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This file contains:
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: using Romney's speech to defend RN and attack Democratic candidates. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 9/27/1971
Khachigian document entitled "Running with Muskie," which points out why Muskie has lost support in recent months. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 11 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Other Document], 9/24/1971
Khachigian document entitled "The Lindsay Shift," which examines John Lindsay's recent political readjustments. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 8/18/1971
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: a recent speech given by Muskie. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 10/7/1971
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: countering claims that RN has used the presidency in a partisan manner. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 10/20/1971
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WHSF: Contested, 1-22
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26144237
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WHSF: Contested, 1-22
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This file contains:
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: using Romney's speech to defend RN and attack Democratic candidates. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 9/27/1971
Khachigian document entitled "Running with Muskie," which points out why Muskie has lost support in recent months. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 11 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Other Document], 9/24/1971
Khachigian document entitled "The Lindsay Shift," which examines John Lindsay's recent political readjustments. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 8/18/1971
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: a recent speech given by Muskie. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 10/7/1971
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: countering claims that RN has used the presidency in a partisan manner. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 10/20/1971
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Richard M. Nixon's Returned Materials Collection
Contested Materials Files
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Richard Nixon Presidential Library
Contested Materials Collection
Folder List
Box Number
Folder Number
Document Date
No Date
Subject
Document Type
Document Description
1
22
9/27/1971
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: using
Romney's speech to defend RN and attack
Democratic candidates. Handwritten notes
added by unknown. 4 pgs.
1
22
9/24/1971
Campaign
Other Document
Khachigian document entitled "Running with
Muskie," which points out why Muskie has
lost support in recent months. Handwritten
notes added by unknown. 11 pgs.
1
22
8/18/1971
Campaign
Memo
Khachigian document entitled "The Lindsay
Shift," which examines John Lindsay's recent
political readjustments. Handwritten notes
added by unknown. 4 pgs.
1
22
10/7/1971
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: a recent
speech given by Muskie. Handwritten notes
added by unknown. 1 pg.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Page 1 of 2
Box Number
Folder Number
Document Date
No Date
Subject
Document Type
Document Description
1
22
10/20/1971
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE:
countering claims that RN has used the
presidency in a partisan manner.
Handwritten notes added by unknown. 1 pg.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Page 2 of 2
[Item N-1]
9/27/71
FOR: BUCHANAN
FROM: KHACHIGIAN
THOUGHTS FOR ROMNEY'S SPEECH
While he should go on the attack against RN's critics, I think
a spirited defense of the Administration would be useful. The
defense however, should be selective rather than across the board.
I.e., Romney should defend on our long suits.
-- Should make the case for RN in foreign policy. The whole idea
within
should be to picture RN as the heavyweight when matched up against
any of the potential Dem candidates. Again: good points to make
on Vietnam, SALT, etc.
But the main point is the thematic one of RN as leading America's
foreign policy with "a golden hand. " The sturdy, thoughtful, precise
Notation
maker and executor of foreign policy.
-- Domestic policy. There is a case to be made, but not SO much
a programmatic one as a symbolic one, The RN who didn't overpromise,
who didn't bring bombast to his pronouncements, who simply went out
to do the job that was needed. Result: a more stable society in the
institutional sense, peace in our streets, etc.
- I would put in a good word for the Nixon approach of calm in
place of charisma -- but would not overdo the style thing.
Page 2
Hitting the opponents should be a central rationale for the
speech, and if, as you say, names can be used, I suggest some of
the following portrayals of the opposition. Henry Jackson: An able
supporter of the President on foreign policy and renouncer of
extremism in Dem ranks. But it ends there, for Scoop is an
ADA liberal, bent on making the Federal government the ultimate
decision point in our lives. His attacks on the President's handling
of the economy have been just short of Demagogy not the best
characteristic for a man of decent instincts, but who has been driven
by a political party which has as its sworn purpose the destruction
of Richard Nixon no matter what the cost.
Ed Muskie: Muskie would be one of the worst choices for President.
He knows nothing about foreign policy (was swayed by Kosygin in the
famous Moscow meeting), would be totally untrustworthy in the
important discussions of foreign policy. He just can't swing it. He
is temperamental and prone to follow the troops. He is really a
non-entity fashioned by the liberal press into some kind of Democratic
Moses. Query: What one thing can you point to that Muskie stands
for or has accomplished? In short, he is a faceless man, a man
utterly without the credentials to be President of the United States.
Imagine him meeting with Chou En Lai?
