Vice President NIXON. Senator Curtis, Senator Hruska, Governor Burney, Secretary Seaton, Congressman Cunningham, all the distinguished guests here on the podium and our friends in Nebraska, well, we've had - as our staff will tell you - some outstanding meetings on this trip so far. And time after time we've been tremendously pleased and sometimes surprised by the size of the crowds that we've had. But, believe me, to get out this kind of a crowd at this hour in the morning means that Nebraska's going to elect a Governor, a Senator, and certainly our Congressman from this area, and we thank you for coming out as you have. We also think you're going to vote for the Nixon-Lodge ticket for President of the United States. [Applause.]
     It's a great privilege to appear on the platform with my friend, Fred Seaton, who is traveling with us as an adviser, and that means we have a good Nebraska mind working with us on some of these major problems that we have. I also want you to know that to stand here with my two colleagues from the Senate, Carl and Roman, is particularly a privilege, and Roman, who of course belongs to Omaha, I think would be the first to say that he looks forward with great pleasure to keeping Nebraska's team of Hruska and Curtis in business after January, and I'm glad to be able to do a little bit, if I can, to help it out while I'm here. [Applause.] The thing I like about these fellows, you can count on them when the chips are down, and that's what we need in the U.S. Senate and in Government today. [Applause.] The only trouble with Glenn Cunningham is that he is in such demand at home that we always have trouble getting him to run - to go to Washington - and I'm just happy that he is going to run again so that we can have him down there in Washington in the U.S. Congress, along with Nebraska's other fine members.  [Applause drowns out last word.]
     I wish that time would permit me to refer to all of our candidates here, but, needless to say, you can gather from what I've said that I am certainly honored to be with them, as part of their team, and to present to you this group as an outstanding group of public servants as as candidates on this occasion.
     Now, incidentally, I want you to know a couple of the reasons why we were a little late this morning. As we came down in the lobby of the hotel, we found the most unusual greeting committee that I've ever seen in my life. It was a group of children - about 20 of them - not a one over 10 years of age. And they were singing that little jingle which goes to the tune of "Merrily We Roll Along," which some of you have heard, I suppose, here today. And so the result was they were all carrying signs; they told me they'd gotten up at 6 :30 in the morning (I know how hard it is to get our young teen-agers up that early) and to think that these youngsters had come up, we felt we had to sign all the autographs to greet them all, and let me say we got a wonderful good wish out of it in the process.
     Two things happened that would be interesting to report. Pat was standing with one of them and the photographer was going to take a picture, and Pat said, "Well, get over there and get in the picture." And she said, "I don't want to be in the picture, I just want to be with you." [Applause.] It's a cinch that that girl will never run for anything, that's for sure. [Laughter.] And then the other one, little Judy Howard, she said her name was, 8 years old, she said to me, "You know, Mr. Nixon, I hope you become President. I make a wish for that every time I go under a bridge." [Laughter and applause.] I just hope there are lots of bridges in this area, incidentally, and I just hope, too, that we can build bridges to the future for that young 8-year-old, which will be bridges of peace and greater progress for all of the young people of America. [Applause.]
     That wasn't all. When we got outside the door here, I found a great group of a little older people, teen-agers, a few of them are down here in front, and one of them handed me a note saying: "You are cordially invited, Mr. Nixon, to attend the Central-South game at Benson Stadium at 7:30 tonight." [Applause.] The two cheerleaders gave me the note and, incidentally, said: "You'll be for Central, won't you?" And, believe me, I've got to have the votes of South, too, so I just can't be for Central. But we hope the better team wins and, in any event, the spirit of the young people and of the old people, all of the people of Nebraska just couldn't be better, and we thank you for that.
     Now the reason it took a little time there was that several of these people said: "You've got to give us something, an autograph, or otherwise we're going to catch it because we'll be late getting to school." So obviously we had to sign a few names there, and so forth, so they could prove to the teacher that they at least had been here seeing the candidates for President and for First Lady, too, may I say.
