i would see mrs. nixon before she put her makeup on, she was always up, ready to face the day , her secret service, her secret service detail was with her on all of the trips and she never missed a beat so there just is no evidence to support that claim. peter: august 8 and 9, 1974. what can you tell us about pat nixon and those two days? heath: very dark days for the nixon's. he decides to resign and goes on tv the eighth to address the adesses the staff in the east wing and it is just a very stressful time for everyone. also everyone has told me the weather was very dark, like out of central casting. so during this time, of course the daughters are both fair with their husbands, on the ninth when he addresses the staff they are all up on stage with him, clearly everyone has been crying and is very upset and pat looks so tired and teary. when he gives the speech at the end, he has been criticized a lot for not talking about pat. he talks about his mother and how she was a saint, and he is ever after critic

i would see mrs. nixonefore she put her makeup on, she was always up, ready to face the day , her secret service, her secret service detail was with her on all of the trips and she never missed a beat so there just is no evidence to support that claim. peter: august 8 and 9, 1974. what can you tell us about pat nixon and those two days? heath: very dark days for the nixon's. he decides to resign and goes on tv on theighth to address the country and on the ninth addresses the staff inast wing and it is just a very stressful time for everyone. also everyone has told me the weather was very dark, like out of central casting. so during this time, of course the daughters are both fair with their husbands, on the ninth when he addresses the staff they are all up on stage with him, clearly everyone has been crying and is very upset and pat looks so tired and teary. when he gives the speech at the end, he has been criticized a lot for not talking about pat. he talks about his mother and how she was a saint, and he

opening, reopening of china to the west in 1972, they are trying to open relations back up, they take mrs. nixone's one of the very fewew womn on the trip because she's so good behind the scenes with diplomacy. she's like the secret sauce that helps president nixon make these deals. so she and the chinese premier at dinner one night, and there's a pen, cigarette and with pandas on it. she says i love pandas, they're so cute. he says i will give you some. she thinks he needs cigarettes but he means a pair pandas. so ever since then and now this is been over 50 years ago there's been this exchange of pandas between our country's, and it's ad barometer of how our relations with china are going. this is all thanks to pat nixon. >> heath hardage lee, 1974, when did pat w know the end was near? >> i think pat, until the bitter end, was not ready to give up on her husband. however, so let's go back a little bit. 1972 in june there's a break-in at the dnc there that is upsetting to her. she's aware of it but they are remember jumping into campaign season. it gets a bit lost in the weeds with that, so sh

as for money for speaking engagements and mr. nixon did it because loved being active and involved and to keep his mind engaged and to make a difference. and i will say this in conclusion, if richard nixon were alive today, i think leaders here and across the world would reach out for his wisdom and leadership and i'm convinced we'd all be better off for it. well, thank you very, very for that incredible insight. we have time for some questions. so of you that have them. please raise your hand and i'll get around to as many as i can. our first question from you, sir. what is your question? i thank you so much for speaking. my question is about the intellectual of the two presidents that you were able to work with. so closely in a time where presidential debates seem to be nothing more than yelling matches and presidential just shouting slogans. i'm curious, as you worked with president nixon and president reagan, what you observed of their intellectual equal merits and their background, were they well read? what were kinds of conversat

as for money for speaking engagements and mr. nixon did it because loved being active and involved and to keep his mind engaged and to make a difference. and i will say this in conclusion, if richard nixon were alive today, i think leaders here and across the world would reach out for his wisdom and leadership and i'm convinced we'd all be better off for it. well, thank you very, very for that incredible insight. we have time for some questions. so of you that have them. please raise your hand and i'll get around to as many as i can. our first question from you, sir. what is your question? i thank you so much for speaking. my question is about the intellectual of the two presidents that you were able to work with. so closely in a time where presidential debates seem to be nothing more than yelling matches and presidential just shouting slogans. i'm curious, as you worked with president nixon and president reagan, what you observed of their intellectual equal merits and their background, were they well read? what were kinds of conversat

on female reproductive rights, mrs. nixon was the first to say abortion publicly and to support a woman's right to choose. her other legacy is her international diplomacy. we have talked a lot about that from the beginning of her career on, particularly in the vice presidential years and as first lady did a lot of solo trips to cement relationships, and also with her husband in china, dependence, sealing that deal, and also russia where her husband signs a treaty, an antiballistic missile treaty. she is going behind-the-scenes with russian wives smoothing things over working for peace. that is what they all want to for their children and grandchildren. very crucial to getting the deals done. host: the book is called mysterious mrs. nixon. thank you. guest: thank you for having me. announcer: all qanon day programs are available on our website or as a podcast on our c-span now app. the economy. >> we now come to prime minister's questions. >> mr. speaker, earlier this week this house marked the one-year anniversary of the horr

