forth, and I don't think we don't need to.
[1:33] I think in this instance, uh, they, uh, I mean, it doesn't think, I don't know if the public is one shit or the other, a surprise on televised press conference.
[1:41] I don't think, you know, they always run that in there.
[1:44] What the hell is a press conference?
[1:47] But they always say that.
[1:48] I don't, I understand that, but that doesn't give a damn what the other press conference is any time.
[1:52] I think you're right.
[1:53] Go.
[1:54] well, you understand, well, except for the business of, well, isn't he talking out, or why isn't he hiding, why isn't he saying something, and so forth.
[2:02] I'm not sure that goes across either.
[2:03] Do you think so?
[2:04] No.
[2:05] Well, the other side of the coin, well, you've got to do something, don't you?
[2:09] And so maybe this is better to do than something else.
[2:11] Maybe it's better to use these people as the, shall we say, the end man, rather than... Well, I think it is.
[2:17] And then you've got, like, even on the TV, you've got...
[2:24] half a dozen, well, four or five points of yours crossed.
[2:31] Did those points register with anybody?
[2:33] Probably not.
[2:35] Probably not.
[2:37] They were still scored.
[2:38] The viewer knows that you said that you're for this and you're against that and you're going to do this and you're not going to do that.
[2:45] You ask him, what were those things?
[2:47] Well, I don't remember, but I thought they would sound pretty good to me.
[2:52] And you get those points across because the reporters go down the list.
[2:56] They say what you covered in those documents.
[2:58] They say that you said there were going to be no taxes.
[3:02] That's true.
[3:02] So they said you only...
[3:04] They did distort that one.
[3:05] That was one we were...
[3:06] I think.
[3:07] There you can say we were strict.
[3:09] But you didn't say they were over one year.
[3:12] Which you did.
[3:12] But the question never arose as to whether you were talking about one year.
[3:15] You were just... You were only talking about fiscal 73.
[3:18] Because of the question.
[3:20] Regardless of the...
[3:23] And that's the point you were talking to.
[3:28] If anybody had asked you, instead of reporting it that way, they should say, Mr.
[3:33] Person, are you backing off of Mr. Ehrman's statement that there would be no increase in four years?
[3:38] He would have said, of course not.
[3:41] He said, my goal is no tax increase next year or in the next four years.
[3:46] And there will not be a presidential tax increase in that period.
[3:49] The problem is, will there be a congressional increase?
[3:56] But we didn't, that didn't hurt us.
[4:01] I think you're right.
[4:02] I think there are people over here.
[4:03] I don't know what the hell.
[4:07] The discouraging thing is that we know how much good it could have done us.
[4:11] If everybody in America could have sat in the room yesterday, we would have scored a large gold star.
[4:19] But everybody didn't.
[4:21] And they couldn't have.
[4:22] And if everybody had, it wouldn't happen the way it happened.
[4:24] So it's a different thing.
[4:30] But that's why I'm saying if everybody knew you like the people that work around you, know you, then 100% I would vote for you.
[4:37] But they won't.
[4:37] They never will.
[4:41] Why worry about that?