independent from great britain that's a look at some of the events booktv will be covering this week many of these events are open to the public and air on booktvs at c-span2. >> goorchl and welcome to the new nixon library. i'm bill, president of the richard nixon foundation. honored to have president counsel members and a presence counsel member who is joining us today. shelly buchanan. [applause] shelly actually started working to richard nixon before pat did. has that ever been pointed out?

be next we look forward to it. thank you all for the support that enables us to prom gait and encourage civics and citizenship in our community. i hope everyone would today consider becoming a presence counsel member. i'd like to introduce several people more than we might because this is almost a family reunion. and you'll tell when i complete how many alumni from the administration and people that were close to the president during his career are are here today. very special group. first larry served as -- [applause] to hr -- [applause] mary is member of board directors of richard nixon foundation and we appreciate his service and focus on advancing the legacy that rismed richard nixon. thank you.

sandy quin also a board member. sandy we have one individual that i don't see here but i really want to recognize hmm because he's very special to the foundation. colonel jack brennan -- [applause] colonel brennan is vietnam veteran and purple heart recipient. jack was first marine military aid to the president of the united states and became close to president nixon an served as his chief of staff in san clemente from from 1975 to 1980. he was memorably if not necessarily accurately played by kevin bacon in the film and treasured trend of the family in a man stay of the nixon foundation. wish you were here even in that chair next to judge. so next to --

brennan is james rogen of the supreme court of california. [applause] before ascending to beach jim repghted california's 27th district in house of representatives. under president george w. bush he served as under secretary of commerce and director of u.s. patent for trade mark office for many years jim has taught at the university law school. overnight tim became one of the most payments people in america because of his ability to repeat one word in so many inflections -- [applause] while he so often noted to that -- he's an author, actor, christ, attorney, pundit served as speech writer for president nick sewn and gliding ground breaking

nixon health care message to congress in 1974. thank you. but also like to recognize frank who joins us today. frank was a white house fellow that became a special assistant to the president. he coled the designing construction of the new nixon library which has received two national awards already and hopefully a third next month in new york. frank currently acts as special advisor to the richard nixon foundation. frank. [applause] which i make to reference to reunion there's two individuals i want you to meet and honor they both join the staff of senator richard nixon working with local and loving rose marry woods. since then jacker and louie have been mainstays of every nixon

office and campaign and close friends to the nixon family. served in the white house as assistant to rose woods bow by was with the foundation and nixon library from before its opening in 1990 until she retired in 2007. she remains assistant treasure of the nixon foundation board. their combined knowledge of richgd are and pat nixon and career and combine locality and dedication and intelligence and their integrity have guided inspired generation of their colleagues and friends. and delighted that mark and louie are with us today lowe and marx. [applause] now, the reason we're here today to welcome in the new book, the white house wars. "the new york times" has already recommends the book -- it that

we should purchase and read and it describes pat as one of the most consequence conservatives to the past century and we call on nixon white house colleague and long time friend dan -- a native california joined 1968 campaign while in new york at columbia university law school. as soon as he graduated he joined nixon administration as a staff assistant and then as a speech writer and special assistant to the president. ken joined former president san clemente to work on his memoir and his chief police researcher for nixon interviews. in ronald reagan 19presidential campaign he enhance speeches and in the white house he was president reagan's chief speech writer are. among the many memorable and historic speeches ken wrote for the president reagan, was his stirring and moving farewell address to the republican national convention in 1988.

ken then worked also worked then in vice president bush's successful campaign. today, in his veteran of 9 presidential campaigns. he's been an advisor and strategist for governors and jurors of many of california's most distinguished public servants. he served for many years on our richard nixon foundation board of directors. and continues to advise and contribute in his current ford capacity rule. thank you, ken. [applause] ken still lives in san clemente and remains active in law and politics, and in community life. we're delighted that ken and his wife meredith are here todays. and don't get me started on meredith's impressive biography. [laughter] now please join me in welcoming great american, a great californian and great friend of the nixon family and nixon foundation, ken. [applause]

