Being Nixon: A Man Divided (67 page)

52.
Dallek,
Nixon and Kissinger
, p. 154; Perlstein,
Nixonland
, p. 420.

53.
Isaacson, p. 246.

54.
Kimball and Burr, “Nixon White House Considered Nuclear Options Against North Vietnam, Declassified Documents Reveal,”
National Security Archive Briefing Book No. 195
, July 31, 2006.

55.
Thomas,
Ike’s Bluff
, pp. 77–81.

56.
RN
, p. 400.

57.
Kimball, p. 169.

58.
Haldeman diary, October 13, 1969, NL.

59.
RN
, p. 398.

60.
Haldeman diary, September 29, 1969, NL.

61.
Perlstein,
Nixonland
, p. 424.

62.
Haldeman diary, October 16, 1969, NL.

Chapter 14: Silent Majority

1.
RN
, pp. 403, 408.

2.
Haldeman diary, November 1, 1969, NL; Jack Bennan interview.

3.
PPP
, p. 425, November 3, 1969.

4.
RN
, p. 409.

5.
William Safire oral history, NL.

6.
Perlstein,
Nixonland
, p. 435.

7.
RN
, p. 410.

8.
Haldeman diary, November 3, 1969, NL.

9.
Alexander Butterfield oral history, NL.

10.
RN
, p. 410.

11.
Alexander Butterfield oral history, NL. Nixon personally launched a letters-to-the-editor operation. See Alex Butterfield to Dent et al. (“November 3 Game Plan”), October 28, 1969, Klein papers, USC.

12.
Haldeman notes, April 25, 1960, NL.

13.
Ehrlichman notes, November 14, 1969, Ehrlichman papers, HL.

14.
Haldeman diary, November 13, 1969, NL.

15.
Safire, p. 472.

16.
Haldeman diary, November 15, 1969, NL; Perlstein,
Nixonland
, p. 440.

17.
Rosen, p. 94;
RN
, p. 413.

18.
Haldeman diary, November 4, 1969, NL.

19.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 142. Reeves cites RN to Henry Kissinger, October 27, 1969. I was unable to find this memo in the President’s Personal File or his memos to staff.

20.
Dallek,
Nixon and Kissinger
, p. 183. Dallek cites RN to Henry Kissinger, November 24, 1969. I was unable to find this memo.

21.
RN
, p. 396.

22.
Kimball, p. 187.

23.
RN
, p. 402.

24.
Isaacson, p. 163.

25.
Henry Kissinger interview.

26.
William Safire to RN, December 8, 1969, PPF, NL.

27.
Ehrlichman notes, December 29, 1969, Ehrlichman papers, HL; Ehrlichman, p. 246.

28.
Haldeman diary, January 17, 1970, NL.

29.
RN notes, January 14, 16, 1970, PPF, NL.

30.
Safire, pp. 781–2; Safire diary, January 23, 1970, Safire papers, LOC; Haldeman diary, January 20, 1970, NL.

31.
Elizabeth Moynihan interview.

32.
Wicker, p. 536.

33.
Liberalism peaked in 1966, headed down through 1969, but then turned up again in 1970–71. See James Stimson’s “Policy Mood Index,”
www.unc.edu/~cogginse/Policy_Mood.xhtml
.

34.
Greenberg, p. 315.

35.
James Schlesinger interview.

36.
Ibid.

37.
Hoff, p. 67.

38.
RN notes, January 14, 1970, PPF, NL.

39.
“Virginia Knauer, Consumer Advocate, Dies at 96,”
New York Times
, October 27, 2011. Nixon wanted his own version of Nader’s raiders to catch government waste: “I am sure you have seen how much mileage Nader has gotten out of giving his young squirts something to do.” RN to H. R. Haldeman, June 16, 1969, SMOF, NL.

40.
Wicker, p. 530; See Daniel Moynihan to RN, May 17, 1969, Weisman, ed., p. 188.

41.
RN
, p. 427.

42.
Ambrose,
Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician
, p. 315.

43.
Haldeman diary, July 13, 1970, NL.

44.
Stuart, p. 99.

45.
Reeves, p. 100.

46.
Ehrlichman, pp. 218–21.

47.
Weisman, ed., p. 286.

48.
Donald Rumsfeld interview.

49.
Schlesinger,
White House Ghosts
, pp. 207–9.

50.
Small,
Presidency
, pp. 153, 190. When congressional Democrats proposed to increase social security benefits by 20 percent in 1970, Nixon pushed for an automatic annual cost-of-living adjustment instead—more rational, but ultimately costly. William Timmons interview.