[laughter] and mr. nixon did it because he loved being active and involved. and to keep his mind engaged. and to make a difference in part i will say this in conclusion, if richard nixon were alive today i think here and across the world would reach out for his wisdom and leadership rate i am convinced we would all be better off for it. [applause] [applause] >> thank you very, very much for that incredible insight. we have time for some questions. so those of you who have them please raise your hand will get around too as many as i can. our first question from you sir, what is your question? thank you for speaking. intellectual merits were able to work with closely. or presidential debate see nothing more than yelling matches.s. and presidential speeches shouting slogans. their intellectual merits and background was a conversation like with those two presidents? >> i described pretty much what they have. with their life was like during my talk. but i will say this. presidenthi nixon spent a lot of his time writing he spent time in his study. you would see pile

did he really mean to forget that part of the record where mr. nixonand the republican party wanted us to get involved earlier in the war in vietnam? and long after mr. nixon and the republican party finished the war, they kept urging us forward. it was the democratic congress that passed law and the war in vietnam and preventing a new war in angola. on watergate, we are not charging him we know his involvement. we are saying the defendant, mr. nixon. >> "washington journal" continues. was that the first vice presidential bait in 1976? guest: -- vice presidential debate in 1976? guest: the two men who had debated often in the senate both coming from farm states and both went on to become presidential nominees. senator goal did what candidates do so often in these debates is they answer the questions and want to talk about, not question that was asked but in doing so, he made a statement attributing the wars to the democratic party and senator mondale jumped on him for it. after this debate, then governor jimmy carter will eat started mentioning mondale

mrs. nixon approached the floor and if you go back and look at the video now, i have recently, it doesn't begin to take into account the sustained nature of the applause. the camera keeps going back to the same space in the crowd, in the audience. if you could have scanned the crowd, mrs. nixon was just loved. it dated far back. it went back to '52 and '56 when all of the years that she had been to national conventions. she handled it so gracefully. and jimmy stewart and ronald reagan were seated and they would not help her. she was trying to get them to help. she had a gavel, a gavel where she tried to gavel the crowd into silence of some kind and they wouldn't have anything to do with that. they were just cheering, there was tears. as i say, i have been to conventions before and after, and there was nothing like that '72 convention with mrs. nixon. maybe that had something to do with what happened next but i applied for a white house internship. so with a letter i had gotten the job at a natio

mr. nixon, you can cure cancer. and that was really the thing that that what became the war on cancer although that was a phrase she never used because he felt it might be misleading and he was more interested in research. but the power of one person, the power of one woman to to effect national policy is seen in nixon with the we have so much more to talk about and we have so little time. john mitchell famously said that you should know about the administration, that you should what we do, not what we say. and len garment, who was nixon's law partner, friend, white house adviser, you wrote that nixon's of civil rights and this is glenn's, quote, was for the most part operationally progressive but obscured by clouds, retrogressive rhetoric. in 1973, president nixon wrote, when the historical record of the first four years is written, i am confident. it will show that this administration did far in the fields of civil rights and equal opportunity than its critics were willing to admit. panel, do you think nixon's con

"mr. nixon, you can cure cancer." that was really the thing which dislodged what became the war on cancer, although that was a phrasing that was never used, because he thought it would be misleading and he was more interested on research. but, the power of one person, of one woman, to affect national policy, we have seen with nixon. we have so much more to talk about and we have such little time. john mitchell famously said about the administration, that we should watch what we do, not what we say. and lynn garment, who was nixon's law partner, friend, white house adviser, wrote that nixon's enforcement of civil rights -- this is lynn's quote -- was, for the most part, operationally progressive, but obscured by clouds of retrogressive rhetoric. in 1973, president nixon wrote, when the historical record of the first four years is written, i am confident it will show that this administration did far more in the fields of civil rights and opportunity than its critics were willing to admit. panel, do you think nixon's con

it was mrs. nixon. right. and i was always disturbed that when i was i was producing a show and tried to get mrs. nixon on because i thought she could humanize the president. nixon that would be a good thing. and i thought press secretaries did nothing. i just had no idea except say no. but this was as everybody's point out a really rough period in the life of us at that time we needed somebody and they were there to see the wounds, you know, so i get lost in ability to go anywhere with this because. it was it was one of those things where weeay had to be very careful where she spoke and make sure that we had for example, i know where i was going with this. i came into the white house office talking with helen smith, mrs. nixon's press secretary, and at first call, i got she had a photo. it was from barbara walters. she wasn't ready for barbara walters at time at all. i knew when she was ready and she even i knew she had to have the best interview around. that was 60 minutes. right. so it took almost a year fo

