The Blotter: Nixon on Thompson: 'Dumb' but 'Friendly'

The Blotter: Nixon on Thompson: 'Dumb' but 'Friendly': "'He isn't very smart, is he?' Nixon asks. 'Not extremely so, but --,' Buzhardt says, interrupted by the president. 'But he's friendly,' Nixon says. 'But he's, he's friendly,' Buzhardt echoes. 'Good.' A few days later, White House aides are heard saying Thompson will be even more helpful than his boss, Sen. Baker, and that Thompson agreed to secretly help undercut the credibility of White House whistleblower John Dean. 'They've finally got [Dean] under oath,' Buzhardt says on a tape from June 11. 'Uh, Thompson will work with us. So, good.' 'Does he realize that Dean has some problems?' Nixon asks. 'Oh, yes sir,' Buhardt responds. 'Quite a few...He is willing to work with us; he is also now willing to work with us on shifting some focus to the Democrats. He's finally made up his mind; he's got to start looking at some of their stuff.' Later in the tape, Buzhardt says, '[Thompson is] willing to go, you know, pretty much the distance now. And he said he realized his responsibility was going to have to be as a Republican increasingly.' In his memoir of the Watergate era, Thompson admits to secretly alerting the White House to key evidence as it was discovered by congressional investigators. "