Page 3
Teddy Kennedy : Immature, aloof, doesn't know what hard times
are. Quick on the trigger; irrational, incapable of being decisive
in a crises. He's like a little kid -- take away his rattle and he'll
run crying to momma. The least likely person we would want
to entrust affairs of state. Perhaps cite the example of Teddy's
insult to Pakistani ambassador as a trait of Teddy the Tot.
George McGovern: A petulant, crybaby who sees nothing but the
worst in his country. He wails and cries, loves the "kids" and
will never say a bad word against them. A total joke as a candidate;
he signed peoples peace Treaty with North Vietnam. Imagine his
credibility were he elected President and then asked to lead
negotiations with NVN.
Hubert Humphrey: So characteristic of the worst in the Dem party --
the hack who cries when things go bad. He's probably never made an
honest decision in his life, and probably never been held responsible
for any decision made on his behalf. The Humphrey, New Deal,
high-taxes, Vietnam candidate was beaten back in 1968 and
deservedly SO. He's in the hands of the unions, and if it weren't
for George Meany, HHH would just be another homely face.
The Others: A bunch of amateurs playing the game. They are
laughable when put up against the sturdy experience of RN. It is
characteristic of the Dems today that they can't produce a President
only a bunch of vice-presidential hopefuls; party hacks who are
beholden to every pressure group and interest group which ever
infiltrated the Democratic party.
Page 4
The essence of the speech should be to show how, in contrast,
every Dem is a tenor in a bass choir. Not one of them is capable
of making the hard decisions RN has. Yet they run around the
country with their "Chicken Littleism" -- a faint-hearted approach
to American problems, holding the belief that America has lost
its will. A bunch of hogwash which will be exposed in November
of 1972 when the American public will realize it has a President
to select.
Also suggest a few cracks at Congress dragging its feet --
setting the stage for RN versus Congress.
[Item N.2]
draft - Khachigian
9/24/71
File
RUNNING WITH MUSKIE -- OR HOW TO SNATCH DEFEAT FROM THE
JAWS
OF VICTORY
If Ed Muskie looks behind W/a him, he's going to see the
C
pack catching up, for just as sure as
George McGovern
is a forlorn loser, Ed Muskie has deftly engineered
away
his lead in the Democratic presidetial sweepstakes. MONDAY's
prediction of not
too long ago is
coming to pass:
might Not
Muskie looks like he
make it.
Item: When Muskie pulled into Califonnia last
Labor
Day to kick off his campaign, he found the prestigious California
Field poll waiting for him with the
bad news that Ted
him
Kennedy led
among Democratic voters in California by
a margin of two to one.
Item: Muskie has frittered away his Gallup poll leads.
He now trails Ted Kennedy as the favorite of the Democratic
Note
voters and is being swampe by President Nixon in the latest
Presidential
trial heat.
Item: The trusty Christian Science Monitor poll of local
Democratic leaders
shows that uskie has "dropped
back" over the last few months from his early lead in the
eyes of over 30% of those polled. Over half of the Democratic
pols
questioned
said there was still a possibility of
page 2
a dark horse emerging. Bad news for the guy they said would
walk away
from the field in 1972.
Why the turnaround on Muskie?
Washington
colummists, Evans and Novak, have
reported that Muskie has lost ground
"through a
series of errors and misjudgments." The political miscues
have made Democratic governors disenchanted with Big Ed
and this is precisely the reason such big state governors
as Ohio's John Gilligan are going
to run as favorite
sons to pre-empt Muskie's bumbling participation in their
primaries.
Muskie's position on the central issues are causing
him trouble. His down-the-line support of forced busing to
Busing
achieve racial
balance is
simply bad
policy. While he has tried to cover himself on this issue,
Muskie neverther SS has maintained that busing is a "useful
tool" to achieve integration -- forgetting that forced busing
page 3
would rapidly bring the
destruction of the
neighborhood school concept.
Being a strong
a
advocate of busing is not going to help Muskie with the
millions of parents who prefer their children's education
to be peaceful instead of disruptive, and if Muskie continues
to abet the
systematic destruction of American education,
S
the fat cats who are bankrolling Muskie better be advi
ed
that they have invested in a bear
market.
Muskie
fares no better on other issues. His petulant
rantings over President Nixon's economic initiatives have
and
le ft
him out in the
cold during the
freeze,/out
It has been generally
of touch with union rank and file.
acknowledged that his substitute suggestion of a consumer
tax credit fell on its face -- a fact reported by liberal
pundit, . Joseph Kraft. Add these troubles to
his
Vietnamese
tardy embrace of/dove feathers,
and you have
page 4
a presidential hopeful in deep trouble.
