Presidents and the irresistible urge to record themselves
What is it with presidents and tape recorders? You think they鈥檇 learn. But no, they鈥檙e like moths to a flame.
That鈥檚 Decoder鈥檚 reaction to news of the new oral history of Bill Clinton鈥檚 White House, based on 79 taped interviews with historian Taylor Branch. You just know there鈥檚 stuff in there that Mr. Clinton will be sorry he said. But he won鈥檛 be able to deny it if it鈥檚 on tape.
For instance, he reportedly talks about Boris Yeltsin, on a visit to Washington, getting drunk and wandering around Pennsylvania Avenue in his underwear. Maybe he can get away with that.
But describing Jimmy Carter as someone who 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 have much positive to say鈥�? There鈥檚 going to be an angry wind rising out of Georgia over that one.
Pretty much every US president from Franklin Roosevelt to Richard Nixon taped themselves at some point. Their motivation was to chronicle their actions for history. Problem is, most also chronicled some moments they probably would not have wanted history to know about.
鈥� FDR鈥檚 Oval Office machine caught him lying to a delegation of civil rights leaders on Sept. 27, 1940, telling them he鈥檇 put a proportional number of African-Americans into US combat forces. He had no intention of doing that.
鈥� John Kennedy, on March 1, 1963, recorded himself ordering 鈥渙ne of those blue pills鈥� from White House doctor George Burkley. Kennedy hid his dependence on medication from the public.
鈥� Lyndon Johnson, on Aug. 8, 1964, called the son of the president of Haggar clothing and belched while ordering up roomy pants.
鈥� The Nixon tapes are a lesson in disaster unto themselves. They proved the president took part fully in the attempt to cover up Watergate.
But Roosevelt provides one of the most intriguing tape mysteries. He recorded himself for 11 weeks in 1940 and then stopped, though his tape machine stayed wired into his Oval Office lamp until his death in 1945.
Perhaps Bill Clinton is wishing he鈥檇 followed that lead.
