Nixon Page #5

Pause. Haldeman is perplexed.

NIXON (CONT'D)

I suppose you thought the Presidency

was above this sort of thing.

HALDEMAN:

Sir?

NIXON:

This isn't a "moral" issue, Bob. We

have to keep our enemies at bay or our

whole program is gonna go down the

tubes. The FBI is filled with people

who are pissed that I put Gray in and

not one of their own. Vietnam, China,

the Soviet Union: when you look at the

big picture, Bob, you'll see we're

doing a hell of a lotta good in this

world. Let's not screw it up with

some sh*t-ass, third-rate burglary.

HALDEMAN:

I'll talk to Helms.

(looks at his watch)

Oh, Pat asked if you're coming to the

Residence for dinner tonight.

NIXON:

No, no, not tonight. Don't let her in

here. I have too much to do.

HALDEMAN:

Yes, sir. I'll talk to Helms, and, uh

... what's our press position on this

Watergate thing? What do I tell

Ziegler to tell them?

INT. THE WHITE HOUSE - LINCOLN SITTING ROOM - NIGHT (1973)

RESUME SCENE - NIXON takes another drink, looks up at

Lincoln's portrait.

NIXON (ON TAPE)

(yelling)

Tell 'em what we've always told 'em!

Tell 'em anything but the goddamn

truth!

As the tape grinds on with hard-to-hear DIALOGUE, Nixon

searches through a drawer in the rolltop desk next to the

fireplace. He finds a small vial of pills, fumbles with

the cap. He rips the cap off, the pills scattering on the

desk.

NIXON (CONT'D)

Sh*t!

He begins scooping them back into the bottle, his hands

trembling with the effort.

NIXON (CONT'D)

(mumbles)

Put me in this position ... Expose me

like this.

He downs a couple of pills with the Scotch.

NIXON (CONT'D)

Why don't they just f***ing shoot me?

Nixon takes another drink, looks down.

SHARP CUT BACK TO:

INT. TV STUDIO - NIGHT (1960)

DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE - JOHN F. KENNEDY looking straight at

the camera. Tanned, impeccable, confident.

KENNEDY:

I do not think the world can exist in

the long run half-slave and half-free.

The real issue before us is how we can

prevent the balance of power from

turning against us ... If we sleep too

long in the sixties, Mr. Khrushchev

will "bury" us yet ... I think it's

time America started moving again.

DISSOLVE TO:

NIXON does not look well. His clothes are baggy, and he

has a slight sheen of perspiration around his lower lip.

He seems uncomfortable in his movements, robotic, falsely

aggressive with his raised eyebrows and glaring demeanor.

(The following essences are taken from four debates and

various campaign material; in using a documentary JFK, we

will be cutting around him when off-debate material is

used.)

NIXON:

... When it comes to experience, I

want you to remember I've had 173

meetings with President Eisenhower,

and 217 times with the National

Security Council. I've attended 163

Cabinet meetings. I've visited fifty

four countries and had discussions

with thirty-five presidents, nine

prime ministers, two emperors, and the

Shah of Iran...

INT. TV STUDIO - CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

PAT NIXON, a year older than Dick, watches her champion

through the glass booth. The "Mona Lisa" of American

politics, she projects deep admiration for, and pride in,

her husband. But now she appears perturbed by what she's

seeing.

A younger HALDEMAN sits watching the debates on monitors

with HERB KLEIN, press secretary, and OTHERS in the Nixon

circle. Through the glass we see the CANDIDATES.

MURRAY CHOTINER, campaign manager, overweight and bow-tied,

moves down the row of monitors holding a cigar. He manages

to drop ashes on an attractive KENNEDY STAFFER.

CHOTINER:

Excuse me, sweetheart.

As he sits next to Haldeman, Nixon drones on.

NIXON (ON T.V. MONITOR)

Let's take hydroelectric power. In

our administration, we've built more

...

CHOTINER:

(privately)

Jesus Christ, has he told them how

many push-ups he can do yet? What the

hell happened to him?

HALDEMAN:

He just got out of the hospital,

Murray, and he hasn't taken an hour

off during the campaign, thanks to

you.

CHOTINER:

You could've at least gotten him a

suit that fit, for Christ's sake, and

slapped some makeup on him. He looks

like a frigging corpse!

NIXON (T.V.)

... When we consider the lineup of the

world, we find there are 590 million

people on our side, 800 million on the

Communist side, and 600 million who

are neutral. The odds are 5 to 3

against us ...

HALDEMAN:

He wouldn't do the makeup. Said it

was for queers.

JFK's face is on the monitors now.

CHOTINER:

Kennedy doesn't look like a queer,

does he?

(then)

He looks like a God.

HALDEMAN:

Murray, it's not a beauty contest.

CHOTINER:

We better hope not.

PAT:

(upset)

What are you doing to him, Murray?

Look at him -- he's not well. He

doesn't have to debate John Kennedy.

HALDEMAN:

Mrs. Nixon, we didn't ...

CHOTINER:

Pat, baby, listen, when it comes to

...

PAT:

He can win without doing this.

KENNEDY (ON TV)

... in attacking my resolve, Mr. Nixon

has carefully avoided mentioning my

position on Cuba ...

HALDEMAN:

Oh shoot! He's going to do it! Here

it comes.

KENNEDY (ON TV)

... As a result of administration

policies, we have seen Cuba go to the

Communists ... eight jet minutes from

the coast of Florida!

Castro's influence will spread through

all of Latin America. We must attempt

to strengthen the democratic anti

Castro forces in exile. These

fighters have had virtually no support

from our government!

HALDEMAN:

(whispers to Klein, Chotiner)

Sonofabitch! He was briefed by the

CIA. He's using it against us! He

knows we can't respond.

CHOTINER:

It's a disgrace.

MODERATOR:

Mr. Nixon?

Nixon looks, astounded, at JFK. He fumbles his response.

NIXON:

I think ... I think ... that's the

sort of very dangerous and

irresponsible suggestion that ...

helping the Cuban exiles who oppose

Castro would, uh ... not only be a

violation of international law, it

would be ...

HALDEMAN:

(closes his eyes)

He's treading water. Don't mention

Khrushchev.

NIXON:

... an open invitation for Mr.

Khrushchev to become involved in Latin

America. We would lose all our

friends in Latin America.

KLEIN:

He just violated national security,

Dick! Attack the bastard!

KENNEDY:

I, for one, have never believed the

foreign policy of the United States

should be dictated by the Kremlin. As

long as ...

Klein hangs his head; Chotiner shares a look with Haldeman.

The young Kennedy staffers applaud gleefully.

NIXON (V.O.)

The sonofabitch stole it!

INT. AMBASSADOR HOTEL - SUITE - LOS ANGELES - DAWN (1960)

NIXON stands at the center of a room crowded with his MEN.

He is despondent, astounded. PAT NIXON watches silently,

bitter, nearly in tears.

CHOTINER:

He carried every cemetery in Chicago!

And Texas -- they had the goddamned

cattle voting!

The final ELECTION FIGURES are coming in over the

television. They show Kennedy with a 120,000-voter margin

(34.2 to 34.1 million) and run down the electoral college

votes.

CHOTINER (CONT'D)

Closest election in history, Dick, and

they stole it. Sonofabitch!

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