Conditions Governing Access note
Use copy reference number: 79103_a_0002625
Scope and Contents note
David Susskind interviews Vice President Nixon about foreign affairs, domestic affairs, and politics. In the first section,
the men discuss a variety of topics. First is the U2 plane incident. Nixon believes America ought to conduct surveillance
because the Soviet Union is not an open society; that the Soviet Union does not grant the diplomatic access America does to
her. The men then consider if the actions of America put its allies in danger. Nixon points to the Paris conference, starting
the following day, as an indication of where each country's policies are. Other topics of much discussion are on testing,
disarmament--with Nixon again bring up the difficulty of running an open society and upholding an agreement with the Soviet
Union--and nuclear proliferation. On communist China, Nixon believes there is tension between the Soviet Union and Mao. The
discussion focuses on how China fits into nuclear proliferation, and why/when the United Nations should or should not admit
communist China into the body. Nixon believes China violates the preamble clause of members being peaceful nations and that
its admission would start the communization of the entire Southeast Asia area. On Latin America, Nixon believes anti-American
sentiments have improved since his return from that region, saying there are far greater pro-American feelings than anti-American
feelings. Indeed, he believes most people around the world prefer the American way over the communist way. The men cover a
variety of topics on the domestic front as well. Beginning, Nixon defines what he means by progressive conservatism, arguing
it is not a contradiction in terms. Nixon does not view safety-net programs, such as social security, as a welfare-state within
the country--he believes government should offer services whenever the private sector does not want to, or cannot, provide
those services. Meanwhile, he believes the private sector is more efficient than the federal government, qualifying with the
private sector is not always absolutely efficient. On education, Nixon believes the federal government needs to step in, but
only in certain ways, in order to ensure a high quality system. Regarding taxes, he says one cannot make any promises, because
the economic future is never known. Nixon offers his thoughts on the Landrum Griffin Act and how organized labor should operate.
He does not believe the civil rights movement should be viewed as a question of legality, but as a question of morality. Similarly,
he analyzes the recent civil rights bill that Congress passed; he believes the bill would have been stronger were it not for
Southern Democrats. Other topics include federalism, socialized medicine, the 1960 campaign, the late Senator McCarthy, foreign
aid, and a bill to help areas in the Industrial Belt. Discussing politics, Susskind asks why the Republican Party is not the
majority party, how Nixon intends to rally Democrats to him, the relationship of big business and the GOP, and what it takes
to be President of the United States. Earlier in the program, Nixon states that he and Eisenhower share the same ideas on
policy, and he hopes the era of selecting the vice president to balance the ticket is over.