White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters
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“This is a hell of a note”: Ibid., 199.
“It just didn’t fit”: Califano, Triumph, 269.
“We’re not going to let”: Author interview with Califano.
He preferred to focus: Author interview with McPherson.
He brought up the subject at Sunday: Busby, The Thirty-First, 210.
“Congress and I”: McPherson, A Political Education, 428.
“Now, I don’t want to say”: Ibid., 433–37.
“That’s OK”: Ibid., 432–38.
“write out for me”: Busby, The Thirty-First, 12.
“You and I”: Ibid., 192.
“You’d better keep this”: Ibid., 207.
“If this happens”: Ibid., 223.
Even as Johnson was still: All reactions from undated memoranda, “Reactions to Speech” folder, Office Files of Harry Middleton, LBJ Library.
According to Humphrey’s autobiography: Hubert H. Humphrey, The Education of a Public Man: My Life in Politics (New York: Doubleday, 1976), 267.
“Afterwards, there were bottles”: Charles Maguire LBJ Library oral history interview, August 19, 1969, LBJ Library, 15.
The revelry was halted: Ibid., 17.
6. “CONCERN FOR IMAGE MUST RANK WITH CONCERN FOR SUBSTANCE”
Richard Nixon and Raymond Price: Raymond Price, With Nixon (New York: Viking Press, 1977), 49.
“Only the short ones”: Ibid., 42.
Nixon had drawn ideas: Ibid., 43–48.
He read the remarks prepared: William Safire, Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1975), 124.
Watching with the rest of the staff: Ibid.
“opportunist”: Author interview with William Safire.
Safire had a playful: Ibid.
he served as a mentor: Author interview with Lee Huebner.
“I would like to have been”: Safire, Before the Fall, 14.
Nixon next flew on: William Safire diary, February 27, 1969, Folder 6, “Trips with the President, European Tour, notes, 1969. ‘Nixon Diary’ notes,” Papers of William Safire, Box 108, Library of Congress.
“You could feel the strain”: William Safire letter to Rowland Evans, March 19, 1971, “Trips with the President, European Tour, Freeman, John, 1971,” Papers of William Safire, Box 108, Folder 2, Library of Congress; Safire, Before the Fall, 126.
“They say there’s a new Nixon”: Safire, Before the Fall, 126.
“That was one of the kindest”: Ibid.
“That was your crack”: Safire diary, February 27, 1969.
It was as close: Ibid.
“He is constantly competing”: Ibid.
Nixon’s statements for the trip: Safire, Before the Fall, 124.
Incredible, the stuff: Safire diary, February 27, 1969.
With Bob Haldeman, he discussed: H. R. Haldeman memo to James Keogh and Henry Kissinger, April 28, 1969, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“found his own medium”: William Safire memo to the President, March 20, 1969, Folder 12, “‘Nixon Diary,’ Chron. File, 1969 ½,” Papers of William Safire, Box 20, Library of Congress.
“President Roosevelt could never”: Ibid.
a “workaholic student”: Author interview with Patrick Buchanan.
“You could trust”: Author interview with Safire.
“He was more comfortable”: Author interview with Raymond K. Price.
“My staff was a little”: James Keogh, President Nixon and the Press (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1972), 52.
“ornaments he would hang”: Author interview with Huebner.
“Whenever he was able”: Keogh, President Nixon, 53.
“Anecdotal material”: White House tapes conversation 483-4, April 20, 1971, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
An April 14 meeting: William Safire diary, April 14, 1969, Folder 12, “‘Nixon Diary,’ Chron. File, 1969 ½,” Papers of William Safire, Box 20, Library of Congress.
“Nixon was a reflective man”: Safire, Before the Fall, 603.
“It was merely Rose Mary Woods and me”: Author interview with Buchanan.
“to bring it to the concrete”: Ibid.
Lee Huebner had met: Author interview with Huebner.
“Lee was our best guy”: Author interview with Price.
“I was the utility”: Author interview with William Gavin.
His arrival on the campaign: Safire, Before the Fall, 59.