>> 50 years ago as a student at columbia law school, i've seen an article in "new york times" about the staff that was surrounding then potential candidate richard nixon. among that, those members of the staff was pat buchanan. i had written, i wrote a letter to nixon asking if i could help on the '68 campaign and mentioning that maybe one of these -- about fellowing i could work for him, and i didn't get a letter back the first time so wrote it again. and meredith work withed on wall street three blocks from nixon offense and this time hand carried it there, and so two

weeks took -- but few weeks later, i got a letter back from one of his assistants, that assistant happened to be from buchanan and i've got that letter here, pat. 50 years ago. [applause] shelly i'll give it to you later, it's a. so i met pat and in his cubicle on that -- there on piflt fifth avenue before 450 park and told them i'd like to do some research and among other things the lawsuit but raised on a farm in california. and told them i knew farm issues and got a face of the brain power when he started questions to me and he asked me about obscure agricultural concept from the harry truman years

called brandon plan what i knew about it. i knew nothing about it. so i thought i had messed up my interview on my chances about working on the campaign. not only that, i later found out that because i was from columbia pat thought i was a spy from the rockefeller campaign. to this day he still thinks that. so he must have taken pity on me and told me to come on in, put me to work and answering correspondents and rest it history. that began 50 year friendship of work mate and classmate i started working in first for herb klein in the shop and the office but now give you a little insight, insight from the nixon white house. i had a title when i worked for pat.

and it was emanated from our good friend here larry higby he worked in the white house and worked for bob so amongst those of us many the white house -- the number two people that worked for anyone in the white house became a higby so larry last name became a noun. so john earl assistant was holland was higby and chuck, and ron zigger had had higby happened to be diane sawyer and even he had a higby gordon strong. so i was buchanan higby that became that 5-year friendship. that was part of a white house that --

was very unique. it was a part of the murderer row of speech writers they've never had ever since so pat and won a pulitzer prize. ray price who came to the nixon staff from the new york harold tribune, and he had written interestingly enough the editorial that endorsed lyndon johnson over barry gold we are the and two journeymen speech writers bill welcome and lee who was the most remarkable speech writing staff ever. i mean ben and i were in awe of them for their talents as we were lonely speech writers. pat bill as remarkable career with -- nixon or called him the old man. in 1965, when he became mr. nixon writer, research, briefer, traveling campaign aid,

and along with had this current book which had i know you've all purchased you have to really buy his other book the greatest comeback which clinical it this remarkable period that pat worked with -- president mink son from 1965 to 196 when he worked one-on-one with richard nixon closely during this comeback period where richard nixon rose from the political dead to return to become president of the united states. it was really a -- really remarkable book. and the white house pat was not only the conservative constant but the premier political strategist for the presidents. no other single person in my judgment had had the same shrewd creative insight into american political mind in able to capture unique force shaping meshings in 60s and 70s as pat did.

in terms of that white house he knew president nixon better than anyone else because he had spent that time with them in those three years one-on-one in such close contact. at his sight in the 60s. so you'll find in this book when you find it it is a road map to the battle with american left and the media as they were fought for more than our white house and if you were in the white house, at the time when we were there, it's really a true insight into the years that we were there. there was all done in the grip of the social unrest and vietnam war and frankly the wreckage that was left behind by jack kennedy and lbj and the great society. it was it era before the computer key pad by the way. computer key pad took away one of the great fun of writing speeches. computer key pad had had no noise to it. we had ibm typewriters back then.

ibm typewriters made a lot of noise. and some of the speech writers like ray price we could headache the type sing when pat was working he could make the typewriter smoke. [laughter] i can remember because i shared the office with him the last year and a half, and i can remember next door when he was working on a speech, because he had his speeches always ones that were a little more on the attack side. that rat-a-tat when he was wielding the strongest weapon in the world, his word, and i was always trying to emulate that. but to hear that ibm typewriter just boom, boom, boom just knew that he was ponging out something that was going to be very important. he left his mark of loyalty to the man on this building but equally important -- he leaves loyalty to ideas and personal conviction.

old man enjoyed pat and when we were here in san clemente, and pat and shelly would visit, and old man would be so happy to have pat there, and room was just pull if of laughter and gossip to bring back from washington and back and forth they would have and stories of the great battles they worked on, and the inside the president would ask pat what was beginning on and they'd share story it was a lot of fun to watch their intersection but we have fun and it wasn't all work and that's because of pat's humor and joy of why he made it so-so pat welcome to the left coast especially glad to have you -- especially glad to have you back in the house. with the old man's name on it maybe we could suit up one more time and turn country aroundhuh? [applause]

♪ thank you. thank you very much ken. i can still remember him coming down through columbia university up there at a park avenue, and after the interview with me he was going down the hall. and i did say, check this guy out. i think we have a rockefeller spy here and rock teller spy went on to be a strategist for the greatest political mind of the 20th richard nixon and -- a speech writer for one of the greatest communicators ronald reagan and just been on a tour

of the library now that frank and others and bill have really fixed it up and that was the first time i've seen it. and i will say for the folks and folks out here on c-span audience, of course, everyone here. having worked with the old man for eight and a half years shelly worked even longer with him. that you can't watch that film without having heart really torn at. it is magnificent. i barely got through it. [laughter] but you ought to see it. when you talk now about -- about the nixon and what was in the book -- the nixons white house wars the battles it made and broke a president and changed america or -- basically divided america forever. listed some of the -- what was going become on in the 60s so let me begin around 1968 the year before richard nixon took office.

