Angry Nixon: New tapes reveal an overwrought president in grips of Watergate

[bemildred]

Newly released White House and Camp David recordings from 1973 reveal an angry, often overwrought and anti-Semitic President Richard Nixon coping with the Watergate crisis that would force his resignation a year later.

As in previous recordings, Nixon uses profanity and prejudiced language to mock his political foes and Washington rivals.

In a July 12, 1973 conversation with chief of staff Al Haig, Nixon discusses future judicial nominations, insisting on finding "meanest right-wing” nominees. He adds emphatically, “No Jews. Is that clear? We've got enough Jews. Now if you find some Jew that I think is great, put him on there."

One of the tapes features an awkward, disjointed phone conversation from April 30, 1973, with California Gov. Ronald Reagan, who had called the president to offer his support after Nixon’s dramatic address announcing the resignations of four of his closest aides: chief of staff H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, domestic policy aide John Erlichman, White House counsel John Dean and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/21/20122903-angry-nixon-new-tapes-reveal-an-overwrought-president-in-grips-of-watergate

[BeyondGeography]

1. The amazing thing about Nixon quotes

is you can hear him in your head as you read them.

[bemildred]

2. He sounds just like I thought he would.

A little, petulant, blustering man.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Imagine working for that guy

John and Maureen Dean must have had some pretty interesting, "how did it go at the office" convos.

[roamer65]

9. Isn't that the truth.

Spot on with that one.

[Sunlei]

4. omg Rs haven't changed. "finding "meanest right-wing” nominees. He adds emphatically, “No Jews" "

[bemildred]

6. Can we now admit that the Drug War was political revenge?

And always has been?

[Sunlei]

10. oh I think the 'drug wars' were a way for Feds & locals to 'take' billions in cash and

fill the 'for profit' prisons. great for police department personal economy...by product is more Americans homeless, in poverty, kids in fostercare and unable to ever climb out of the hopeless pit.

[bemildred]

11. OK, well-paid political revenge. Well paid hippie and minority bashing.

I mean tyranny has always paid well, in the beginning at least.

[Sunlei]

12. politics made the law that allows local police to keep the 'drug cash', homes, cars & everything.

so even local police have riot gear, weapons out the wazooo, cash bonus money paid to their employees.

All congress has to do is require seized 'drug assets' go directly to the state and federal treasury. Not allow locals or Federal departments keep that money. period.

[bemildred]

13. That was when I knew we were in deep shit, the asset forfeitures.

The wingnuts go on and on about "illegal takings", but anything the Drug Cops do is still A-OK, for them it's guilty until proven innocent, and you are NEVER really innocent.

[gopiscrap]

5. I fear that if this happened today with a corporate whore

of a press, that Nixon would have gotten away with it!

[bemildred]

7. They have been getting away with "it"ever since, one after another, upping the ante each time.

Since WWII in fact, we never got over our big win in WWII. It went to our heads.

All the consequence of failure to prosecute, the legal double standard that says the law is fungible if the government is scared, which is bullshit, the government is built on law, if the law is hidden or ambiguous or a matter of expediency, then there is no law, there is only tyranny and what tyranny thinks is good for itself, like now. And that is where we have been since Nixon got off, not even the pretense of the rule of law. Asset forfeitures, torture, incarceration without redress, illegal wars, political killings as the norm, surveillance, blackmail, dirty politics, propaganda organs controlled by the state, and it goes on and on.

And all to "protect" us of course.

[spanone]

8. his supreme assholiness shines thru...

[Coyotl]

14. “The president of the United States can’t be kicked around by a God-damned senile senator,”

I guess we found out just how senile Sam Irwin was! He was the most clear-minded of them all.