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to him, even though I knew that a lot of people knew we were reasonably close. It just wasn't smart from his point, politically. And in a way it wasn't smart for me to do it, either, because I had to live with both the Republicans and the Democrats. And he understood that.

He said: “Okay. Promise me this. That you'll watch my rehearsal and give me any pointers.”

Well, to watch his rehearsal meant I had to put a line down into the White House, and I didn't have a line to the house; so I came to the office and watched him do his--I think, as a matter of fact, Ruth came down with me. We watched the rehearsal, and I made some suggestions about it--not as much the content as it was to his appearance. But he never had the conclusion. The resignation, or the part that he wasn't going to choose to run he didn't do in the rehearsal, for obvious reasons, because it would have leaked all over kingdom come.

So when I called him back to tell him the changes I thought he ought to make in the way he appeared, not in what he said--he said: “Well, you're going to watch me tonight?”

I said: “Well, yes. Except I've--how many times do I have to hear something like that?”

He said: “I want you to watch it.” Well, of course, obviously he wanted me to catch the resignation part.

So immediately after I saw that I called the White House. I got to him before anybody else