guide - ProQuest

These notes bring out two recurring themes of Richard
Nixon's: the Alger Hiss case and the bureaucracy. Richard
Nixon's investigation of Alger Hiss brought Nixon to the
public's attention, a visibility that helped him win the vice
presidential nomination in 1952. Nixon distrusted the federal
bureaucracy. He believed that civil servants tended to be
politically liberal and hold a Democratic bias; also he blamed
them for sabotaging his programs and reforms. These beliefs
would culminate in Nixon's plan to reorganize the executive
branch after the 1972 election, a plan that would have greatly
reduced the bureaucracy's role in the implementation of White
House policy. The Watergate scandal prevented the plan from
ever being carried out.
The second example is a telephone conversation between
President Nixon at his office in the EOB and H.R. Haldeman
on January 1, 1972, beginning at 1:42 PM.
K [This telephone conversation refers to an earlier conversa-
tion between the President and Henry Kissinger.]
P. [President Nixon] thks [thinks] he's under pressure on
VN [Vietnam]
wants to give allout speech
prior to Cong [Congress'] return [from
Christmas recess]
K [Kissinger] thks this a mistake•will focus Cong.
[Congress on the peace issue]
don't need to worry about their resolutions
K thks shld [should] do VN [Vietnam speech] latest
possible ie 25th [of January]•he'd like this best
anncmt [announcement of U.S. troop withdrawal]
date is immaterial to K
the important thing is review of after etc.•peace
plan
Consider separating the two
[Nixon] has told K everyday re trouble he's in in VN
K feels he's in good shape on VN
if [Nixon] gives a big speech on VN before Cong
[comes] back then he makes VN the key issue at
outset
[Kissinger] Concerned because P's looking for a way to
bugout [of Vietnam]
thks that would be a disaster
instinct is NVN [North Vietnamese] are ready to give
so we'd be totally wrong to show nervousness
if do peace plan early
will spur opponents to tear it to pieces
need to do it as late as poss. [possible]
but before they have another rallying pt.
[point]
To put this conversation into context, one must remember that
Nixon had, in December 1971, ordered a massive bombing
campaign of North Vietnam in order to disrupt an expected
spring offensive. The bombing brought on a storm of protests
by peace activists, the media, and Congress. During 1971 Con-
gress had voted down numerous resolutions to end the war;
however, each vote had brought the resolution closer to
Nixon Papers, Part 5. H. Ft. Haldeman Notes
passage. Nixon, in addition to being preoccupied by the
military and negotiating problems of the war, was concerned
with its political impact during an election year. This conver-
sation reveals a new side of Nixon the commander-in-chief,
who is being reassured by Kissinger not to buckle under the
pressure. In fact, Nixon did make an announcement on
January 13, 1972, concerning the withdrawal of additional
U.S. troops from Vietnam, and waited until January 25 to
make his televised address to the nation, "Making Public a
Plan for Peace in Vietnam."
The third example is a meeting attended by the President,
John Ehrlichman, and H.R. Haldeman at the Birch Lodge,
Camp David, on June 9, 1972, beginning at 11:05 AM.
Birch [Lodge]•E [John Elrlichman]•beautiful day•
fire in fireplace
re Ruck [William Ruckelshaus]•
P. [President] has to veto water bill so has to keep Ruck
re Higher Ed [Education bill]•
probly have to sign•h blast busing hard
need to estab. [establish] plan for busing
re busing•timing is the key thing
wait for Sept. for Const. [Constitutional] Amendmt.
until school starts
re water bill•bad bill + too expensive
veto•base on Prop. [Proposition] 9 in Calif
w/ [will] be over ridden•then blame Cong for new tax
re Vets [Veterans] bills
make a deal w/ [with] Teague [Congressman Olin E.
Teague]
reHRl
if we hang too tight•it may pass
set Elliot [Richardson] for Thurs
re Dep. [Deputy] AG [Attorney General]
consider Lynn [James Lynn]
must rule out Ruck cause of environment
altho [although?] wld [would] be good at Justice
explain to Kldst [Richard Kleindienst]
P. not directly involved in apptg [appointing] Dep.
our Cong'l [Congressional] tactic
must be to screw things up
need to develop key lines re each issue
positive pts [points] re our position
need savage attack lines
agst [against] McG [George Mc Govern] positions
need four major thrust lines on for. pol. [foreign policy]
surrender, amnesty, leftwing extremism
way to hdl [handle] McG is by attack, not positive
can't use soft shoe approach
need now to zero in on four key thrusts
have to get McG tagged as extremist
don't give any grd [ground] re he's chg'd [changed] his
position