we took off for january 31st from new hampshire and romney in the race for a couple of months not doing well. we flew up to new hampshire and i remember teddy white asking me about the fence which just occurred with a brother in vietnam at the time and that, of course, cost -- thousands american lives and many weeks before they got back to the way, it was the first event walter said war has basically lost. we went into new hampshire and ran a tremendous opening month campaign in time when president was there and took it back to florida to make sure he was rested come become and went after governor romney through the yard because at the end of february romney dropped out of the race. and richard nick son was alone. and that was followed thin by nelson rockefeller supposed to get in he got out of the race.

and then began what we call crazy march. gene mccarthy won 42% of the vote against lbj people don't remember. lbj was a write-in and didn't have his name on the ballot i don't know what political intellect thought that u. anyhow mccarthy got 42 to lbj49 and next right after that happened we wanted, of course, a landslide. right after that happened bobby kennedy in the senate went to the senate -- it same senate room where jack declared for president. declared for the nomination and around march 17th few day after new hampshire. and then -- richard nixon had had me at the end of -- at end of march -- had had me waiting at an airport laguardia to report on him on what lyndon johnson said on his speech when vietnam because we had canceledded our speech i'm waiting in that limousine, and i'm listening to and --

listening to -- lbj that's when he announced he wasn't going to run again. and he's out of the race all of a sudden. four days later, dr. king was shot to death in memphis. riot and hundred cities my hometown, washington, d.c. i got calls from are friends 14th street burning up. federal troops in the nation's capitol marines, on the steps of the capitol itself -- this is what was going on in that spring -- and then came oregon, nixon president nixon won 6 straight states noone contest against him and main fear was a guy in california named reagan as long as we have the gold water conservatives with us and nixon republicans no one from the left rockefeller romney i believe could beat us. so reagan didn't get in. except in oregon for about a month or so.

he was this yet a film up there. he only got 32% and nixon got 60% so that hotel may 28th, and i waited, though, we went down and having dinner and we won big and early but interesting thing that night was the first time a kennedy had been beaten. and any political race since world war ii -- and bobby kennedy was coming up from california -- we went down to the front of the bench in the hotel to watch him come in he had the dog with him and he came in. i went down to a room that was like this -- and watch him give this beautiful confession speech to senator mccarthy say we're going on to california. one week later i was back in new york when -- an aid mine jeff called me from headquarters and -- bobby kennedy has been shot so i call the president mr. nixon who had been awakened already by

julie and already told about it. then i asked the president that same year because i thought of former journalist that it might be interesting it i went to democrat convention that would be fairly exciting more so than ours and we have a walk many ours. and so i went out there and i happen to have a suite up on 19th or no of what we call the comrade hilton hotel. and i had going down in the street, and went across the street and i was born, raised, you know, catholic school and always in a coat and tie down there in grant park. and everybody seemed they always would point at me and yell fbi, fbi and may did other things as well so i was up on 19th floor -- watching what was going to see in the park and who walks in but norman mailer with light heavy

weight champion jose torres ass i alone there and rack et down in front of us -- and so as we looked out in this phalanx of police came down and across michigan avenue and they headed into that park and whaled on these folks for 15 minutes concern and jose torres was cursing the police. i remain slept because i was rooting for the police after what had the fellas have been doing to me but there we saw the democrat party couple apart in the streets of chicago and historic event. you know, i almost felt i did feel sorry for hubert humphrey coming out of dump the hump remain constant. attacking him -- to the first five week he couldn't get any speeches done without having disrupted. and sure enough he gave a salt lake city speech and -- he started moving and i think larry are could barely remember that.