     And so, in any event, we are so happy that you have waited for us, but more than that we are so complimented that you would come out to breakfast at 7:30 in the morning here in this great city for the purpose of welcoming us to Nebraska and giving us the sendoff on a pretty long day of campaigning. Because this is going to be a day of motorcading; we've been prop-stopping up to this time - that isn't easy either, particularly when an engine goes out on the plane as it did on one of the legs of our trip. Incidentally, when that engine went out, the press was all interested in it - one engine on this big four-engine plane, a little tremor - but it's happened so often on my trips abroad - Pat - so that we never worry any more, and they said, "Well, what do you think about it, Mr. Vice President?" I said, "Look, if one of those planes can run on three engines, I can run on one leg." Believe me, I've been doing that for the last 3 days.  [Applause.]
     But this day will take us right through the heart of the farm country of America. We're going over to Council Bluffs from here for another breakfast meeting. The only trouble is we have these breakfast meetings and we never get to eat. The only trouble is we don't get to sleep, because last night we got in at 1:30 at night, a wonderful crowd at the airport, and of course had to get up reasonably early this morning. Somebody asked me, "When do you sleep?" And I decided we're going to take every Thursday off to sleep from now on throughout this campaign.
     But whether we eat or we sleep, it's meetings like this that make it worthwhile, and we thank you for welcoming us as you have. And may I thank all of those who have participated in the program: that wonderful drum and bugle corps, the chorus here, and Bob with his songs. We heard him over in Lincoln and some of you may remember I said: "We've got to take that team on the road with us, because that 'Go! Go! Republican!' song is one that really stirs the blood." Certainly Nebraska can be proud of what you have produced - the spirit here this morning and also which is exemplified by that song.
     Now, I know that you would like to hear me discuss the issues of this campaign and what we have found on our trip so far for at least a few minutes before you get back to your work, and I think I would like to do it in this way. If we had the time, since we feel very much at home at this meeting, I know that what you'd like to do is to sit down with Pat and with me in your livingroom and say: "Look, tell us something about - what are the people thinking all over this land? What are they thinking all over the world?" Because one of the great experiences that we've had, of course, is to represent the President and represent the American people in 55 countries abroad. One of the great experiences we're going to have in these next 8 weeks is to visit all the 50 States of this Nation, if the leg holds out and also the airplanes do, and consequently we get a chance to get the feel of this country and of the world as well. And in the past few days we've seen a lot of it. We started in Baltimore, Md., in a pouring rainstorm, part of Hurricane Donna, on Monday morning. Incidentally, the President had a wonderful comment there. When the rain was coming down and all the people that had come out - again at 8 o'clock in the morning - to send us off, we were rather distressed about the rain. The President got up and said: "Look, this is a good omen." He said, "It rained a lot harder when I opened my campaign in Abilene just 8 years ago." But since that time we've had Eisenhower weather all the way and we expect to have that kind of weather all the way and on election day this November 8 here in Nebraska and around the country. [Applause.]
     Let me tell you what I find about this country of ours. You know, too often it's the tendency of the political observers to point out the differences about America: The South is different from the North and the East is different from the West. And you'll find people thinking differently in Hawaii than they would in Maine - 6,000 miles away. And certainly the people down in Atlanta, Ga., where we had a magnificent reception, couldn't be thinking about the same things that the people up in Grand Forks, N. Dak., where we also had a good reception, were thinking. The people in Roanoke, Va., where at 7:30 in the evening last night we had a tremendous crowd in the heart of that Democratic area, tremendous crowd of between 15,000 and 20,000, do they think about the issues in the way that you think about them here in Omaha, Nebr.? And often, as I say, we think that the country really thinks sectionally and selfishly about the issues and about America, and also we break Americans down too often in terms of their occupational groups. We think, well, the teachers think about one thing and the students about another. Well, that's true to an extent when the grades are being passed out, I suppose, but we also think that those who work in a factory think altogether different from those who are managers of a factory, we think that our farmers are thinking about entirely different things and are interested in different things than those who live in our cities. And the net result is that we forget that there are great central ideals that join the American people and make this one Nation. This is what I want to emphasize today. [Applause.]
