Word: haig
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Soon Nixon, not yet ready for a direct confrontation, telephoned. Infinitely ingenious, he had come up with an irresistible argument for Haig's appointment: it was designed to enhance my influence; it was aimed at, of all people, Agnew. Haig was essential, said the President, to keep Agnew from "trying to step into things. Well, Agnew can't-we just can't allow that to happen." It was mind boggling to think that a Chief Executive needed a high-powered chief of staff to control a Vice President who was in no position to "step into things...
...sought to keep the Government going had no idea when another eruption would start. For nearly two months the torrent of revelations seemed unending. Among the most startling was the disclosure that Nixon had been tape-recording conversations since early 1971.1 learned about it soon after Haig became chief of staff. He told me to be careful about anything I said in the Oval Office; it contained a voice-activated recording system...
...Joint Chiefs, thought I would be most comfortable with an officer with advanced degrees from famous institutions. Having taught at Harvard, I rated somewhat lower the wisdom evidenced by such degrees. I sought a more rough-cut type, someone with combat experience, familiar with operational planning. Alexander M. Haig Jr., then a colonel at West Point, was recommended by conservatives and liberals. I offered him the post after one interview...
...Haig soon became indispensable. As my deputy after the first year, he disciplined my anarchic tendencies and established coherence in a National Security Council staff of talented prima donnas. He acted as my partner, strong in crises, decisive in judgment, skillful in bureaucratic infighting, indefatigable in his labors...
...sure, nobody survives in the rough-and-tumble of White House politics-especially of the Nixon White House-without a good measure of ruthlessness. Haig was implacable in squeezing to the sidelines potential competitors for my attention. At the same time, I am sure, he was not above presenting himself to my subordinates as the good guy tempering my demanding, somewhat unbalanced, nature. He worked assiduously at establishing his own personal relationship first with Haldeman and Ehrlichman, then with Nixon. I did not doubt that they considered him more of a loyalist than me. I began to wonder whether Haig...