he started moving, it was 43 for nixon at the beginning of october 28 humphrey. wallace was 7 points behind hum try. by the end of october, this 43, 43 all. poem don't recall he had a phenomenal comeback in the month of october 168. so then we go in the white house. we arriveded at the white house and america coming apart after 1968, dead american when is president nixon took office no end or victory in sight. president was the first president since zachary taylor in 1848. to take office without either house of congress behind him. he had a hostile press corps. supreme court was led by earl warren. that exactly mr. nixon friend from california days. and the bureaucracy and new deal

in great society complete with hostiles there, that's the nation mr. nixon inherited but if you take a look back at the presidents inaugural in '69 it is immensely conciliatory in other words he held out his hand to foreign powers, soviet and others, at home he said you know what, you know, let's listen to each other. let's hear each other. let's stop shouting at each other that's what he wanted to do in his first nine monthening were sort of positive he kept a lot of great society which i didn't agree with and on successful early tour to europe, european capitols, apollo 11 the first launch of astronauts into space came in the middle of july. always canaveral with them and watch that go off. i can remember ray saying we're three miles away. my fell low speech writer it was

just magnificent this gigantic rocket as i say three miles away but very visible. and i remember ray price saying -- the noise alone was worth the 23 billion when that rose all. so person went out to guam and welcome the astronaut -- and he gave a speech in gum and he talked ab new foreign policy to help our friends with themselves i think he -- had a speech i think really far, far ahead of its time and frankly as far as i'm concerned on money. then came october. all of a sudden massive common installation demonstrations requester coming up and had a successful summer in san san ani know david was leading columnist of the dead for "the washington post." he wrote on 8th of october, he

said, we're meant to see breaking of the president. it is becoming more obvious with every passing day that the man and the movement that broke lyndon johnson authority in 1968 or out to richgd nixon in 1969 livelihood is great but they'll succeed again. at that point looking at the demonstration i wrote the president a significant memo one of many that ares in the become and we were been asked i think by, for name eight successes we've had during this year or something i wrote the president back saying, no, this is like asking -- the 16th about the 8 successes he's had in 1788. we're in the eye of a hurricane. and it was said sir -- early the 16th that he would have been a great king. but he inherited a revolution,

and it was about a day or two later bob called me that day and said when do you think the president should make the speech? and i said we've got two massive demonstrations coming up the biggest in history in washington. we don't want to be in effect spook by these things so -- do it mid-way between the two. and sure enough the president picked november third between the october 15th, demonstration and the one coming on november 15th to make his great silent majority speech. now, let me say that -- there's a lot of people who have claims credit are for that. but entire credit for that speech belongs to richard kneel house nixon as far as i know -- no speech writer i surely did not. i have my files to find out if contradict tore something to that speech or write something to that speech. the president of the united states wrote that himself he stood up in tooth of the storm and realized his presidency was in real danger of being broken

by johnsons and he delivered it and called on great silent majority to stand behind him for peace with honor and vietnam. and they did. the response was phenomenal and something like 70% of the american people supported the policy even the congress 300 members of congress members of the house of representatives or members of congress endorsed the president's speech. and it was i think the real making of the president. and about -- that night that night something happen haded, something else happened. after the speech was over -- three networks trashed it. instant analysis they trashed it one of them brought on abel who cared miserably in paris, and he trashed the -- what the president has done as well. and so we got -- messages the next day or so

saying you know call him and write letters and thanks. so i did again, with and memo, to the president that said in effect it is no mow time to go public with the hostility and deal with power of these networks two-thirds of the american people were getting their primary -- this was their primary source of information about the nation and about the world was three networks where you have about 12 men in new york and washington deciding what people saw and heard about their country and what they should think basically in a lot of ways about their president. so i told the president that we have to take a morning -- qowb delighted to write a speech vice president agnu we have a plan sent over to bob you took it into the president with a photograph of the memo back that's got bob's writing on it hehas seen go ahead.

that meaning president has seen go ahead get the vice president. write this speech for him we'll deliver it, you know, in a couple of -- in a couple of days. which is what we did in vice president went out to des moines, iowa. and delivered a speech on the 13th, and the speech was one with of the greatest successes certainly in the career of vice president ridiculed for a great part of that time and i can remember it after i finished the speech. i went over to called other by the president of the united states to the oval us office ane was doing some editing on my work. and i was a little concerned about this. [laughter] because i thought that -- the speech was a political masterpiece. and he was -- he had his coat and tie on but had glasses on, with reading glasses and he had a pen out and he was writing words in one of them you know these guys are

licensed by goth now jolted by that. and then as we read on he said -- it quietly and sort of a murmur this will tear the scare off those and i broke out laughing. and he had did too. because we knew what this was really going to set country on fire o the first president ever to take on national press and -- national networks. i'll tell you when i sent it up with two changeses and only two changes came from the president because i wouldn't sent any others up there and i had remembered i -- i got word to bug them to say people hear what i say tonight depends on them not us. abc decided to go live with the speech. and then i went up to the university club a little nervous

swimming many the pool sally brinker called e me and said cbs and going to be a great speech or this is the end of my political career. [laughter] and -- agnu speech almost as much of a sensation as president of the united states richard nixon and what he gave i helped attacking post and times so what had happened in the united states in the first year had tried to reach the and work with the democrats. people will tell you he did not mind telling you the truth. ray price worked on that and it was conciliatory but what happened is, they were going to break nixon as they had broken lyndon johnson but in the end of that year 1969 after the year in america richard nixon if you can believe it was at 68% in the "gallup poll" and 0% disapproval.

