Viewpoint
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Your weakness is credibility
Packwood tells Nixon to
N
reveal everything
By SEN BOB PACKWOOD
Note: The following are remarks
made by Sen. Bob Packwood to
President Nixon at the White House on
Nov. 15. Packwood re-wrote his
message from an outline which he used
to address the President
MR PRESIDENT, when you invited
us to this meeting, you requested
openness and frankness. After
receiving the invitation. I spent several
hours thinking about what to say and
how to say it. It shouldn't take me mere
than six or seven minutes
All of us. Mr President, whether
were in politics or not. have
weaknesses For some, it's drinking
For others, it's gambling For still
others, it's women. None of these
weaknesses apply to you. If the news
media w ere to try to convince the public
that these were character defects of
yours, it would not wash because your
reputation for integrity and moderation
in these areas is above reproach Your
weakness is credibility. This has
always been your short suit with the
news media and with the general
public For a brief period of time in the
fall of 1950.1 was a student at Cal Tech
when you were running against Helen
Gahagar. Douglas Even as a young
student then. I recall the problems of
your credibility raised by that cam
paign
The Watergate Affair has raised for
you two distinct and separate
problems One is with Congress and the
other is with the public.
THE PROBLEM WITH the Congress
is two-fold First. Congress feels no
particular empathy for your Ad
ministration because for too long
Congress has felt left out in the cold
Never consulted, never heard, never
heeded In addition to the irritations
caused by the four and a half years of
indifference to Congress, you now have
an additional problem with that branch
of government caused by the Cox firing
Most members of Congress, rightly or
wrongly, perceived that you gave your
word that Cox would not be fired. In
their minds when you fired Cox. you
broke your promise It's one thing to lie
to Congress Congress has come to
expect that many people who testify
before it lie We can handle that W e are
a good enough judge of character to
separate truth from fiction We may not
appreciate liars, but we can recognize
them It's an entirely different matter,
however, when one person gives his
word to another That is a bond which
those of us in politics revere highly
Those who breach that bond suffer an
incalculable loss of credibility
Congress believes you breached your
word in the firing of Cox.
Your problem with the public is
different from that of Congress The
problem with the public is that they no
longer believe you They no longer trust
tbe integrity of this Administration.
In your televised energy message,
you singled out Oregon for accolades
because of our success in conserving
energy Our Governor. Tom McCall,
has been able to get his fellow
Oregonians to follow his lead in energy
conservation because they believe in
him and trust him This Administration
lacks that kind of trust
A RESPONSE TO a previous question
by Bob Stafford about resignation
revealed what I fear is the thinking of
this Administration You cited several
reasons why you would not resign, and
you concluded by adding that you
certainly would not resign when you
had not been “convicted of a crime.”
For too long this Administration has
given the public the impression that its
standard of conduct was not that it
must be above suspicion but that it
must merely be above criminal guilt.
Mr President, that is not an adequate
standard of conduct for those who have
been accorded the privilege of
govern mg this country
If. by chance. Former Secretary of
Commerce Stans and Former Attorney
General Mitchell are acquitted of the
crimes for which they have been in
dicted. there will be great trumpeting
from this Administration and from
many Republicans around this nation
that the court system has vindicated
them and revived their credibility and
inferentially. yours Mr President, if
Stans and Mitchell are acquitted, it
simply means there was not presented
evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to
ccmvince reasonable jurors of their
criminal guilt. It does not mean they
were innocent of wrong-doing in helping
govern this nation
Now. Mr President, for what it's
worth, let me give you my advice as to
how the breaches with Congress and the
public might be repaired
WITH CONGRESS, it will be easier
Invite us to the White House for con
versation. Hopefully you will follow our
advice, but if you don't, you will have at
least heard it. and that is really all we
ask Most of us will succumb to at
tention The repair of relations with the
public will be more difficult. It depends
on what you are willing to reveal In my
mind, it must be EVERYTHING—the
tapes. confidential notes—
EVERYTHING. And you must be
willing to let the chips fall where they
may. It is imperative that the public
believe you have revealed everything
In order to achieve this, it is absolutely
necessary that nothing be subsequently
uncovered that you neglected to reveal.
There can’t be a missing tape ac
cidentally disposed of by a janitor
There can t be a memo on ITT un
covered by an inquiring reporter You
must make sure there is nothing within
your power to find that is kept secret. If
you are willing to reveal ALL. do it and
iet it settle for about two weeks. Give
everyone in this country who is in
terested a chance to digest the in
formation Then have a free-wheeling,
open-ended, no time limit press con
ference Not with sixty or seventy
members of the news media, but just
six or seven, and, at a minimun, it must
include Dan Rather and Daniel Schorr
of CBS and John Apple of the New York
Times. Answer every question they put
forth Let one reporter pursue you for 15
or 20 minute if he w ishes I recommend
this first because you are good at an
adversary proceeding, and second,
because the public must be convinced
that you have opened yourself up to
your harshest critics If you humbly
best your adversaries in this press
conference, you may stand a chance of
restoring vour credibility
MR PRESIDENT. YOU ONCE had
the capacity to lead this country
People would follow you, sometimes
begrudgingly, but more often,
willingly, because you were a leader
Watergate has destroyed your ability to
inspire and lead this country. You still
have the capacity to govern this
country- because we have a separate
Executive branch. If we were a
parliamentary government even your
capacity to govern would have been
stripped from you by your own party
members Congress is not going to
impeach you You have apparently
committed no impeachable offense
You are not going to resign. You’re
therefore left to your own devices to
restore your own credibility. W’atergate
is perceived by the people of this
country as your personal problem We
in Congress who would like to help you
can offer advice, but you, and only you.
can take the steps necessary to re
establish your leadership in this
country
J
-Satire
Spiro T. and the M.P. s' is smash LP hit
By DAVE BR AFF
Perhaps some of you are wondering
what ever happened to the man who put
vice back into the Vice Presidency Well,
Spiro, encouraged by his crooning crony.
