Watergate Trial Conversations Page #3

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PRESIDENT:
Uh, uh

[Several [Unintelligible]

voices]

UNIDENTIFIED:
Yeah. Uh.

UNIDENTIFIED:
[Unintelligible]

PRESIDENT:
like high interest rates.

UNIDENTIFIED:
That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED:
[Unintelligible]. Yeah.

PRESIDENT:
Well, it's one of those things where with

all you experts sitting around where you

have to make a political judgment. My

political judgment is that the Congress is

going to pass it. I could not veto it. Not

because they're milk producers, but because

they're farmers. And it would be just

turning down the whole damn middle America.

Uh, where, uh, we, uh, where we, uh, need

support. And under the circumstances, I

think the best thing to do is to just, uh,

relax and enjoy it.

UNIDENTIFIED:
The legal --

CONNALLY:
Mr. President, trade for both years, if you

do it. Trade for this year and next year,

if you possibly can.

PRESIDENT:
With these people?

CONNALLY:
Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT:
Well,

CONNALLY:
Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT:
can that be done? I, uh, that's what I, uh

CONNALLY:
Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT:
That would be great.

CONNALLY:
Yes, sir.

EHRLICHMAN:
If you could make a deal for the two years

CONNALLY:
Yes, sir. It can be done.

HARDIN:
They will do that.

UNIDENTIFIED:
You bet.

CONNALLY:
Won't they Phil?

CAMPBELL:
Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED:
Yeah, I would

UNIDENTIFIED:
Well, I would say the price is stable.

PRESIDENT:
Yes, that's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED:
Yeah.

HARDIN:
The other thing Mr. President, so they're

not asking

UNIDENTIFIED:
And, uh

HARDIN:
that, uh, on grounds that it would be just

hard to answer. These fellows have a

tendency to say, "Well, now look, uh, look

at the construction industry. Look at

Labor. Uh, and then why be so chintzy with

us? Uh, all, all evidence is our costs keep

rising, and that we're under the freeze,

and, uh, you take it out on us not, not the

people who are really causing the problem."

And, this is hard to answer, uh, when it's a

challenge put that way --

CAMPBELL:
Well I think we can settle for a

UNIDENTIFIED:
We've got this other considPRESIDENT:

All right, make the best deal you can.

UNIDENTIFIED:
Yeah.

PRESIDENT:
Do it for two years and, uh, we, uh, we, uh,

we know that, uh, and as I say, I appreciate

the, the very fine judgment to the contrary

which, which you can't do as, uh

HARDIN:
Now, we must do one other thing, uh

UNIDENTIFIED:
[Unintelligible]

PRESIDENT:
Let's let them know what we're doing. That,

uh

EHRLICHMAN:
Let's get credit.

UNIDENTIFIED:
Oh, God, if we're going to do this

CONNALLY:
Mr. President

PRESIDENT:
Let's

CONNALLY:
Please, may I interject a suggestion?

PRESIDENT:
Uh, uh

UNIDENTIFIED:
[Sighs]

CONNALLY:
Uh

PRESIDENT:
Anything you like.

CONNALLY:
Well, let's don't, let's don't trade the,

uh, uh, through Agriculture, uh, on the

merits

PRESIDENT:
Yeah.

CONNALLY:
until, uh, some other conversations are had.

PRESIDENT:
Yeah. Yeah.

CONNALLY:
Uh

HARDIN:
[Unintelligible] we've got a little work to

do. We've got to let Page, that, uh

UNIDENTIFIED:
What?

HARDIN:
I mean Bob Dole.

CONNALLY:
All I'm saying is you

EHRLICHMAN:
No. Later, because they're

CONNALLY:
you're in this thing for everything, you,

you can get out of it. [Unintelligible]

UNIDENTIFIED:
[Unintelligible]

UNIDENTIFIED:
Yeah.

EHRLICHMAN:
Now you could hold your position now till

you get the green light, couldn't you?

CONNALLY:
Oh, sure.

PRESIDENT:
What?

EHRLICHMAN:
Yeah, as I say, then Agriculture doesn't

need to do anything right away.

UNIDENTIFIED:
He

'PRESIDENT:
You, you're now thinking of the political offer?

EHRLICHMAN:
In a day or so.

[Several

voices]:
[Unintelligible]

SHULTZ:
The sooner you do it, the better off you're

going to be, aren't you?

HARDTN:
Uh, yeah. Possibly, uh -- Page,

SHULTZ:
In a day or so.

HARDIN:
now, Page knows Dole. I wish he hadn't done

it quite this way, but one of his little

talks to the Speaker, and Wilbur -- He got

them to agree to hold the bill until he

could talk to the White House.

PRESIDENT:
Well --

CONNALLY:
He, he could make, Mr. President, I suggest

to you that somebody could make a little

capital with the Speaker and with Wilbur.

Now if you'll do this. Now somebody can do

it. Now, they'll, they'll say, well, you,

you know, they'll say, well, "You did it

because

PRESIDENT:
Yeah.

CONNALLY:
we've introduced a bill."

PRESIDENT:
All right.

CONNALLY:
But I know somebody down here can make a

little time with them. How much, how much I

don't know. But it's worth trying,

obviously, because they're both extremely

interested in it.

EHRLICHMAN:
Phil, move over there, would you. We'd like

to get the picture of some of the House

groups that are interested in the topic

[intelligible]. All together now.

HARDIN:
Wilbur, uh --

UNIDENTIFIED:
Shouldn't happen [unintelligible]

SHULTZ:
As an aside on this: Wilbur passed the

message to me via Bill Gifford to thank you

very much. Apparently his family was --

UNIDENTIFIED:
Yeah, he got around to the White House.

SHULTZ:
And, uh, he spoke with -- and the grand --

and he said the grandchildren loved it.

Wilbur says it's the nicest thing that's

happened to him in years.

PRESIDENT:
Hah.

SHULTZ:
And I just wanted you to know

[unintelligible] he apprecia--, he really

had a very pleasant evening.

CONNALLY:
Let me tell you how important I think it is

to Wilbur. Now I don't -- I can't vouch for

this. I haven't pursued it. I haven't

followed it up. I don't want to. But, I

was told that you could almost name your

price with-Wilbur short of all-out support

of revenue sharing if you did it.

EHRLICHMAN:
You know him?

CONNALLY:
Yes, sir.

CAMPBELL:
You that close to him?

CONNALLY:
That's correct.

CAMPBELL:
And he knows this bill intimately.

CONNALLY:
That's correct.

CAMPBELL:
And he can explain it to you better than the

dairymen.

CONNALLY:
That's correct.

PRESIDENT:
Yeah. Yeah.

CONNALLY:
He sure can.

PRESIDENT:
I noticed they had a strong man from

Arkansas in there, didn't they?

EHRLICHMAN:
Well, uh, let me ask this. Uh, who's the

guy that told? Uh---

PRESIDENT:
What my point is: This is something where I

would not have it done by you, Cliff, in

Agriculture. Let's have it done in a way by

somebody who has to get something out of it.

Uh, like George. You see my point?

HARDIN:
Uh hm. Sure.

PRESIDENT:
On Wilbur.

HARDIN:
Sure.

PRESIDENT:
How would that be? Does that sound all

right to you, John? Or should you tell him?

CONNALLY:
No. I think somebody other than me, sir.

PRESIDENT:
Yeah.

CONNALLY:
I think George, or

PRESIDENT:
Yeah.

CONNALLY:
whoever --

PRESIDENT:
You see my point?

SHULTZ:
Yeah, maybe John and I.

PRESIDENT:
Maybe John Ehrlichman and George.

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