 Yes, the vice president and I know. Thank you. Thank you Hello, how you recall Mr. President? Yes, I thought you'd like to know I did survive my afternoon with the committee and That the members of the Senate we had quite a few in there. They were anything but charitable here our friend Bill Fulbright Albert Gore and Joe Clark those fellows are living under the assumption that That We really just don't walk that extra mile for peace and that that vietcong crowd is just a sort of nice little outfit That's incredible, but I think we came out all right Well, tell me about what happens. Well, the main thing they they wanted to talk about was The foreign aid program and whether or not we were making any big commitments overseas and I pointed out that we were doing nothing of the kind and that That they knew that these funds were appropriated funds and authorized funds and I wonder well why was it necessary to make these announcements over there and I said possibly because it was an opportunity to talk frankly with governments about difficulties that we were having from the Congress of the United States and being able to obtain foreign aid funds and the necessity for Their governments to take a very good look at their budgeting and their allocation of resources that We believed in self-help. We believe in peace. We wanted an implementation of the Tashkent agreement That sort of thing. I think we handled that all right But Bill Fulbright just kept coming back just simply saying well, I just want to be sure that You're not out there just offering more economic aid to everybody around the country and so on and I told them I said well the senator I offered only what you would authorize and what president who is the chief executive of this country Scheduled under the authorizations of the Congress you people authorized it. You're the ones that appropriate the money And then we got down around to what our position was on Negotiations I said that's amazing to me that Americans or senators are asking about what our position is and I repeated it 16 different ways and The question that came you made well, why don't you just accept the vietcong as the Political force and the negotiation I said the president has made it crystal clear that we would never that the matter of representation would not be a insurmountable obstacle or difficulty that These are matters that we could ever get anybody that would ever pick up the telephone would ever say they wanted to talk that these were all matters which could be Subject to preliminary discussions. We can't even get anybody to discuss. I told him we tried to get the pope We'd work with the pope. We'd work with the president of India. We'd work with Prime Minister of Great Britain with the United Nations and we tried every way But if you fellows have any any new ideas as to how we can get somebody to talk to us Well, then we can talk about who comes to the conference I went over that and then they said well now you just sort of feel that you've gone around and hardened the position On the vietcong and I said no I hadn't hardened the position of the vietcong at all That we were not talking about negotiations. We were talking about whether or not Without any negotiations. We ought to just announce to the world that we're going to get part of the government to Communists I Said I had never heard of any such kind of discussion from a responsible nation You couldn't expect the government of the United States to start dishing out the government of South Vietnam to People that were trying to destroy it But I said that when it got down to negotiations we had we've said that Everything was negotiable that the four points of Hanoi are 14 points the five points of South Vietnam You name it all of them were on the table if anybody would come and talk, but we can't talk alone God, I went over it with them a hundred times and then we Got into a discussion of the National Liberation Front and It's an amazing thing that these fellows are just not convinced. This is all communist control Well when I pinned it when I really got at them at the end or they said well now it maybe is but it may it just wasn't in the beginning We've made it By forcing their hands with escalation. I was very patient President don't think I ever lost my temper. I have there were many friends there fortunately Santa self-stall was there Santa keeper was there Santa pastoral. He was there Carlson was there Santa Simon to the senator Dodd, so we had a we had a good group but when you get to Bill Fulbright you get to Albert Gore and Joe Clark it's really something Then they ended up by saying quite privately off the record They said all the main reason that they're about 16 or 17 of them were taken to position that they were taking Because they wanted to be sure that when the president had to compromise that the There'd be a wing in the Democratic Party that could defend it. I never said anything. I just They wanted to they said that they were having trouble getting administration witnesses. I said I had to notice that There to testify. I said that I couldn't speak for the other gentlemen of the administration except that I knew that the president had Structured everyone The role of Congress we respected that role So on and so on but Albert Gore was just trying to He wanted me just to say that that we just recognized the National Liberation Front as a Force in its own right and I said I said senator. I I said I can't do that It is a operation set up by an old hand told by handling And I'm not in any position to make any policy statements like that. I don't intend to What's this got to do with his trip not one damn thing. That's what I said I said to them when I I Said to senator Pope right. I said senator. I've been answering questions here Well, he said I heard all about that he said we heard all about that over at the White House He's oh, well, that was all covered over at the White House. I said well, that's what I thought but I understood you to say that The environment there wasn't juicy to the kind of questions you want that to question That's why I felt that out of respect for you and for the committee and the Senate that You wanted to have a formal discussion More than happy to do so, but I said I've been here like I'm on the witness stand. I said don't misunderstand me I'm perfectly prepared to answer me do the best to answer the questions But I thought I'd given a pretty good accounting of the of the trip and I've got some more information here that I'd like to Share with you and I I discussed with them the India situation and Pakistan and so on and all built for my head was a lot of old goddamn newspaper clippings They kept reading to me and where somebody might have had a slight exaggeration or a twist of their own and They will now what about that and I'd say well I Part correct, but Really reflect exactly what I said, and I said let me read you Read from a message that I had sent back some portion State Department Right, I Think that I can only say mr. President your judgment usual was better than mine I've been a whole lot better off. I told him to go to hell from my own point of view But I think now at least they've got it out of their car and most of the boys are rather pleased I'll wait and see what the press has to say Press has to be what happened. I said I Treated with there. I was treated with respect. I was Thoughtful questions and I answered in a respectful thoughtful and direct manner I have respect for the Congress of the United States I tried to convey that respect by the sense of my replies. I hope that I was informative. That's all I said Like McCarthy was a little man. He said it you discussed the administration Vietnam policy if there was one Is that what he said? Yeah, well, I don't know what come over me came in here. He and I had long talk yesterday We went down had a little lunch together He was very friendly. I Don't know what what's eating these fellas. I Just think they've gotten themselves bound up into a little cabal there that they They just don't really know how to get out of it. I don't know how he's gotten bound into it. I don't want to Is he they say his wife feels very deeply and that he feels very deeply and it's kind of a Really Bob, but has he got a young boy or something that might be going to war? No Not at all. He hasn't got none of his Boy, you know the boys about 12 I Talked to him yesterday about his boat and he told me said well a healthy said I just don't believe in resolution Big Kennedy ought to have one. I don't think Johnson did he vote against in him. He voted with the Not table the force He was one of the five. Yeah, I say, but did he vote against any Kennedy's or not a damn one. I know any of eyes now or no He voted for this one before now that that didn't quite ring true doesn't know it does Yep, but he voted of course for the appropriation they voted against there on a screening one It's just hard to figure them out I really believe that these fellows have just got themselves worked up into a kind of a pitch They are just as a matter of fact today a bill for bite said that he said he just thought that before any Foreign aid was given and any military systems ought to come back here and just consult with this committee Just sitting around there just like a bunch of old women I just have decided there fired frankly that the best way for us to do is just go cut our own grass and the hell with But I'll be nice about it. I was I never made an unkind word and they kept Professing their love and affection for both of us, but this was their duty Now what did the other 20 senators do that these three? Well, the rest of them were pretty good They didn't say much pretty much the same thing each agenda go through they don't get a chance to say much signings was good and the Case was good. He wasn't bad of New Jersey George Aiken asked a couple of questions that were all there weren't too bad there. I've forgotten now what Aiken asked about Oh About wasn't Russia the one that really could do something about this thing and I pointed out quite frankly that I President had I doubted that I said I felt