Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 812-012
Date: Friday, November 3, 1972 at 11:17 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; Butterfield, Alexander P.; Bull, Stephen B.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/812-012

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] I've been thinking about the NRGC Chancellor today.
[0:13] I saw him yesterday.
[0:25] He's enthusiastic.
[0:26] My view is that I would be worried at the present time about this, uh, I mean, I, uh, you know, the Washington Post starting over from Paris, uh, the hoaxes and the raids and that sort of stuff.
[0:39] I think most of the thing at the present time, my governor, he's puzzled tomorrow.
[0:45] and say that, uh, we've done that piece, but if we've moved you out, and you're at the end of tomorrow morning, I'm worried about, uh, Jessica, let's call her.
[0:54] You see, I've got, we want to preserve these girls, and she's a sad parent, and I'll get you two boys, but we don't have a problem.
[1:03] Now I'll get a man.
[1:05] I think you've got to think about that.
[1:38] Because that's what it means to be the way that we are, and what I'd like to see you do that.
[2:02] because I'm scared to hear about it.
[2:06] The other, for me and Bobby and I, we just need to believe that they need to be harsh, and others, or even if they are very honest and want to make it up, it doesn't matter.
[2:18] It's, it's, they do, it's, it's a good thing, it doesn't matter.
[2:24] It isn't a question of asking the governor.
[2:31] I don't really want to ask Mr. McGovern.
[2:34] The thing I could do at some point is to calm everybody down to get the game plan before them so that they don't keep yacking about he's a man.
[2:50] Has it blown up?
[2:51] Has it not blown up?
[2:55] But, I could tell them, focus on the fundamentals.
[2:58] What are the issues?
[3:01] Why, uh, so it isn't a question of stars and counter-stars, but take the big picture.
[3:06] I wish, I wish we could do it without doing it.
[3:11] Is it worth it?
[3:14] No, we shouldn't do it in front of television.
[3:18] In fact, what I would most have preferred is,
[3:21] to do it as a as a sort of background as an attributed background uh the administration they could say i could get back down there and they could take this as a field
[3:39] But no doubt it, quote, no, I'll tell you what you do every time you think about it.
[3:41] You start losing your self-confidence.
[3:42] Because what we want to do is to keep this state-of-the-art operator is keep a little hope, but also keep it hard.
[3:44] So they don't fear that we're sort of like a conversion.
[3:46] They don't say, you know, no, no, no, no.
[4:06] The only advantage of doing it would be to keep people from saying it was all a hoax.
[4:14] There is no peace coming.
[4:16] The thing is disintegrated.
[4:21] Well, how much better is that than in the sun?
[4:23] I don't know.
[4:23] I'm never going to say that.
[4:24] I don't know how many times I've seen it.
[4:25] You see it.
[4:25] You're, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,
[4:50] and it would have the only other advantages in terms of what I may have to do in the first month at least of the second term is
[5:13] If they start another one of these campaigns against me, I'll sit with that.
[5:17] But India-Pakistan, about 50 to a half, right?
[5:20] Yeah.
[5:21] Oh, it's good.
[5:21] I've seen on the record with this white crew.
[5:25] That's my base.
[5:27] Thank you, sir.
[5:28] And let's forget about that tomorrow.
[5:29] Get to those steps and sort of cover the three next ones.
[5:31] Be sure that we receive them.
[5:31] Don't just do it for college.
[5:32] Do it right after the election.
[5:33] Your only interest is to get us on the grid now.
[5:34] And it's now.
[5:34] Right now.
[5:34] So that we, so that's ready for the Saturdays and Sundays.
[5:52] Why don't we just forget about it?
[5:55] I have no particular interest in it.
[5:58] I thought there was some advantage in having one
[6:21] after this central shore.
[6:23] They put it all together, it was nuts.
[6:26] was not a six-column headline, but just the good of calming, integrating things.
[6:34] That'd be it.
[6:37] At least not at the time.
[6:38] But they're also strong counter-arguments.
[6:42] I think what you said is a powerful argument.
[6:46] I don't know.
[7:01] But let's ask Billy, Alex, I guess they're getting something.
[7:04] Let's ask the council.
[7:04] I'll put you on the list for tomorrow.
[7:06] All right.
[7:07] All right.
[7:24] Mr.
[7:25] Governor, it may be that, that A was a hoax, that E is, that E is falling apart.
[7:34] Uh, C is that you're not being trusted, and that E is... Yeah.
[8:00] I know.
[8:01] Well, do you think it would be better to have that engine around here?
[8:04] I don't know.
[8:04] I think it's still important to get that out there.
[8:07] But I think it is what it is.
[8:08] But it was, it was, it was all designed, uh, all designed by the government.
[8:12] The thing that I could do to get it around, uh, is, uh, where did it, like, go here?
[8:17] Uh, is that, is that the right place?
[8:18] Yeah.
[8:19] That's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's,