astonishing when here was nixon seven years before biggest loser in american politics astonishing. move forward now, did i larry you got that -- water with up here? is right there. thanks. thank you. always done this fine work. [laughter] thank you. i -- [laughter] a little more energy also in there. advance now to another event. and it was april 28th, 1970. i got a call i was in my office in the executive office building looking out on 17th street, and i got a call that president of the united states. said come on down to my eob office so i did.

so i came into his office and he said -- quickly. we're going into cambodia. sending american forces into cambodia to clean out the fish hook and parrots beak both of them one of them is headquarters for vietnam off the communist. other was the closest area to saigon with they would strike and strike and retreat to sanctuaries they had eight of them nixon says we're going into every one of them. and he said we're starting bombing. and i was taken aback sir you are started bombing they know we're coming. and that's where i learned secret of the administration he said we've been bombing those guys for a long, long time. and this was a famous -- bombing of cambodia which allegingedly later trying to impeach richard nixon but they did not do so. so -- nixon gave me a draft from are

the national security counsel that he didn't like. he said there's some good paragraphs in here but it's -- it's dry. and we need something else. so he dictated paragraph after period of and wrote them on a famous yellow pad and he says give them become and get this become to me in three hours and don't tell min or give the speech to anyone. and so i said well i have to tell my secretary because you're going to have to type the draft as i start writing them. tell her but no one else but i knew this would make a problem that had individual lose national security advisory dr. krisingier so i worked upped draft, took it down to president and three hours after i was done with it then headed up to university club where they all -- we all swam all man club so swam with bathing suit and up and down the pool, and somebody comes in says mr. beau you have

a phone call from the white house. i have a phone and dray matting matting -- dramatic voice henry there is the speech -- so henry and i going over fighting over this. president did his final draft himself and the speech was -- explosive for the reason that most of the country assumed we just continuing to move out of vietnam. and he was going to clean out the sanctuaries basically so american troops in vietnam would be secure while we were withdrawn also to reduce casualty but the country sort of exploded. and it did add to it president went over to the pentagon to get to report the next day on how well the troops were doing, and when he came out he was woman, her son, and her husband in vietnam, and she said thank you. so nixon president said there's kids over there.

there's men over will they're outstanding terrific and you take bombs blowing up campuses and he came become to the white house so comments started to rise. two day later the national guard shot -- four students at kent state and wontedded nine, and full story y and town burned down much of the main street, the governor had had come in and called out o national guard. and then they burned the -- r.o.t.c. building monday night on the campus, and then on monday the crowds got out and national guard backing up a hill and pieces of concrete and rocks were thrown at them but pour dead in ohio as the song goes. and nine wounded richard nixon

blamed and called in bombs and people shot the bombs, it was really awful for the president and he had a press conference that friday night. and then the saturday morning he hadthat famous visit to the lincoln memorial where he took -- got up in the middle of the night and wept over there and up to the capitol and over to may flower for breakfast, and he was -- then two days later, with students at state were shot african-american students who had nothing to do with the rioted that gone in the street but police fired at him so richard i saw hill in those days. i think that was the -- if you will of president nixon before the water gate broke on him. i've never seen him so down. and i've got my book memos from the white house staff was divided the country was divide, and i've never seen the

president have it -- have it so tough and how it got through it alone -- is remarkable a tribute to the man remarkable tribute because there are a lot of people emp inside the white house who let the president know that they tht he had not done the right thing. let me move from there to -- to this politics with ken -- talked about adam had had briefly the political grand strategy of the nixon administration while i think he's -- he ranks right up there as a success. politically in the 20th century with fdr, he created that new deal majority that got five straight presidential elections and nixon ranks up there. let's go back 1962. after nixon lost to jack kennedy and got beat by pat badly during

the time of the missile crisis. howard k. smith of abc ran a concern -- documentary on next weekend the political obituary and invited to testify on tv to what a failure mr. nixon was and what a loser mr. nixon was at the bottom of his career. 1972 richgd nick son was become and won the greatest landslide in american political history. now how did he do that in terms of political strategy? basically when i went to work for nixon in 1965, i argued that i know about nelson rockefeller in 1960 where nixon tried to bring together nixon and republicans strong enough together to beat john f. kennedy