51.
Strober and Strober, p. 114.

52.
Weisman, ed., p. 285.

53.
John Whitaker interview.

54.
Ehrlichman notes, October 23, 1969, HL.

55.
Edward Nixon interview.

56.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 163; Christopher DeMuth interview.

57.
Haldeman diary, August 26, 1969, NL.

58.
John Whitaker interview.

59.
Reeves, p. 163. In a moment of pettiness, Nixon refused to invite the author of the Clean Air Act, Senator Muskie, to the White House signing ceremony.

60.
Stuart, p. 109; Ambrose,
Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician
, p. 325; Black, p. 654.

Chapter 15: The Moviegoer

1.
Ehrlichman, p. 200.

2.
Dent,
Prodigal South Returns to Power
, p. 210.

3.
Small,
Presidency
, p. 169.

4.
Ibid., pp. 142, 161.

5.
Haldeman diary, March 25, 1970, NL; Reeves, p. 159.

6.
Rosen, p. 136;
RN
, p. 436.

7.
Brooks, “The CEO in Politics,”
New York Times
, January 12, 2012.

8.
Klein, p. 316; Ehrlichman, p. 200.

9.
Haldeman diary, February 9, 1970, NL.

10.
Douglas Hallett interview.

11.
Garment, p. 207.

12.
RN
, p. 438; Haldeman diary, February 4, 1970, NL; Ehrlichman, p. 204.

13.
Safire, p. 303; Haldeman notes, February 20, 1970, NL.

14.
Hoff, pp. 28–44; Bobbie Kilberg oral history, NL.

15.
Haldeman notes, February 20, 1970, NL.

16.
Safire, p. 310.

17.
Ehrlichman papers, December 29, 1969, HL.

18.
George Shultz interview; George Shultz, “How a Republican Desegregated the South’s Schools,”
The New York Times
, July 8, 2003.

19.
Ehrlichman, p. 204; Ehrlichman notes, August 4, 1970, HL.

20.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 170.

21.
Haldeman diary, March 14, 1970, NL.

22.
Haldeman diary, February 11, 1970, NL.

23.
Feeney, p. 341.

24.
Feeney, p. 67.

25.
Haldeman diary, April 7, 16, 1970, NL.

26.
Isaacson, p. 259; Kissinger,
White House Years
, p. 480.

27.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 195; Haldeman diary, April 20, 1970, NL.

28.
RN
, p. 447.

29.
Isaacson, p. 262.

30.
Kissinger,
White House Years
, p. 498.

31.
RN notes, April 26, 1970, PPF, NL.

32.
Haldeman diary, April 28, 29, 1970, NL.

33.
RN
, p. 453; Kissinger,
White House Years
, p. 503.

34.
Safire, p. 233. The expression is sometimes “with the bark off,” but linguist Safire quoted Nixon correctly.

35.
PPP
, p. 409, April 30, 1970.

36.
RN
, p. 447.

37.
Eisenhower, pp. 285–6.

38.
Ehrlichman papers, April 30, 1970, HL.

39.
RN
, p. 453.

40.
Herken, p. 351.

41.
Safire, p. 239.

42.
Isaacson, p. 269.

43.
RN
, pp. 453–4.

44.
Jack Brennan interview; Brennan to Rose Mary Woods, May 4, 1970, Brennan papers, PC.

45.
Haldeman diary, Haldeman notes, May 4, 1970, NL;
RN
, p. 457.

46.
Aitken, p. 404.

47.
Elizabeth Moynihan interview.

48.
Kissinger,
White House Years
, p. 514; Lawrence Higby interview.

49.
RN
, p. 459.

50.
Safire, p. 260; PDD, May 8–9, 1970.

51.
Isaacson, p. 270.

52.
RN
, p. 460.

53.
Haldeman diary, May 9, 1970, NL.

Chapter 16: Hippies and Hardhats

1.
Safire, p. 261.

2.
Egil Krogh oral history, NL.

3.
Aitken, p. 406.

4.
RN
, p. 158.

5.
Ibid., p. 465; RN to H. R. Haldeman, May 13, 1970, SMOF, NL; H. R. Haldeman to William Safire, May 14, 1970; W. S. to H. R. H., March 19, 1970; H. R. H. to W. S., June 8, 1970, Safire papers, LOC.