As if to hasten his demise, Ed Muskie made (as Republican
Hugh Scott noted) a "voyage from foot to mouth" on the
sensitive issue of whether black
citizens can play a
role in Democratic
political circles. Big Ed, who
maintains that he's in favor of civil rights as much
as
anyone, enraged black leaders by telling them that although
they have broken their backs for the party, they
might as well forget about joining his ticket. The
response of black leaders: Guess who's coming to dinner, Ed?
Jet magazine, a prominent black publication promptly
blasted Muskie: "How the party's 1968 vice presidential
candidate, a member of the Polish minority, would feel free
to 'explode' the political aspirations of millions of Black
voters
at the start of his
intensive drive for the
nomination was baffling. II
Jet suggested that
Muskie
had killed "the dream for the Democratic Party's
page 5
most faithful Black followers. II
Too bad for Muskie, but several Black leaders wouldn't
accept his if-your-black-step-back
attitude. Black
Congresswomen
Shirley Chisho m, has now announced
she will
declare for the Presidency on New Years Day and enter at
least three primaries -- fighting Muskie in North Carolina,
Florida and California,
where he hoped he could again
take. the
black
vote for granted.
Jesse
ackson,
of Operation Breadbasket and
another prominent black
MUSKIE
leader,
called Muskie a "racist" and opined: "Muskie is
out
Muskie
has no domestic plans,
no economic
programs, nor has he outlined programs for bringing people
together
Muskie smells musty"
To sum up the
insensitive and divisve
Muskie position, political columnist John Roche said: "No
one watns a barefoot innoncent wandering around
the
White House . "
page 6
What should really make
Mr.
nervous is that
his rivals smell
blood and won't leave the nomination
to the amateurish antics of the Downeast hero.
reads the
Teddy Kennedy has
seen what's happened and is clearly reappraising his
own coy position. Teddy is
disappointed with
Muskie because Ed's
left-liberalism does not
take in the satin hot»
pants radicals that make up
his own constituency. Seeing McGovern fumble around
like a fourth-string fullback
will soon convince Teddy
that he can't sit back and
watch the Kennedy torch passed
on to Ed Muskie.
Kennedy's stepped up interest was
confirmed recently
when Teddy and Joan visited
Israel, the de rigeur pilgrimage
for Democratic presidential candidates on the make. The only
thing that Kennedy is waiting for is to see what John (television
left
profile) Lindsay is going to do. John, who
his heart
page 7
in Manhattan, has got to
get into the primaries to
prove himself, and before he gets too far, Kennedy will
enter, scoop up the old Kennedy hands who were wet-nursing
George McGovern, and blitz the Democratic National Convention
carrying "the burden my brothers dropped." At least, that is
how the Kennddy forces see it, and to get there, only Muskie
stands slightly in the way.
As for Muskie, the scenario of the primaries are not
hopeful for him. The first
symbolic test in New Hampshire
is not going to be the cotton candy that Muskie had hoped for.
Little
New Hampshire is Muskie country, it is in Maine's back
Much
Lose
yard, and not one seriously expects Muskie to be
must
aim
beaten there. But Muskie
at a high goal
next March: he
must match Richard
Nixon's 79% margin in the 1968 New Hampshire primary before
Ang
he can call it a victory. If Muskie can't make 79% in
page 8
a state where he has everything going for him, then he is in
deep trouble. Other Democratics are virtually conceding New
Hampshire to Muskie and will show their faces only because
of the tradition of the first
primary.
If Muskie ge S less than
75% of the New Hampshire
vote, he is going to be limping into Florida where his
refined Georgetown radicalism won't stand him in good stead.
All Democrats will be on the Florida primary ballot unless they
sign an affidavit saying they won't run for Presidnet, and
they will be gunning for Muskie
on
way or the other.
Add to
the standard Democrat hopefuls the candidacies
of Geored Wallace and Shire Chisholm, and Muskie's going
to want to swallow hard and cry for his mother. Scoop Jackson,
who is aiming all his guns at Florida, will also be in Muskie's
way and
when the
dust settles, Muskie will no longer
be Mr. Clean.
page 9
Wisconsin follows Florida, and Muskie will take his
bleeding campaign in to face feisty George McGovern whose
sell-out-Vietnam views find
favor among a great number
of dovish Democrats in Wisconsin. Not only will McGovern
be sure to give Muskie trouble, but Wisoonsin's popular
\AM
Senator, Willi
Proxmire, is almost sure to make the run
to parlay his vast home state support into a bargaining
blac he can take to Miami to
broker the
vice-
presidantial nomination for himself. In short: Muskie
WINNER
looks like he will be tenied the Wisconsin victory that
he
needs and
must search for other
primaires to
get the victory he needs.
