Nixon by Nixon: In His Own Words Page #5

decision of my whole presidency

was the so-called

Christmas bombing of 1972.

I decided it was time

to get it over with.

Cronkite:

President Nixon today took off the kid gloves

and once again flexed

America's air muscle.

Nixon:

I was convinced that it would break

the deadlock

in the negotiations.

Henry Kissinger agreed that

that was the case.

Kissinger:
Mr. President.

I just wanted to tell you

that the third wave

of B-52s got out

and no... no planes

shot down.

Nixon:

Good. So...

did they hit anything?

They...

Kissinger:
Well, Radio Hanoi has

been off the air for 10 hours.

Nixon:

All right, good.

Kissinger:

And that is bound to create havoc up there.

Schieffer:

The administration contends

that the raids are not

terror bombing.

The shift to the larger B-52s

would seem to indicate

that the raids have been

designed for psychological

as well as military gain.

Operator:

Mr. Colson, sir.

Garrick Utley:
Tomorrow, Richard Nixon

will drive up Pennsylvania Avenue

to the Capitol.

He will place one hand on a Bible,

raise the other and be sworn in again

as President of the United States.

A very powerful

president.

...I, Richard Nixon,

do solemnly swear...

Reasoner:

An inauguration is a celebration

of our whole process as much as it is

a celebration for a partisan victor.

In some men self-confidence

and an ease with life

seem to come with the suit. In others of us,

it is a more fragile, conscious thing.

And Mr. Nixon is very much

of this group.

So we wish this intelligent

and complex president

the very best,

for all our sakes.

Nixon:
Hello?

Pat:
Hi, Dick.

Nixon:
Oh, I thought you'd like to know,

and tell the girls,

that we...

Kissinger's on his way back

and we got the agreement.

Oh, great!

Nixon:
So, you tell them.

Isn't that marvelous!

Nixon:
Okay?

It's wonderful.

Nixon:
Okay. Bye.

Yeah, good. Thanks.

Utley:
Dr. Kissinger arrived

at Andrews Air Force Base

outside Washington

in the early evening.

He was carrying with him a ceasefire

agreement initialed in Paris.

Ziegler:

Now do you think we should have a picture

with you and Henry tonight

when he arrives back?

No.

Hmm-mm.

Ziegler:
Okay.

Nixon:
I don't think so.

I think we don't want

to build the Henry thing up

all that much.

I don't think we should

have a picture. No.

We, today, have concluded

an agreement

to end the war

and bring peace with honor

in Vietnam

and in Southeast Asia.

Nixon:
That had to be not

only the greatest experience

as president, but also I think,

of all my public life.

...January 23, 1973.

The agreement

on ending the war...

We finally have achieved

a peace with honor.

I know it gags some of you

to write that phrase,

but that is true.

Buchanan:

I think there's some guys over there

doing a little

gagging this morning.

Nixon:
Oh yeah,

I said that was going to gag you

to write

"with peace with honor."

Buchanan:

Yeah, I was stunned there was

no Watergate thing

even mentioned, you know?

Nixon:
What the hell?

Why do people want to write about subject B?

Buchanan:
Right right.

They want to write about subject A.

The president said that

no one presently employed

in the government was connected

with the Watergate bugging case.

That would certainly

include you.

I don't know anything about

the Watergate incident.

President Nixon and his

counsel John Dean

now appear to be at odds

over the Watergate scandal.

Operator:

Miss Julie's calling.

Nixon:
Really?

There is evidence that

the president's Chief of Staff

HR Haldeman was involved, along with

John Ehrlichman of the White House.

Nixon:

There really wasn't a happy time

in the White House

after April 30th

when Haldeman

and Ehrlichman left.

Jarriel:

The resignations came from men

so closely associated

with Mr. Nixon,

they hit almost with the

impact of a resignation

from the chief executive

himself.

Nixon:

Today...

in one of the most difficult

decisions of my presidency,

I accepted

the resignations of two

of my closest associates

in the White House.

Bob Haldeman,

John Ehrlichman...

two of the finest

public servants

it has been

my privilege to know.

Nixon:
Well, it's a tough thing,

Bob, for you and for John

and the rest, but God damn it,

I'm never going to discuss

this son-of-a-bitching Watergate thing again.

Never never never never.

But let me say,

you're a strong man,

God damn it, and I love ya.

Nixon:
And I... you know,

I love John.

God bless you, boy.

Haldeman:
Okay. God bless you.

I love you, as you know.

Haldeman:
Okay.

You're like my brother.

Ziegler:
The president has asked

me to announce that he has

today requested and accepted

the resignation of John Dean

from his position

of the White House counsel.

Chancellor:
FBI agents were sent

into the White House today,

normally the preserve

of the Secret Service,

to stand guard over the papers

of HR Haldeman,

John Ehrlichman

and John Dean.

No one can remember the FBI

being used that way before.

The Pulitzer Prize committee today awarded

its distinguished Public Service Prize

to "The Washington Post"

for its coverage of the Watergate scandal.

"Post" reporters

Carl Bernstein

and Robert Woodward were also

singled out in the citation

for their dominant role

in the inquiry.

Judge:
...nothing but the truth,

so help you God?

I do, so help me God.

Roger Mudd:
John Dean,

the ex-White House Counsel, testified today

that President Nixon knew

about the Watergate cover-up.

Schorr:

Dean read through a 245-page statement:

a president too easily upset

by anti-war demonstrators;

wire-tapping of newsmen;

a proposal to firebomb

and burglarize

the Brookings Institution;

spying on Senator Kennedy

and other democrats;

efforts to involve

the CIA in the cover-up;

Haldeman-Ehrlichman orders

to set up a payoff fund;

perjury plans; the fictitious

Dean investigation.

Nixon:

Coming right down to it, Al,

when you look at it, you know,

and all this crap we're taking,

wouldn't it really be better for the country,

you know, to just check out?

Nixon:
And... no no, seriously.

I mean that.

And...

because I... you see,

I'm not at my best.

I've got to be at my best

and that means

fighting this damn battle.

Fighting it all-out.

Utley:
There was a surprise witness

at the Watergate hearings today

and he made

a dramatic disclosure.

Male:

Are you aware of the installation

of any listening devices in the

Oval Office of the president?

I was aware

of listening devices,

yes sir.

Utley:
Alexander Butterfield,

former aide to HR Haldeman,

said that President Nixon

ordered secret electronic

listening devices

installed in his offices

and on his telephones.

Samuel Dash:
But so far as you know,

all telephone calls

were also recorded?

From the president's office telephone...

Dash:
Yes.

...on his desk, in the Oval Office.

Dash:
Yes.

And his regular office phone in

the Executive Office building,

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