6.
Kenneth Thompson, ed.,
Nixon Presidency
, p. 292.

7.
Safire, p. 268.

8.
Egil Krogh oral history, NL.

9.
Haldeman diary, May 9, 1970, NL.

10.
Safire, p. 247.

11.
Haig, p. 239.

12.
Egil Krogh to John Ehrlichman, May 9, 1970, POF, NL.

13.
Safire, p. 272, Egil Krogh interview.

14.
Haldeman diary, May 7, 1970, NL.

15.
Ibid., May 11, 1970, NL.

16.
Perlstein,
Nixonland
, pp. 493–5.

17.
Ibid., pp. 498–501;
RN
, pp. 466–7.

18.
Morris, p. 853.

19.
RN
, p. 466.

20.
Eisenhower, p. 290.

21.
Ibid., p. 291.

22.
Ehrlichman, p. 42; Eisenhower, p. 299.

23.
Swift, pp. 236–45.

24.
Dwight Chapin interview.

25.
Strober and Strober, p. 35.

26.
Susan Eisenhower interview.

27.
Connie Stuart interview.

28.
Haldeman diary, October 7, 1969, NL.

29.
Ibid., January 8, February 5, 1970.

30.
Swift, p. 177.

31.
Fred Malek interview. He hired a Harvard Business School grad, Barbara Franklin, who brought in scores of women. Nixon only balked when Franklin suggested to Nixon that he engage in “rap sessions” with women. Herb Klein to RN, re Rita Hauser’s memo, “Emergent Responsible Feminism,” July 8, 1971, Klein papers, USC.

32.
Swift, p. 277.

33.
Haldeman diary, September 25, October 20, 21, 1971, NL; Dean,
The Rehnquist Choice
, p. 51.

34.
Frank Gannon, Lucy Winchester Breathitt, Connie Stuart interviews.

35.
Henry Kissinger interview.

36.
Rosen, p. 118.

37.
Haldeman diary, February 21, 1970, NL.

38.
Rosen, p. 122.

39.
Strober and Strober, p. 296.

40.
Rosen, p. 403.

41.
Ehrlichman, p. 117; Haldeman diary, November 21, 1969, NL.

42.
Haldeman notes, April 11, 1970, NL.

43.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 204.

44.
Rosen, p. 125.

45.
Haldeman notes, April 13, 15, May 18, 1970; Haldeman diary, May 18, 1970, NL.

46.
Strober and Strober, p. 294.

47.
Rob Odle interview; Anderson, “The Making of the All-Volunteer Armed Forces.”

48.
Kenneth Thompson, ed.,
Nixon Presidency
, p. 138.

49.
RN
, p. 43.

50.
Weisman, ed., p. 216.

51.
Eisenhower, p. 282.

52.
Tom Charles Huston oral history, NL.

53.
Small,
Presidency
, p. 56.

54.
Lukas,
Nightmare
, p. 31; Safire, p. 379.

55.
Haldeman diary, June 16, 1969, NL.

56.
RN
, p. 473; Weiner,
Enemies
, pp. 266–8.

57.
RN
, p. 358.

58.
Ehrlichman, pp. 138–41. Nixon sought the invitation; see RN to John Mitchell, September 22, 1969, SMOF, NL (in Haldeman files).

59.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 236; Lukas, pp. 30–7; Tom Charles Huston oral history, NL.

60.
RN
, p. 472.

61.
Small,
Presidency
, p. 57; Dean,
Blind Ambition
, p. 33.

62.
Rosen, pp. 494–5.

63.
Dean,
Blind Ambition
, pp. 8, 17, 33–4.

64.
Luke Nichter interview.

Chapter 17: Department of Dirty Tricks

1.
Dean,
Blind Ambition
, p. 7.

2.
Haldeman diary, September 30, 1969, NL.

3.
Dean,
Blind Ambition
, pp. 27–9; John Dean oral history, NL.

4.
Haldeman diary, March 4, 1970, NL; Nixon used Chotiner to explore the connection between O’Brien and Howard Hughes. Murray Chotiner to Herb Klein, April 24, 1970, Klein papers, USC.

5.
Haldeman notes, March 9, 1970, NL.

6.
Ibid., February 17, 1970, NL.

7.
George Shultz interview.

8.
Ehrlichman notes, August 29, 1972, HL; RN to H. R. Haldeman, August 9, 1972, SMOF, NL.

9.
Haldeman notes, March 31, 1970, NL.

10.
Raymond Price interview.

11.
Charles Colson oral history, NL.

12.
Strober and Strober, p. 274.

13.
Ibid., pp. 278, 280.

14.
Haldeman notes, September 27, 1970, NL.

15.
Aitken, p. 415.

16.
Magruder, p. 81. Nixon let Colson push aside Klein. See H. R. Haldeman to Colson, September 21, 1970; Herbert Klein to Colson, November 5, 1971, Klein papers, USC.