mrs. nixon approached floor. and even if you go back and look the video now i have fairly recently it doesn't begin to to take into account the sustained nature of the applause and the camera keeps going back to the same space in the in the crowd in the audience. if you could have scanned that crowd, she mrs. nixon was just loved and it dated far back. it went back to 52 and 56. and all the years that she had herself been to national conventions. but she just it and she handled it so gracefully. and jimmy stewart and ronald reagan were seated right on the dais and they would not help her. she was trying to get them to help. and they even she had a gavel, a gigantic gavel, where she tried to gavel the crowd. silence some kind, and they wouldn't have anything to do with that. they were just cheering. there were tears and i say, i've been to two conventions before and after, and it was nothing like that. that 72 convention with mrs. nixon. and maybe that had to do with what happened. but i applied for a white house

and many of the countries that i have visited and, i visited over 50 in the last five years with mrs. nixon warnings from communist elements and extremist elements that if i came, there would be demonstrations. let me put it the other way. suppose after the communists had warned that they would demonstrate that i had said i wouldn't go. what does this put the position of the united states in? it would make it appear that first, that the communist venezuela, which they do not, because they are a very small minority. and second, it would make it appear that a representative of the united states was being blackmailed, that he was afraid go and to face up to these demonstrators. and i can only say that as far as our foreign policy is concerned, it seemed to me that it was essential that we not show a picture to the world of a representative of the united states, in effect, putting his tail between, his legs and running whenever the communists happened to make a threat of this type. and may i say to in that connection, i think the developments since have proved that it was right to go. right to

in addition to what you have described, mrs. nixon asked her for a list of women nominees for the court, which she passed along to the president. it is also the power of one. we have vera glosser raising this issue about the women appointees and all this reaction to it and at the very beginning of his administration, mary lasker, who was the cancer activist and philanthropist took full-page ads in a number of newspapers, including the washington post and the new york times. mr. nixon, you can cure cancer. that was what really dislodged what became the war on cancer. he thought it might be misleading and he was more interested in research. but the power of one person or one woman to affect national policy, as we see in nixon. we have so much more to talk about, and we have so little time. john mitchell famously said about the administration that you should -- should watch what we do. not what we say. and len garment, who was nixon's friend, adviser, wrote that nixon's enforcement of civil rights, and this is len's quotes, was progressi

mrs. nixon approached the floor. even if you go back and look at the video now, i have a fairly recently. it does not begin to take into account the sustained nature of the applause and the camera keeps going back to the same space in the crowd and the audience. if you could have scanned that crowd, mrs. nixon was just loved. it dated far back to 1952 and 56 and all of the years that she had been to national conventions. she handled it so gracefully and jimmy stewart and ronald reagan would not help her. she was trying to get them to help. she had a gavel, a gigantic gavel where she tried to gavel the crowd into silence and they wouldn't have anything to do with that. they were just cheering. i have been to conventions before and after and it was nothing like that. may be that had something to do with what happened next. i applied for a white house internship and i had gotten a job at the national committee, ended up at the white house with the office of proclamations with a genius who later edited the journal. many

and many of the countries that i have visited and, i visited over 50 in the last five years with mrs. nixon warnings from communist elements and extremist elements that if i came, there would be demonstrations. let me put it the other way. suppose after the communists had warned that they would demonstrate that i had said i wouldn't go. what does this put the position of the united states in? it would make it appear that first, that the communist venezuela, which they do not, because they are a very small minority. and second, it would make it appear that a representative of the united states was being blackmailed, that he was afraid go and to face up to these demonstrators. and i can only say that as far as our foreign policy is concerned, it seemed to me that it was essential that we not show a picture to the world of a representative of the united states, in effect, putting his tail between, his legs and running whenever the communists happened to make a threat of this type. and may i say to in that connection, i think the developments since have proved that it was right to go. right to

vice president and mrs. nixon appear before their loyal supporters. the scene is broadcast on television screens all over america. the presidential candidate of the republican party makes his statement. i want to say that one of the great teachers of america is that we have political contests, that they are very hard fought as this one is hard fought. and once the decision is made, we unite behind the man who was elected. i want all of you to know i love all of you. i want to. i. i want i want senator kennedy to know. and i want all of you to know that to certainly if this trend does continue and he does become our next president, he will have my wholehearted support and go. and we're talking about the election of 1960 with presidential historian david pietrusza. he has authored the book 1960, lbj versus jfk versus nixon, the epic campaign that forged three presidencies. here are the results from 1960. john kennedy. 34,000,226. 731 votes. 49.7%. he won 303 electoral votes and 22 states. richard nixon. 34,108,157 votes. 49.5% of the vote. 219 electoral