“Richard Nixon realized”: Ibid., 135.
“Sometimes he would have”: Author interview with Safire.
“It is open season”: “First Draft/Buchanan” of June 4, 1969, Air Force Academy speech, Folder 5, “Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs Trip and Commencement Speech, 1969 2/10,” Papers of William Safire, Box 65, Library of Congress.
Not wholly satisfied: Safire, Before the Fall, 136.
“The time is ripe”: Bill Safire memo to the President (via Keogh), May 28, 1969, Folder 5, “Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs Trip and Commencement Speech, 1969 2/10,” Papers of William Safire, Box 65, Library of Congress.
“That may seem odd”: Safire, Before the Fall, 137.
Nixon resurrected much of Buchanan’s original text: Buchanan’s recollection is that Safire wrote the first draft and that Nixon then called Buchanan in to revise it. “He said it was too soft,” Buchanan recalled. It is possible that the president brought Buchanan back in to re-toughen the Safire-Kissinger drafts. (Author interview with Buchanan.)
“Patriotism is considered”: “Excerpts from President’s Speech at the Air Force Academy on Military Critics,” New York Times, June 5, 1969.
“He did indeed weigh”: Author interview with Safire.
“He would use that”: Author interview with Price.
“The other writers knew”: Safire, Before the Fall, 69.
Here was “Nixon at his”: John Osborne, The Nixon Watch (New York: Liveright, 1970), 81.
“the cries of outrage”: Safire, Before the Fall, 141.
“The accurate term”: Pat Buchanan memorandum for the president, June 6, 1969, private papers of Patrick Buchanan.
“Put yourself”: Safire, Before the Fall, 141.
was “a fanatic”: William Safire diary, June 5, 1969, Folder 13, “‘Nixon Diary’ Chron. File, 1969 2/2,” Papers of William Safire, Box 20, Library of Congress.
He scolded…“forget ’em!”: Ibid.
“Since the advent”: Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), 354.
“The President is very much”: Talking Paper, “Re: Meeting with Keogh,” September 2, 1969, “Talking Papers 1969” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“What he is looking for”: Talking Paper, “NOTE: To be attached to the first Talking Paper in the KEOGH Folder,” September 9, 1969, “Talking Papers 1969” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“It was natural for him”: Author interview with Price.
“The President says he likes”: William Safire diary, September 12, 1969, Folder 13, “‘Nixon Diary’ Chron. File, 1969 2/2,” Papers of William Safire, Box 20, Library of Congress.
The president made sure: Safire, Before the Fall, 172.
“Don’t get rattled”: Nixon, RN, 403.
“For perhaps three or four”: Safire, Before the Fall, 533.
“They can’t defeat us”: Nixon, RN, 404.
As Nixon worked in solitude: Ibid.
Senate Republican leader Hugh Scott: “Massive Pullout in ’70 ‘Possible,’ Ford Says,” The Washington Post, November 3, 1969.
“The 30-minute address”: “President Polishes Vietnam Address,” The Washington Post, November 3, 1969.
“Big problem building”: H. R. Haldeman, The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House (New York: Berkley Books, 1995), 122–23.
On October 24, Nixon retreated: Nixon, RN,
408–09.
In the 1968 campaign: William Safire, Safire’s New Political Dictionary (New York: Random House, 1993), 708–9.
He later told Safire: Safire, Before the Fall, 174–75.
“The baby’s just”: Nixon, RN, 409.
“right down the hall”: Safire, Before the Fall, 176.
“Not many people”: Ibid., 176–77.
“detailed, building a case”: Ibid., 174.
“He was a logical student”: Author interview with Huebner.
“‘Let me make one thing’”: Author interview with Gavin.
“The most significant characteristic”: “Talking Paper,” June 29, 1970, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“Nothing of a substantial nature”: David Greenberg, Nixon’s Shadow: The History of an Image (New York: W. W. Norton, 2003), 145.
“There wasn’t a thing new”: Ibid.
“They talked as if”: Nixon, RN, 410.