rock feller behaveddedly and didn't take or get him as vp, i told him by '65 because i was gold water. center of gravity of this party has shifted. so we just seen a bunch of outsider conservatives stereotownship and types in california have taken over the republican party nationally. and at the same time, you are mr. republican. you have the center of the republican party locked up. if you can marry these conservatives to the center of the party, but forgetting rockefeller wing they're not going to beat anybody anymore. that you've got to get these two together. you've got the nomination. this basically a strike that nixon took and very much more able did not read the liberals out of a party. but he did put together this coalition to keep reagan from coming in against him successfully. and that won him republican nomination but into the bhows, the question was recall i said it was 43-all.

we were tied up. at the end of the race with humphrey coming back so we needed a strategy to build a majority and so you've heard an awful lot about the southern strategy and there's no doubt there was a southern strategy. ...

>> >> so we would be the law-and-order to back up the cops and redid that the time of counterculture of all the revolution so nixon was traditional and he stood up for that. it was not woodstock so he did that with the traditional culture vs. the counterculture most of the working-class had the response over there so he

stood behind the troops in vietnam and against the radicals with that moratorium to spun off with fat be it kong flag but john mitchell i remember was on the fifth or in said that look like the russian revolution down there so we stood with them unabashedly even in mr. nixon's stood with populism and with of middle americans and the silent majority and we stood with them moving out of the

democratic party so there was the piece of there that says these folks like what they got but not all of the radicalism of. so we are real dividing the country differently and amazingly to have less than one-third. in the republican party was flat on on its back.

in and also a to win for five presidential elections in the coming years so that is the strategy that nixon had and then to do some opposition work and in 1971 to send a memo to me that is one thing we both agreed on that the adversary that nixon could face 1970 to was ed muskie. but 68 or 70 he gave a

nationwide speech and the press like to demand his position was ideally suited as a moderate level and a catholic so i wrote a memo that said in very strong terms saying we will have to go after you and teddy kennedy cannot be fest and scoop jackson cannot be to us but i said we need to go to the tunnels but three years later i was explaining that memorandum to the committee. [laughter] but president nixon even billy graham was telling him that must be is very strong in the south so bloodied doing you kidding? you are supposed to handle this. we had a little interviewed

after to you a story because it was the "pentagon papers" because trish was buried in the rose garden so the of the most that were secret classified but they were currently designed to damage the war effort and "the new york times" had supported the war then turned against it kissinger was outraged and the president was outraged but it turned out to be a fellow very quickly i don't think it was a wise idea to get that

investigation going because the former father-in-law was close to hoover. because the president wants you to do it. i said i am not eliot ness. [laughter] so i said i will go and talk to these investigators. could then we went into this meeting and they had jackets on it and i am supposed to head up a group. and to know that will not be difficult and with that background that would lead

discredit those people. so of those reports of the orgy and i said that despite% in the poll and he will shoot up the 15%. [laughter] and they all started to laugh. and said i am not doing this job i will unstop regrettably day ticket over otherwise gordon liddy would be charged. [laughter] but with muskie i will say that adversary strategy it was as effective as anything i have ever seen.

muskie was going to extremely well but then up in new hampshire c-span is listening to my record they did not do that. so of course, the of french canadians were not amused by this that they publish this to denounce muskie so he shows up and breaks down in tears but this is all filmed so then what happened is muskie one by about 10 points but it was the small amount considering he came from next door. now muskie's wiped out by a

george wallace and has swept every county in florida on busing issue and wiping the floor with the six liberal democrats. so he was pretty much out of the race. so i just put that into my notes to do the analysis for him of humphrey and nixon and scoop jackson to study and research of press clippings and i had that done they are the only credible ones that we see as a candidate because no president is so virtuous as judge mcgovern to run against so by 1972 we had

george mcgovern said now heading down to watergate with the break-in of june june 17, let me put it this way the whole fate of watergate lasted 22 months from the break-in and tell the presentation. but they get i got a call a june 17 saying five people brokage into the of watergate headquarters surely it was probably from our folks. but none tell the spraying of 1973 from the time we decapitated the entire white house staff then with the watergate hearings i testified five hours because

of that pack of lies that were released with dirty tricks. that became to october slated signifier in of james colby. -- james komi i announce that with the time my book was published with the saturday night massacre. so to put that into some perspective it is october just testified so we were doubted key biscayne the president said take a couple-- r october 6 the egyptian and army had a surprise attack they shot the american air force out of the sky and