But the other primaries include Tennessee and North
Carolina where
George
Wallace will again probably
make the
race in the Democratic primaires. Asking
Southern
Democrats to swallow Ed Muskie over George
Wallace is
like asking the rabbi to deliver the Christmas
page 10
sermon. Muskie's pro-busing stance won't help him in Dixie,
and
he just might find it a good idea to get out to
Oregon and
Califomnia where Jackson, Lindsay and
Kennedy will be waiting to ambush him. Oregon is
in
Henry Jackson's
back yard, and his popularie y in the
Northwest is going to make Muskie's recovery somewhat difficult.
McGovern will have stuck
it out to Oregon, Lindsay will
be on the ballot, and Teddy will be waiting to pick up
the pieces in California.
enough
Having
victories
to get to the convetion,
Muskie will enter Miami Beach havingthis outrageous temper
tested, his lightweight political positions aired, his
amateurish staff
overworked, his deficit budget
stretched, and a left wing howling after his
marshmellow
positions. Ed Muskie's not out of the
race yet; he's
got too much pride to pull out. But one
thing is clear,
white
Muskie's
stallion is now a sway-back mare, and the ride
page 11
to Miami will not be an easy one for the guy who
just
weeks
ago everyone said had it made.
[Item N-4]
draft - Khachigian
8/18/71
THE LINDSAY SHIFT
John Lindsay's abrupt political about-face - - a sure declaration
for the presidency -- was the death-dealing blow to George McGovern
Lindsay
who is currently wet-nursing the Democratic Presidential nomination
for Teddy Kennedy. The TKO of McGovern does nothing to bolster
the stock of Edward M. Kennedy Enterprises, Inc. which is sure to go
on the skids.
The set-back for McGovern and Kennedy, combined with the
chaos created in the ranks of the Democratic party, makes apparent
the coolness that Larry O'Brien showed when apprised of Lindsay's
switch. O'Brien's actions to date -- chronicled in detail by MONDAY
have indicated a sweetheart relationship with Ed Muskie, and the
entrance of John Lindsay will turn O'Brien's job into a nightmare.
The threat to the Kennedy faction has been thoroughly documented
in the past few days.
Item: Lindsay rivals the style of Camelot. Syndicated columnist
Marianne Means declared: "In the sense that Lindsay provides the
Democrats with a new and glamorous celebrity over which to get
excited, he may hurt the Presidential prospects of Kennedy. "
Kennedy, whose forte is style and charisma, will no longer be able
to depend on the holding action of his front man, the politically
inept George McGovern.
Page 2
Item: Kennedy fears Lindsay. Savvy Massachusetts political
reporter, Martin Nolan, points out that Kennedy has long regarded
John Lindsay "ruefully. 11 Lindsay qualifies as "Kennedy's least
favorite Democrat, and the Massachusetts Senator
would
probably
endorse Muskie rather than see Lindsay somehow run
off with the nomination. 11 Obviously, it is to Teddy's benefit that
Muskie and Lindsay fight one another to set the stage for Teddy to
pick up all the marbles in a brokered convention at Miami.
Item: Kennedy is nervous about Lindsay's cozy relationship
with New York Democratic boss, John Burns. Burns, Bobby Kennedy's
New York mentor, helped the late Senator build a Kennedy machine in
New York, and Teddy can't help but be skeptical about Burns' ecstatic
reception of Lindsay. (Note: Burns and Ed Muskie's chief political
operator, Jack English, are "old and dear" friends according to
Maine political analyst Donald Larrabee. English has kept the lines
open with Lindsay's people and was advised of the Lindsay turnaround
in advance. Look for continued evidence of Muskie's teaming up
with Lindsay in the days ahead with a desperate Muskie eventually
offering the Vice-Presidential bid to Lindsay to protect his left
flank and fight off the Kennedy juggernaut.)