17.
Klein, pp. 121, 139.

18.
Magruder, pp. 28, 71, 137.

19.
Steve Bull interview; Lawrence Higby interview.

20.
Douglas Hallett interview.

21.
Charles Colson oral history, NL.

22.
RN notes, October 10, 1970, PPF, NL.

23.
Haldeman diary, December 20, 1970, NL.

24.
Kimball, pp. 239–40.

25.
Haldeman diary, June 2, 1971, NL; Jeffrey Kimball, “The Case of the ‘Decent Interval’: Do We Now Have a Smoking Gun?”
SHAFR Newsletter
, September 2001, pp. 35–39; “Decent Interval or Not? The Paris Agreement and the End of the Vietnam War”; and Larry Berman, “A Final Word on the ‘Decent Interval’ Strategy,”
SHAFR Newsletter
, December 2003.

26.
Haldeman diary, August 17, 1970, NL. For further understanding of Nixon’s
motives, see also Thomas Schwartz, “ ‘Henry…Winning an Election Is Terribly Important’: Partisan Politics in the History of the U.S. Foreign Relations,”
Diplomatic History
, April 2009, pp. 173–90.

27.
Kissinger,
White House Years
, p. 559.

28.
Haldeman diary, September 25, 1971, NL.

29.
Cynthia Helms interview.

30.
Weiner,
Legacy of Ashes
, pp. 309–16.

31.
Frost,
Frost/Nixon
, pp. 73, 361; Haldeman diary, September 25, 1970.

32.
Henry Kissinger interview.

33.
Kissinger,
Years of Upheaval
, p. 1181.

34.
Ibid., pp. 1185–6.

35.
Haldeman diary, September 9, 1970.

36.
Ehrlichman notes, September 1, 1970, HL.

37.
Safire, pp. 410–1; Haldeman diary, September 26, 1970, NL.

38.
William Safire notes, September 9, 1970; Patrick Buchanan to Bryce Harlow and Spiro Agnew, September 9, 1970, Safire papers, LOC.

39.
Safire, p. 417; Haldeman diary, October 12, 1970, NL.

40.
RN
, p. 492.

41.
Haldeman diary, October 19, 1970, NL.

42.
Evans and Novak, pp. 6–7.

43.
Steve Bull interview.

44.
Haldeman diary, October 29, 1970, NL.

45.
RN
, p. 492.

46.
Safire, p. 426.

47.
Haldeman diary, October 29, 1970, NL.

48.
RN
, p. 494; Safire, p. 421.

49.
Haldeman diary, November 11, 1970, NL.

50.
Eisenhower, p. 299.

51.
RN notes, November 15, 1970, PPF, NL.

52.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 279; Haldeman diary, December 9, 1970, NL.

53.
Kissinger,
White House Years
, p. 701.

54.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 54.

55.
Feeney, p. 235.

56.
Egil Krogh interview; Krogh,
Day Elvis Met Nixon;
Feeney, p. 239.

Chapter 18: Father of the Bride

1.
Ehrlichman notes, January 9, 1971, NL.

2.
Jo Haldeman interview. She noted that her husband and Nixon knew immediately that the photo shoot was a mistake.

3.
Krogh,
Day Elvis Met Nixon
, p. 27.

4.
Gwendolyn King oral history, NL.

5.
Matthews, p. 294.

6.
RN
, pp. 502–3.

7.
Haldeman diary, February 5, 1971, NL.

8.
Safire, pp. 786–7.

9.
Dallek,
Nixon and Kissinger
, p. 246; Dallek cites H. R. Haldeman to Henry Kissinger, November 25, 1970; Alexander Haig to Kissinger, December 12, 1970 in Box 817, NSC Files.

10.
Reeves,
President Nixon
, p. 300; Haldeman diary, March 3, 1971, NL.

11.
Isaacson, pp. 314, 364.

12.
Haldeman diary, February 8, 1971, NL.

13.
Lucy Winchester Breathitt interview.

14.
Haldeman notes, February 16, 1971, NL.

15.
Nichter and Brinkley,
Nixon Tapes
, pp. viii–ix; Steve Bull interview; Luke Nichter interview.

16.
Conversation 450-10, 10:28
A.M.
, February 16, 1971, NT.