Frank Sinatra, has recorded an LP' And
over looking its artistic deficiencies as
well as the obvious commercialism of its
pre-Christmas release. I guess Agnew
didn't get so much graft money after all)
this debut album “Spiro T and the MP.s"
misjudged politicians»is a promising and
very legal contribution to American
music
Feeling the obscurity and em
barrassment of being the only deposed
Vice President. Agnew has taken to the
occupation which always seemed most
suitable for him — using his mouth. Now.
in lieu of blasting bombastic batteries of
barbs at the media, liberals and assorted
additional adversaries. Spiro has shifted
his vocal energy to another celebrated
stage — Rock and Roll Yes. Spiro, with his
first offering, appears to be destined for
superstardom This album is already
certified gold and a fierce battle is
presently raging between Dick Clark and
Don Kirshner over late-night TV ap
pearances
The album while not reaching any
heretofore unattainable aesthetic heights.
is a conscientious attempt to regain
popular acclaim Agnew has dramatically
juxtaposed his audience appeal and has
leaped head-first into the “youth market. '’
“Spiro T.” contains no original material
but is a collection of some of the most
appreciated songs from the best con
temporary artists From the outset it is
evident that Agnew is acutely aware erf
what has happened to him Nevertheless
be defiantly proclaims that he has
maintained his stature The opening cut,
“Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," aptly
demonstrates that Agnew is by no means
lethargic or limp His earthy, animalistic
handling of this vintage hit leaves no doubt
that he has taken up the burden of the rock
singer
Though the M_P.s (Spiro s band is
comprised of veteran session men. there
are a few guest stars featured And such is
the case on the second track John Mitchell
is at the keyboards for a nostalgic version
of Hang 'em High." Mitchell lovingly
handles the organ with the same fervor
that he employed while saving us from
subversives and permissiveness during
the halcyon years of 1968 through 72.
But it’s back to rock and roll with a
vibrant “Livin' in the USA.” The tune,
however, is peculiarly patriotic. Obviously
someone lost something in the adaptation
Still, Agnew is impressive, fiercely spit
'mg out the poignant lyrics Indeed he sells
the song so well that at the end you really
want to give him a cheeseburger The first
side closes with a tell-it-like-it-is con
fession. “It Ain’t Easy'' is a frank ad
mission that all has not been rosy for
Agnew It is however barely passable, the
nadir of the album, and nowhere near as
good as David Bowie's version.
But the existential theme of suffering
carries over to side two which starts with
an updated “I got Plenty o' Nothing.'' This
song’s sincerity far surpasses that of his
“effete, impudent snobs-' speech or even
his early castigations of the press He
sings with such emotion, such touching
passion, that you just picture him and his
Bess languishing on Tin Pan Alley. If he
could have heard this. I'm certain that
Gershwin would have voted Republican
Next is an astonishing rendition of
“Whipping Post ” You can actually feel
the orment of Agnew reliving his recent
anguish Through his singing he recreates
his capitulation to those unmerciful media
zealots and the deception of his friends
'-umed-inquisitors Henry Peterson. Elliot
Richardson, and ultimately Nixon himself.
As Agnew laments, “Sometimes I feel!
sometimes I feel...” you can just imagine
him receiving the death knell over the
phone from General Haig. “The President
would like to see you.” There can be no
question that Spiro has indeed paid his
dues. Unfortunately it seems he collected
some as well. But enough moral
judgement.
Again the tone shifts and we are
presented with a caustic jab at the press
Agnew completely re interprets Dylan's
‘The Times are a Changin’ ” A revisionist
chef d'oeuvre. The album concludes on a
note of despair; an unbelievably sensitive,
almost clairvoyant “Folsom Prison
Blues.” The vocals are enhanced by a
supporting cast of ex-dignitaries, in
cluding Maurice Stans. John Ehrlichman,
and H R “Harry" Haldeman They all
seem to share Agnew s visionary
melancholy
Spiro already is working on a second
release, tentatively titled “Ted
Production has been stepped up because of
the cancellation of a European tour — his
probation officer refused him permission
to leave the country. Agnew was incensed,
calling the decision “sheepish " But the
Justice Department evidently felt that
Agnew would go on the lam Well, at least
we have this album. Hardly a classic,
“Spiro T and the M.P.s” is indeed a
worthwhile record It should sell well also
I’m convinced many radicals and activists
will buy the album out of a trained
response; the profits go to a defense fund
Dave Braff
Braff (a history major; is a self
admitted geek who wants only to be loved