“Then a plea”: Haldeman, Diaries, 125.
“Very few speeches”: Nixon, RN, 409–10.
“Nixon always had a feeling”: Safire, Before the Fall, 309.
“‘Bring us together’”: Ibid.
Nixon called Safire on November 4: Ibid., 177.
“We have got to discuss”: H. R. Haldeman memo to James Keogh, November 7, 1969, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“they were produced under”: Jim Keogh memo to Bob Haldeman, November 10, 1969, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
they were oriented more toward: Author interviews with Price and Huebner.
“Feels our people”: Haldeman, Diaries, 134.
“I know how you and Ray”: William Safire diary, October 7, 1971, Folder 4, “‘Nixon Diary’ Chron. File 1971 2/2,” Papers of William Safire, Box 21, Library of Congress.
Safire “is too damn smart”: White House tapes conversation 594–4, July 28, 1971, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“it repels him”: White House tapes conversation 536-16, July 31, 1971, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“The President has the feeling”: Talking Paper “Re: Speech Writers,” December 15, 1969, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
Preparation for the 1970 State of the Union: Keogh, President Nixon, 50.
“Why do we have”: William Gavin, “His Heart’s Abundance: Notes of a Nixon speech-writer,” Presidential Studies Quarterly (June 2001).
“Led to a new harangue”: Haldeman, Diaries, 142–43.
Powered by White House: Author interview with Price.
“All this hemming”: Haldeman, Diaries, 145.
By Wednesday: Haldeman, Diaries, 145; Keogh, President Nixon, 50–51.
He wrote notes: Richard Reeves, President Nixon: Alone in the White House (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), 161.
Nixon returned to the White House: Haldeman, Diaries, 146; Reeves, Alone, 162; Keogh, President Nixon, 51.
It was a public relations triumph: Reeves, Alone, 194.
But the seeds were already: Ibid., 192.
The arguments were not new: Ibid., 197–204.
“This was not the time”: Safire, Before the Fall, 183.
“and said marry this”: Author interview with Buchanan.
They went through eight drafts: Safire, Before the Fall, 183; Reeves, Alone, 205; Haldeman, Diaries, 189.
“Doesn’t this fly”: Safire, Before the Fall, 187
“The speech gave”: Ibid., 183.
drained “the venom”: Price, With Nixon, 160.
The National Security Council had tried: Al Haig memo to Bob Haldeman, re “Foreign Policy Writer,” April 3, 1970, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“My monthly question”: H. R. Haldeman memo to General Haig, May 5, 1970, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“It is getting kind of”: H. R. Haldeman memo to General Haig, September 14, 1970, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“I hate to keep”: H. R. Haldeman memo to General Haig, October 1, 1970, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“The first draft”: “Talking Paper—General Haig,” Re: “Speeches,” October 24, 1970, “Talking Papers 1970” folder, WHSF Haldeman, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“My speech & idea group”: Reeves, Alone, 22.
“‘the little things’”: Alexander P. Butterfield memo to Robert Finch et al., February 6, 1971, Folder 1, “Anecdotes + ‘Color Reports Miscellaneous, 1970–71 ½,” Papers of William Safire, Box 29, Library of Congress.
One was John Andrews: Author interview with John Andrews.
“He would come reliably”: Author interview with Noel Koch.
“Which wasn’t particularly”: Author interview with Andrews.
“He’s got a sense”: White House tapes conversation 457-1, February 24, 1971, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“Tell everyone”: John Ehrlichman, Witness to Power (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982), 268.
“We’ve been searching”: Price, With Nixon, 196.
Nixon had awakened: William Safire diary, January 24, 1971, Folder 3, “‘Nixon Diary’ Chron. file 1971 ½,” Papers of William Safire, Box 21, Library of Congress.
On January 19: Larry Higby memo to William Safire et al., January 19, 1971, Folder 4, “State of the Union messages, 1971 Address, 1970–71, Memoranda,” Papers of William Safire, Box 103, Library of Congress.