did he really mean to forget that part of the record where mr. nixond the republican party wanted us to get involved earlier in the war in vietnam? and long after mr. nixon and the republican party finished the war, they kept urging us forward. it was the democratic congress that passed law and the war in vietnam and preventing a new war in angola. on watergate, we are not charging him we know his involvement. we are saying the defendant, mr. nixon. >> "washington journal" continues. was that the first vice presidential bait in 1976? guest: -- vice presidential debate in 1976? guest: the two men who had debated often in the senate both coming from farm states and both went on to become presidential nominees. senator goal did what candidates do so often in these debates is they answer the questions and want to talk about, not question that was asked but in doing so, he made a statement attributing the wars to the democratic party and senator mondale jumped on him for it. after this debate, then governor jimmy carter will eat started mentioning mondale m

historian and author of the book 1960, lbj versus jfk versus nixon the epic campaign that forged three president seats. thanks for joining us, mr. patricia. we appreciate it. let's start by looking at the results. in 1960, john kennedy received 34 million plus votes. 49.7%. 303 electoral votes. he won 22 states. richard nixon, 34.1 million votes, 49.5% of the vote, 219 electoral votes. and he won 26 states. there was a difference of only 120,000 votes in this election. david pietrusza that was a close. as a former mets announcer, bob murphy used to say, closer than last year's best and it was so close, it was close in state after state. it was close in the polls beforehand. you take a look at how many states jfk wins and almost all of them are by less than 52%. he only has a couple of blowout states rhode island and georgia. nixon wins by larger margins, but he does not win by as much. some say congressional quarterly said that he actually won the popular vote because of a controversies with the popular vote in mississippi. and of course, the controversy, these are in chicago, illinois and in texas, where they may have been vot

historian and author of the book 1960, lbj versus jfk versus nixon the epic campaign that forged three president seats. thanks for joining us, mr. patricia. we appreciate it. let's start by looking at the results. in 1960, john kennedy received 34 million plus votes. 49.7%. 303 electoral votes. he won 22 states. richard nixon, 34.1 million votes, 49.5% of the vote, 219 electoral votes. and he won 26 states. there was a difference of only 120,000 votes in this election. david pietrusza that was a close. as a former mets announcer, bob murphy used to say, closer than last year's best and it was so close, it was close in state after state. it was close in the polls beforehand. you take a look at how many states jfk wins and almost all of them are by less than 52%. he only has a couple of blowout states rhode island and georgia. nixon wins by larger margins, but he does not win by as much. some say congressional quarterly said that he actually won the popular vote because of a controversies with the popular vote in mississippi. and of course, the controversy, these are in chicago, illinois and in texas, where they may have been vot

host: the book is called mysterious mrs. nixon. thank you. guest: thank you for having me. announcer: all qanon day programs are available on our website or as a podcast on our c-span now app. and annie jacobsen, thank you very much for sitting down and talking about your book. it's a pleasure to meet you. i'm delighted to have this opportunity. how are you feeling? i'm delighted to be with you. so all the compliments back that you. it really is a pleasure. thank you. well, let's get right into this. this is a brilliant book. this isn't the right thing to say about a book. nuclear war. but i really enjoyed reading it. it reads like a thriller. you've taken policy and history and details and nuclear weapons effects and war games and wove them together into a page turner. i read this in about two days, just while taking extensive notes. so let's get right into one of your essential points of the book, which is the concept of nuclear. dr. strangelove tells us in the movie after him that deterrence, the art of instilling in the mind of the enemy, the fear attack. but in your ha

you know, mr. nixon is the one man that cannot talk to the russians and if you think there's any chance for world peace without a president of the united states to be able to talk to the russians, you're wrong. and whether we like them or whether we don't, the russians, we've got to learn how to live with them. and at least we've got to have a mutual we've got to have a contact. i've talked with mr. michigan more than any other american, say the president of the united states and maybe more than he has. but we're going to talk the life of our people, the life of our nation, the life of this world, how we preserve this life, how we enrich this life, how we make it meaningful, how we make it better, how we make it last longer. everything that bobby kennedy fought for. and if any of you have those feelings we fought for with equal vigor, not more, but with equal and sometimes earlier. and we're prepared to do it as long or longer. the whole emphasis in this campaign on major substantive issues, whether it b