As of today, the McGovern candidacy is dead, and the
incipient Kennedy boom is limping. McGovern's bitterness was
detected when he whimpered that Lindsay was a "Midnight convert"
and told reporters that he did "not welcome further competition for the
nomination. " Columnist Harriet Van Horne chided McGovern for his
Page 3
petulance and observed: "Interestingly, the qualities McGovern
lacks are the qualities Lindsay has in super-endowment
Lindsay's
charisma runneth over. 11
McGovern still won't count himself out and already has young
lawyers doing negative research on the Lindsay Administration --
a not too difficult assignment, but one which will further sunder
the Democrat ranks. Matters aren't helped by style comparisons which
rankle McGovern, such as the observation by Ernest Ferguson of the
Baltimore Sun that Lindsay replaces "the patient and decent but
less telegenic McGovern,
"
All this adds up to some very real concern by Larry O'Brien
and the Eastern Democratic establishment that Chicago of 1968
will be matched by Miami of 1972. O'Brien, whose unity meetings
have only helped frontrunner, Ed Muskie, cannot be happy with
Note
Lindsay's entrance into his party's ranks a point which was
manifested by O'Brien's terse one-sentence welcoming statement
when Lindsay took the plunge. Moreover, the warm welcome
given Lindsay by New York leader Burns and Massachusetts
state chairman, Robert Crane, is not likely to endear these men
to O'Brien. The New York Times, which has already punched
holes in the Kennedy campaign, further indicated its desire for a
passive Democratic convention when it warned that Lindsay's
candidacy would only "further divide the ranks of liberal Democrats
already fragmented around a half-dozen aspirants. 11
Page 4
But his inability to maintain party loyalties will not bind
John Lindsay to the Democrats any more than it did with the
Republicans. He will depend on his uppity Manhattan chic to ferry
his political fashion show around the country -- giving little concern to
pols and more concern to the polls. This effort will be aided by the
national media and by what the New York Times called Lindsay's
"public relations apparatus" which has tripled in cost since Lindsay
took office as Mayor. Certainly, it was the Mayor's public relations
flaks who advised Lindsay to move his announcement date up one
day in order to blast McGovern and Fred Harris off the front pages
of New York's papers -- McGovern and Harris having previously
scheduled press appearances in New York on the day Lindsay
finally decided to declare his conversion.
As of now, John Lindsay must yet prove himself to clubhouse
Democrats. His Administration has made New York -- once a great
city -- the dirtiest and most violent-prone metropolis in the Nation -
burdened by enormous budgets and absurdly large welfare rolls.
All of this has caused Robert Wagner, former Democratic mayor
of New York, to observe: "I begin to wonder if he should run for
President until he can demonstrate some administrative ability
here in New York City. 11
MONDAY tends to agree with the crusty observation of union
chief, George Meany: "It's a good break for the Republican party,
and it's a bad break for the Democratic party. Who needs him?"
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 7, 1971
MEMORANDUM FOR PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
FROM: KEN KHACHIGIAN Ven
SUBJECT: MUSKIE
Re the Muskie address before the Liberal party dinner in New York
last night. He sure fooled me. I very much expected him to give a
"flaming liberal speech, " but instead he chastized the liberals, essen-
tially, for being too ideological.
In short, Muskie has probably made a central strategic decision
to quit playing footsies with the far left and take a leaf out of Scammon/
Wattenberg to cut Scoop off at the pass. This theory can only be based
on a Muskie assumption that he has good support going into the primaries,
and that he would rather be the nominee without having to kiss up to
the party leftists.
If Muskie wins the nomination, and if he keeps up the current line,
he cannot be campaigned against as easily as some dewy-eyed radical.
A few months from now, we may have to start hitting Muskie harder
from the left portraying him somewhere to the right of Lyndon Johnson;
but it should be done in a way only to reflect the view of far left Dems
such as McGovern rather than the view of, say, MONDAY.
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 20, 1971
MEMORANDUM FOR PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
FROM: KEN KHACHIGIAN
Der
One problem RN will face in 1972 is the accusation of partisan
use of the Presidency. This is almost unavoidable, but it may
start to hurt when the more strident opposition starts letting fly
(I can just see Larry O'Brien now).
One way to avoid this is to do something I don't believe any
other President in recent history has done -- that is, go to the
people and explain to them how, in America, the President wears
two hats and that the American political process sanctions the
wearing of the political hat in election years.
In essence, when RN announces his candidacy, he should explain
why a President must be able to campaign for himself and for his
programs (e.g., "if you believe deeply enough in something, you have
to want to fight for it"). The main point is that this is accepted
political practice in the United States.
However, RN can go one step further and say that the Presidency
will still go where he goes and that he will not ignore anything impor-
tant that requires his personal attention as President.
I also recommend a solid reference (per the LBJ dedication) to
the "partisan of principle" theme. It is a way of saying: even though
I will engage in a hard campaign based on matters of high principle
and in the best American tradition, I will be above the scrapping and
clawing in which the opposition will engage.
A speech like this earl y in the campaign is important because it
will blunt the opposition rhetoric that RN is demeaning the Presidency
for partisan purposes. The simple act of explaining to the public why
such Presidential activity is necessary and proper will make them much
more tolerant. Some people simply may not realize that past Presidents
routinely engaged in re-election campaigns.