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12/11
7
will hold his first news conference in four months
probably is evidence that he does not view the press
as his indispensable pipeline to the people.
Except for badgering by reporters, the question of
Nixon holding a news conference at all would be
forgotten. More and more, the WH takes the attitude
that the President is not under any obligation to
answer questions. "We don't have a parliamentary
system, 11 says Ziegler. "The President is not like
a Prime Minister" who must explain his policies, he
added. That may be true; but by tradition, Presidents
going back to Theodore Roosevelt, have submitted to
questioning by newsmen. And there is little doubt
that the "public interest" in Nixon personally stating
his views on a variety of subjects (not just those he
prefers to discuss publicly) is there. Furthermore,
his appearances before a standup microphone have
been highly admired and demonstrate his grasp of
national and international problems confronting the
WH. But it's clear that he does not enjoy the con-
frontation. His scoreboard is proof enough. Midway
through their first terms in office, Franklin D.
Roosevelt had held 158 press conferences, Harry S.
Truman 84, Dwight Eisenhower 53, John F. Kennedy
44 and Lyndon Johnson 85. Some, like Kennedy,
enjoyed the sparring sessions more than others --
like Johnson, who obviously disliked to be interrogated.
But there is a general feeling that communication has
broken down and press aides conveying how the Presi-
dent feels on major events is not satisfactory
The
President's isolation was nowhere more discernible
than in the case of the Lithuanian seaman. RN learned
of the event six days after it occurred. Not only were
drop did one we her?
his intelligence reports lacking, but news stories
available to millions of newspaper readers, did not
reach him. Then came the process of learning Nixon's
attitude. Ziegler first declined to describe the Presi-
dent's feelings after the WH took public notice of the
incident. After that each day, he escalated Nixon's
ire. First Ziegler had him "deeply disturbed, 11 then
"outraged" and finally "shocked. 11 One meeting with
reporters would have given RN an opportunity to
express himself. (Helen Thomas, UPI)
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"ocrText": "12/11\n7\nwill hold his first news conference in four months\nprobably is evidence that he does not view the press\nas his indispensable pipeline to the people.\nExcept for badgering by reporters, the question of\nNixon holding a news conference at all would be\nforgotten. More and more, the WH takes the attitude\nthat the President is not under any obligation to\nanswer questions. \"We don't have a parliamentary\nsystem, 11 says Ziegler. \"The President is not like\na Prime Minister\" who must explain his policies, he\nadded. That may be true; but by tradition, Presidents\ngoing back to Theodore Roosevelt, have submitted to\nquestioning by newsmen. And there is little doubt\nthat the \"public interest\" in Nixon personally stating\nhis views on a variety of subjects (not just those he\nprefers to discuss publicly) is there. Furthermore,\nhis appearances before a standup microphone have\nbeen highly admired and demonstrate his grasp of\nnational and international problems confronting the\nWH. But it's clear that he does not enjoy the con-\nfrontation. His scoreboard is proof enough. Midway\nthrough their first terms in office, Franklin D.\nRoosevelt had held 158 press conferences, Harry S.\nTruman 84, Dwight Eisenhower 53, John F. Kennedy\n44 and Lyndon Johnson 85. Some, like Kennedy,\nenjoyed the sparring sessions more than others --\nlike Johnson, who obviously disliked to be interrogated.\nBut there is a general feeling that communication has\nbroken down and press aides conveying how the Presi-\ndent feels on major events is not satisfactory\nThe\nPresident's isolation was nowhere more discernible\nthan in the case of the Lithuanian seaman. RN learned\nof the event six days after it occurred. Not only were\ndrop did one we her?\nhis intelligence reports lacking, but news stories\navailable to millions of newspaper readers, did not\nreach him. Then came the process of learning Nixon's\nattitude. Ziegler first declined to describe the Presi-\ndent's feelings after the WH took public notice of the\nincident. After that each day, he escalated Nixon's\nire. First Ziegler had him \"deeply disturbed, 11 then\n\"outraged\" and finally \"shocked. 11 One meeting with\nreporters would have given RN an opportunity to\nexpress himself. (Helen Thomas, UPI)"
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