Frost\Nixon Page #7
It's kind of a sickening
moment, when he realizes that
all those months of
pep talks and the hype,
had been delusional all along.
You could see it in Frost's face.
If he didn't know the caliber of the man
that he was up against
before the interview started,
he certainly knew it halfway
through the President's first answer.
You see, since the best advice is
almost always of the
confidential variety,
now the tapes have been made public,
people are unlikely
ever to feel comfortable
speaking in confidence
at the White House.
They're less likely to offer
that advice. So in the end,
it's the whole political system and,
by implication, it's
the country that suffers.
So much for our "ballsy" opening.
So when did you actually decide...
At what moment did you know
you were going to resign?
That's good. That's good.
I remember exactly. It was July 23.
After it was clear
the Southern Democrats
that were still against impeachment had
had the screws put on them
by the Speaker of the House.
That night I said to Al Haig, "Well,
that's it. There goes the presidency."
And, of course, you know, being Al,
he tried to talk me out of it.
And Vice President Ford,
I mean, let's not forget
he had the most to gain
personally from my stepping down,
he was still absolutely convinced that
we were gonna win the impeachment vote,
and comfortably. John,
we have to do something.
We have to move this along.
This is desperate, John. Do something.
Twenty-three minutes on one question?
Okay, let's take a break.
Let's change the tapes. Come on, man.
Stop tape.
I'm sorry, gentlemen.
We have to take a break. Tape change.
Oh. Okay, how's that?
You getting what you need?
It's fantastic.
Good. Good. Thank you.
Excuse me. One moment, sir.
Yeah, sure. Take your time.
What are you doing, David?
You've got to stop him rambling.
It's all right. These are
just introductory exchanges.
But this session only lasts two hours.
Nearly half of it's gone, and we're
wasting valuable material, okay?
The moment that he made
the decision to resign,
we should be scoring
points with that stuff.
Want me to switch to Vietnam?
No. No. We've got to get something
out of that resignation
night. All right?
That was Nixon at his lowest
point, a total wreck. On his knees?
Praying with Kissinger? Come on,
you can nail him with that stuff.
Listen, was that okay?
Perfect, sir.
It didn't sound too
arrogant or self-serving?
Not at all. You sounded controlled,
even-handed, statesmanlike.
Good.
Now continue exactly the same way.
Long answers. Control the space.
Don't let him in.
Okay, got you.
Set. And roll.
We're coming back on camera
three in four, three, two and...
Reading the account of those
extraordinary final days,
it seems your most emotional moment came
in that heart-to-heart you
had with Henry Kissinger.
Was that perhaps the most
emotional moment of your career?
Good, good. Yes.
emotional a moment as I've ever had.
Except, well, you know, it's hard to say
what is the most emotional moment,
because each is different.
I remember the day Eisenhower died.
For God's sake.
And the day I walked my eldest
daughter Tricia down the aisle.
And the day during the
impeachment hearings
when Julie, that's my youngest,
she came into my office,
she threw her arms around me, she
kissed me. She cried, you know?
And she so seldom cries.
She said, "Daddy, you're
the finest man I know. "
"Daddy, you're the finest man I know"?
"And whatever you do,
I will support you.
"You just gotta go through the
fire, you know, a little longer."
This is beautiful.
So Kissinger and I were in
the Lincoln Sitting Room,
and together we began to reminisce
about some of the great decisions
that we'd participated in.
There was China, the Soviet Union,
the peace settlement in Vietnam.
Now, let me tell you something
that I never told anybody.
Whenever I have had a really
tough decision to make...
Now, we were in the Lincoln
Sitting Room at that time.
I have come into this room
for the purpose of praying.
"Now, Henry, I'm a Quaker. You're a Jew.
"Neither of us is particularly orthodox,
"but I'd like to think that
each of us in our own way
"has a deep religious sensitivity.
"So if you don't mind, could we
just have a moment of silent prayer?"
So we knelt down. Now, this
was in front of that table where
Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation.
And then after a few moments, we
both got up again, and Henry says...
Is there... I'm sorry.
Is there a problem?
That's time.
We're over two hours.
Really? So soon?
Well, Mr. President, I
gather our time is up.
Gee, now, that's a pity.
You know, I was beginning to enjoy that.
That was terrific, both of you.
We're getting some great material.
You know, it's so funny, too,
because I was expecting
questions on Vietnam.
And we prepared for
that, hadn't we, Jack?
Yes, so did I.
I guess we just got caught
up, you know, reminiscing.
Indeed.
So, day after tomorrow, 10:00, right?
Yes, indeed.
I look forward to it. Bye-bye.
There's no need to say anything.
Mr. President! Mr. President!
Mr. President!
Mr. President, please!
What are you gonna tell him?
I'm gonna tell him
he's gotta get involved.
He's gotta be able to shut him up. Shh.
David, we have some fundamental
problems in our approach that I think...
Don't worry, Bob. I'm on it.
We can use some of the Kissinger stuff.
Yeah, but we need to discuss
it sooner rather than later...
Look, I'm disappointed, too.
But I wonder, could we possibly
spare the post-mortem for now?
I don't mean to minimize it. It's
just I've got to get back to LA
to meet some people from Weed Eater.
Thanks, everyone! Great work!
Marv, Lloyd, great day. Bye, David.
I'll see you soon. God bless!
What the hell is Weed Eater?
It's a horticultural mechanism.
One of our sponsors.
What happened to Xerox?
What about General Motors or IBM?
I gather that not all of the
blue-chip accounts came through.
We do have Alpo.
Dog food?
Wait, John. We're already taping.
So we're close, right? We're very close?
That's probably a question
you should ask David.
Are we close, John?
I believe we're at 30%.
To go? Or 30% sold?
Again, that's probably
a question you should...
Sold, 30% sold.
Jesus...
I thought we were
practically fully financed.
We were. But the financing was always
conditional on advertising sales,
and no one predicted that
they'd fall apart like this.
Well, why have they fallen
apart? Based on what?
Credibility of the project. What
else are advertising sales based on?
Listen, I understand your concern.
But could I ask you to go a little easier
on David over the next couple of days,
bearing in mind the extraordinary
pressure that he's under?
'Cause at the moment, he's effectively
paying for all this himself.
So he's in it for a lot more
than just his reputation.
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