I Gave 'em A Sword. And They

I See The Face Of A Child. He Lives In A Great City. He Is Black. Or He Is White. He Is Mexican, Italian, Polish. None Of That Matters. What Matters, He's An American Child.

If In Order To Avoid Further Communist Expansion In Asia And Particularly In Indo-china, If In Order To Avoid It We Must Take The Risk By Putting American Boys In, I Believe That The Executive Branch Of The Government Has To Take The Politically Unpopular Position Of Facing Up To It And Doing It, And I Personally Would Support Such A Decision.

Most Days I Feel Like The Sole Survivor Of A Shipwreck, Rowing My Paddleboat Across A Sea Of People On Waves Made Of An Infinite Array Of Hands And Crests That Reveal Anonymous Faces. On A Good Day, The Clouds Part To Alight On-lo And Behold-an Island! I Step Ashore, Only Find That It Too Is Made Of People, Mangled Bodies Somehow Still Alive. They Grab At My Feet, Pulling Me Under Like Quicksand. The Last Thing I See Before Suffocating Is The Sky, A Billion Eyes Staring Down, Blinking In Undulating Electric Ripples. The Cold Rain I Feel On My Cheeks Is The Tears Of The People.

A Riot Is A Spontaneous Outburst. A War Is Subject To Advance Planning.

Now That All The Members Of The Press Are So Delighted I Lost, I'd Like To Make A Statement. As I Leave You I Want You To Know -just Think How Much You'll Be Missing. You Won't Have Nixon To Kick Around Anymore Because, Gentlemen, This Is My Last Press Conference.