punching through the sinai peninsula also the defense minister was caught by surprise. in fixing nuclear weapons on his aircraft so you have a war started in the middle east and then a great argument in the white house and then working out a deal with a special prosecutor to turco for -- to turn over the subpoena to the special prosecutor. so those to validate and

then to be provided to the watergate committee and eliot richardson and i was told was a board. so we were not sure of those special prosecutors for richardson said of cox refuses to accept the deal he cannot subpoena any more. and then i will tell him that is it. and i will exercise my duty so we were all set so he called me to say yes. so that we find out he was not aboard a recent memo to

the president who said come over to the oval office around 330 on saturday and calmly explained have henry kissinger for those ships that are moving their airborne tory the airfields' and american forces are on heightened alert. and then watching the reaction that i have no choice but to do it. if he has no choice. [applause] i think he did the right thing. so the circumstances and

with the special prosecutor's office so now to get to some questions to talk about the achievements of richard nixon the red greenfield he was an editor "the washington post" said i think we belong to the nixon generation when that was not an issue in the election but that is not day matter of discussion and that is right

and is a democratic strategist to said that he was the most consequential political figure of the 20th century. that this is the age of nixon. said to be on five national tickets to set the all-time record on the cover of time magazine 55 times to the seven re send alger hiss and vice president and beyond with foreign policy and he did the greatest strategic

arms in then to open up china witches' communist china and that yom kippur war saved israel and gold of my year herself to say nixon as the brash -- the best friend we ever had. it to come back around out of the soviet bloc. son to enact that vote to create the epa guide to remember one comment sitting

in a meeting and senator baker was there working on the clean-air act and there was a comment to city were finished so what else could you do? to create pochette to ring back social security elevating the national cancer institute to have four justices elevated to the supreme court and to desegregate the southern schools and then to write a book called one of us.

and off the gold standard so rivaled only by a fdr and prepare the ground for ronald reagan 12 years later. one time he pulled me aside and said they think mr. nixon had a pretty good for policy the. [laughter] so who was richard nixon?. >> politically speaking a famous british correspondent he wanted an interview and said he should do it so i was in the room in the oval

office to say the arab good british writers don't take notes. basking if they would enter politics at the time of the new deal and how he grew up big your belinda. and then only to use government so when he came to power in 1946 with the anti-communism and the cold war from that case and the

battles against adlai stevenson but they clearly moved on from the anti-communist conservative to a much broader vision of the world. with the idea to create a generation of peace that you haven't had one of those in world history so with domestic policy to be progressive for pragmatic to the issues like epa to feel you could do good for the people one of the programs you will see they were not a libertarian also

internationalist getting back to 1947 where he had jack kennedy with a bill supported the of marshall plan and containment of the soviet union. sa with politics and with his political strategies and tactics to be anti-elitist but partly populist middle american representing those that were not represented so the combination of those three teams from 1972. as a traditionalist with the idiosyncrasy i did the

briefing books for nixon when he was vice president in 65 for 66 she had done the briefing books but that during us campaign of 68 he would go over to his office with a briefing book by a certain date to get all the questions out of the press was asking what are they pushing the secretary of? so after a while i could predict almost every question and sometimes i predicted every single one.

so starting in 1973 so i notice that you predicted every question the president was asked. yes sir. i believe that we did. so the other questions that were not asked but he said next i leave those out. [laughter] so one other time i decided to take that lead from crossfire ted weeks before the new hampshire primary so we went up to new hampshire

president bush was 70% so that we did well to where president bush beat me but only 51 / 37. so we went to georgia and did as well but that there were eight primaries on super tuesday. so he comes on the line to say 10 / 10. not bad? he said to reveal the extremist i know with a sense of humor. [laughter] [applause]

>> i just one to plug the book that they are available for order. >> over here are your rights. i cannot stop thinking for the first four months about them that they don't hate you unless you hate them and destroy yourself.