“Somebody is using your name”: William Safire memo to Larry Higby, January 20, 1971, Folder 4, “State of the Union messages, 1971 Address, 1970–71, Memoranda,” Papers of William Safire, Box 103, Library of Congress.
“Nevertheless, Safire sent: William Safire memo to Larry Higby, January 21, 1971, Folder 4, “State of the Union messages, 1971 Address, 1970–71, Memoranda,” Papers of William Safire, Box 103, Library of Congress.
“How’d you feel”: William Safire diary, January 24, 1971.
Discussion in mid-November: Haldeman, Diaries, 455–57.
Noel Koch wrote a “barn-burner”: Author interview with Noel Koch
“Joe six-pack”: Author interview with Aram Bakshian.
“In one breath”: Safire, Before the Fall, 36.
“It’s not simply writing”: White house tapes conversation 15–196, December 2, 1971, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
215 “cooped up”: Safire, Before the Fall, 333.
“I may decide to go”: White House tapes conversation 15-196, December 2, 1971, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“He’s really concerned”: Haldeman diary unabridged CD-ROM edition, January 11, 1972, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“This has to be”: Except where noted, the account of the drafting of the January 25, 1972, Vietnam speech comes from Safire, Before the Fall, 398–407.
“All the way through”: White House tapes conversation 649–1, January 17, 1972, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“I dunno”: Safire, Before the Fall, 528.
He hoped to use: Author interview with Huebner.
“We were”: Safire, Before the Fall, 405.
“Isn’t that for the president”: Ibid., 407.
“It was the usual tirade”: Haldeman diary unabridged CD-ROM edition, April 12, 1972, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“The littler you were”: Author interview with Huebner.
After dinner that night: Ibid.
What Huebner did not find out: Ibid.
“That popped my eyes”: Author interview with Andrews.
“Don’t worry”: David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadershi
p, Nixon to Clinton (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 27.
a former reporter named: Aram Bakshian oral history interview, University of Virginia, Miller Center of Public Affairs, January 14, 2002, 6.
“brilliant, eccentric”: Author interview with Peter Robinson, 219 a great, boisterous laugh: Author interview with Koch.
“Gergen was a very smooth”: Author interview with Andrews.
“H & Buchanan—Safire a conservative?”: Reeves, Alone, 569.
“You want to say goodbye”: William Safire, Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2005), Preface, xvi.
To hell with it: Ibid., 7.
“We have a cancer”: White House tapes conversation 886-8, March 21, 1973, Nixon Presidential Materials, Archives II.
“Had I gone in”: Safire, Before the Fall, An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House (New Brunswick. Transaction Publishers, 2005, from the Preface to the Transaction Edition), xvi.
“We are now forced”: Nixon, RN, 803.
Price reluctantly sent: Price, With Nixon, 97.
“Anyone who is not guilty”: Nixon, RN, 836.
On April 15: Ibid., 834.
Price would remain: Gergen, Eyewitness, 68.
“Look, if we went”: Stanley Kutler, ed., Abuse of Power: The New Nixon Tapes (New York: Free Press, 1997), 350–51.
“Tell him make it”: Ibid., 351.
“Oh, hell”: Ibid., 380.
Talk of resignation: Price, With Nixon, 100–01.
“Maybe I should resign”: Ibid., 101. In his memoir, Nixon recalls saying to Price: “Ray, you are the most honest, cool, objective man I know. If you feel that I should resign, I am ready to do so. You won’t have to tell me. You should just put it in the next draft” ( RN, 849).
Price turned around: Price, With Nixon, 101–02.
Price was relieved when: Ibid., 103.
Kissinger told Andrews that the key idea: Author interview with Andrews.
“constant contrition”: Bill Safire memo for the president, July 12, 1973, Folder 5, “Watergate, memoranda and notes, 1973,” Papers of William Safire, Box 115, Library of Congress.
“The great lesson of Watergate”: Ibid.
a “thoughtful speech”: William Safire, “Lessons of Watergate,” New York Times, August 20, 1973.
“Journalists are always saying”: Author interview with Huebner.