The Nixon Tapes, by Douglas Brinkley: on Principles & Values

JFK created a mythology; we should too

Nixon: Kennedy was cold, impersonal; he treated his staff like dogs, particularly his secretaries and the others. His staff created the impression of warm, sweet, and nice to people, reads a lot of books, a philosopher. That was a pure creation of mythology. We have created no mythology. Can't we get across the courage more? Courage, boldness, guts? What is the most important single factor that should come across out of the first 2 years? Guts! Absolutely. Guts! Don't you agree, Henry?

Kissinger: Totally. Complexity and guts.

Nixon: Well, complexity. But a president is expected to be intelligent, so wash that out. I mean, I may have a little more than most, but not as much as some. But on the other hand, just sheer unadulterated guts and boldness stand alone. And coolness under fire

Attempted to portray mythology of "courage and guts"

Nixon: Kennedy was cold, impersonal, he treated his staff like dogs. His staff created the impression of warm, sweet, a philosopher--that was a pure creation of mythology. We have created no mythology. For Christ's sakes, can't we get across the courage more? Courage, boldness, guts? Goddamn it! That is the thing. What is the most important single factor that should come across out of the first two years? Guts! Absolutely. Guts! Don't you agree, Henry?

Kissinger: Totally. Complexity and guts.

Nixon: Well, complexity. But a president is expected to be intelligent, so wash that out. I mean, I may have a little more than most, but not as much as some. But on the other hand, just sheer unadulterated guts and boldness stand alone. And coolness under fire.

Smoking Gun: "national security" to hide Watergate burglary

June 23, 1972: Nixon and Chief of Staff H. R. "Bob" Haldeman discuss the progress of the FBI's investigation, in particular the tracing of the source of the money found on the burglars. They propose having the CIA order the FBI to halt its investigation of the Watergate break-in by claiming that the break-in was a matter of national security. This conversation would become known as the "smoking gun."

August 1, 1972: A $25,000 cashier's check designated for Nixon's Committee to Reelect the President is found in the bank account of a Watergate burglar. However, Watergate is not a major issue of the 1972 presidential campaign.

A book called "1972" would be a helluva good book

Haldeman: There are a lot of good stories from the first term.

Nixon: A book should be written, called 1972.

Haldeman: Yeah.

Nixon: That would be a helluva good book. And somebody should have thought of it. You get in China, you get in Russia, you get in May 8 [his dramatic decision to bomb Hanoi and mine Haiphong just before his summit in Moscow], and you get in the election. That's what I would write as a book: 1972, period.

It is often forgotten that prior to the eruption of the Watergate scandal in 1973, Nixon was on a stunning political roll. The war in Vietnam was winding down. The public approved. In November, Nixon won re-election with 61% of the popular vote, carrying 49 states. Only after the election, in 1973, would the Watergate scandal change everything for Nixon. In 1972, he was on top of the world.

Taped 3,700 hours in Oval Office, more than all others

What Kennedy did--taping moments of crisis--struck him as window- dressing history "I thought that recording only selected conversations would completely undercut the purpose of having the taping system," Nixon said. "If our tapes were going to be an objective record of my presidency, they could not have such an obviously self-serving bias. I did not want to have to calculate whom or what or when I would tape."

Tapes of his meetings, he believed, would help set his administration record straight and allow him to maintain the upper hand on history.

Soon after the system's initiation, Nixon liked it enough that he expanded its reach. The fact that everything he said was being saved appealed to his narcissistic sense of grandeur. He believed himself a world leader of great geopolitical insight.