and was asking rhetorically. so are you afraid there have this same type of enemies?. >> i do think president trump has the worst we negative i have seen with the first four months of his presidency there is no question about it but i will say this but in terms of substance we don't even have a single crime yet against the white house staff yet

the mood and the animosity is unlike anything i have seen. i don't know how you survive this type of intensity and hostility. so i don't know this will end. so to have those critical margins so frankly it comes down to those issues with those new trade arrangements or the trade deficit for the

chinese to take all the factories out of the country. so i supported him i do think he has some real problems and quite frankly it shows how he has handled it. he did not call the press seems but president nixon no doubt but he contained himself. and self discipline is not the first phrase that comes to mind when i think the president. >> a question on the back row?. >>. >> as an individual with the massive immigration so what

can had read to to repeal the 1965 immigration law?. [cheers and applause] to make a huge impact in california and what about wall street? [laughter] so at mr. nixon's office i was the editorial writer in st. louis and even to take a position, to read the johnson memoirs he doesn't even mention that in his memoir. but i agree with you. this is what i call for the moratorium so to symbolize

an americanized for everyone that would come. for those that come from eastern and southern europe. so the 97 percent of us that we all have the same culture and tradition. [applause] so i don't know if you can get that through the congress and and and though the republicans would go with it but i do believe immigration so the problem

of western civilization. [applause] >> so could you tell us of the recollection george wallace and how much she was inspired getting the democrats to vote for him?. >> when we were with nixon wallace's 1964 had torn up the democratic primary we did tremendously well in in wisconsin and won a majority coming down as a governor and was on top of the civil rights laws. but is 68 he ran as a democrat as a third-party

candidate so there was no doubt about it he had an enormous appeal that nixon recognized as a populist but then added to the repertoire he said i'd knows some of those four-letter words so wallace was starting to move people get the votes that he got we're the votes that we wanted to get but he would not abandon civil-rights so with wallace out of the race moving better credit nomination so governor wallace was shot right after . i'm sorry 72.

by leading the democratic party in droves. so wallace was a powerful force. but he could not win the democratic nomination and could not win the general election because basically he siphoned off the votes that would go to nixon there was one precinct he got 173 votes nixon got 172 of those. so this was so whole idea but you needed to get wallace back and to do that you needed that third-party candidate but in that way nixon could that compete we

send a spear through agnew down because he competed very well to get those votes and frankly there was a'' where lyndon johnson said it bought the rights to the inaugural telling him what a great job he had done is vice president ted agnew rarely had won states like north carolina and tennessee and states like that. >> used a lot about what nixon inherited did in vietnam so looking back in hindsight are there the second of the or johnson and

nixon might have done to change the outcome of though more or speed up the departure from vietnam?. >> my brother was over there. i supported the war for very beginning even with the green berets but my view that george wallace in '68 was not alone when he said it was a win or get out. i think united states of america introduced the japanese empire the greatest a chassis in four years but what happened is the american establishment had lost its will and should not take the measures necessary to win so therefore when president nixon came they

decided behalf to get out and you have to know the consequences could be bad so i talked to nixon after he left office and he said he should have done in 69 what he did in 72 to bomb hold '08 to win in the of board to break the vietnamese. i don't know why he did not do that. of course, you can now look at kennedy and lyndon johnson had to 500,000 troops. and the national security adviser that wrote a book 20 years ago saying that back

in america at -- nec america and the others didn't realize what the outcome would be. but the my brother came back with a lot of people's views that were wrong. >> [inaudible] was say success but the american casualties were straight down all the way to the end of the war.

there between 200 and 300 a week when we came in. >> "nixon's white house wars" is available for purchase we have one final question and. >> is an honor to rescue this question you have been my idol since i was a kid probably go about bringing younger millenials to our cause? [applause] >> as they say on tv it is a great question propriety time to think about it. [laughter] if this hard to say because the really think the '60s was the time for that small particular site -- a slice

of the country that animated the country and those that were impervious with issues of race and that ideology has deepened the we cannot do that anymore. the country has changed and the school systems have changed that it is very tough to go to the republican party but i am a believer in i am a bit of a pessimist but things that

changed are not going back if you're talking politically with the 18 states and the district of columbia of of the previous six elections demographically that is growing and it is very difficult to see how the republican party of the national level has that longevity and mass integration which comes now for the government that doesn't understand the idea of the smaller government programs. when i was running in 1982 i was in the gym working out and said what can you do for education? that is a local and state responsibility so

you really need to focus on the state and local so what will you do for education? so i think republicans have a very difficult time to reach these folks there is no question about it. fox has some problems these days. [laughter] >> [inaudible] >> i went to journalism school 1962 the top journalism school in the country even my contemporaries and friends.

[laughter] [applause] [inaudible conversations] ♪ . .

pulitzer prize finalist explores her family's exile from latvia and her journey of among the living and the dead. also been casket looks at the life and influence of is really prime minister, benjamin -- alexander kleinberg for strategic studies reports on how the internet is being used on the internet for warfare on the darkening web. ball professor and former prosecutor, paul butler examines the policing of blackman in his new book, chokehold. look for titles this week and authors in the near future and c-span2