     I think it's one of the primary responsibilities of a presidential candidate and certainly an overriding responsibility of a President himself to emphasize these great ideals that join us together, to unite Americans rather than to divide them sectionally into occupations and the like, and that's why I refuse to go before one group and make them promises that will set them against another. [Applause.] I think we must emphasize the things that unite America. I pointed out in speaking to a great labor organization yesterday the fact that Mr. Kennedy had been in Detroit and made the statement that he was for everything union leaders were for, in effect, and that he opposed everything that they were against. And I said to this group, "Look, I'm for many of the things your leaders are for, but I'm not for all the things and I will not make a commitment that I'm for all the things that the leaders of unions or management or farm organizations or any other part or group of America are for because a President must be President of all America and not just part of America." [Applause.]
     What are these things that unite us? Well, above everything else, I find that the great concern of our people is on one issue above everything else, it's one that you folks here in Omaha will understand with your tremendous contribution to our defense. It's one that you will understand because of your great contribution of your young men in time of war, and it's this: This issue overrides the rest - which of the candidates for the President and the Vice President can best provide the leadership that will keep the peace for America and the free world without surrender and extend freedom throughout the world? This is the great issue which unites Americans. [Applause.]
     And on that issue, may I say I think we have a better case to present than our opposition. First, better on the record. Oh, you hear a lot of things about our record supposed to be wrong and, of course, when you're dealing with this tremendously difficult and aggressive conspiracy led by the men in Peking and Moscow, you're going to have trouble. But the question is not whether you have troubles, but how you deal with them. And I would say look at the record. And I say Americans will be eternally grateful to President Eisenhower for a number of things: for the fact that he restored honesty and dignity and integrity to the highest office in this land, for one thing [applause] and for the fact that he led this country in a way that we have the highest prosperity that it's ever enjoyed; but above everything else, they'll be grateful to him because under his leadership we ended a war [applause] and under his leadership we have avoided other wars when a less wise man might not have avoided them, and we do have peace without surrender today [applause].
     Now, what can we do and what do I say we must do to maintain this peace that we presently have? Well, summarizing it very briefly, they are these things. One: we've got to keep America the strongest nation in the world today and it is the strongest nation militarily in the world today whatever the criers of doom may say about it. [Applause.] And this means developing, of course, the new weapons whenever breakthroughs are made, so that we never fall behind a new technology; it also means, however, that until those new weapons are ready and until those new weapons can be relied on, that we must also continue to build and keep strong the traditional weapons and the weapons we presently have; it means that America must maintain this strength and that we must be willing to pay the price for it, as we have been paying for it, because as long as our strength is greater than that of any potential enemy of peace, it means that he will not launch the attack that would break the peace. So this is No. 1 and I pledge this to you today: America must continue to be the strongest military nation in the world.
     No. 2: America also must have diplomacy, which is as strong as its military strength. We must not have weakness there; we must not have lack of faith; we must not have doubts; we must not lose our heads when the Communists make a move here, there, someplace else; and we must not blame ourselves and our friends for what the Communists do. [Applause.]
     You remember - after the riots in Japan - all the critics of President Eisenhower were saying: "What a terrible thing! President Eisenhower is to blame because the Communists ran riots against him in Japan." And there was a tendency to think - well, now Japan is lost. But what has happened since then! The President didn't lose his head. He knew that a small minority was responsible for this, and so we continued to go forward, working with our friends in Japan. Result? Today the prestige and standing of the United States in Japan is higher than it's ever been. This is the kind of leadership we need; not the faint-hearted leadership that others are giving.  [Applause.]
     And may I say the next President must be a man who knows the Communists, knows how to deal with them, isn't taken in by them, and doesn't make either rash statements or rash movements, but by the same token also does not do anything that is belligerent and does not assume that a Communist is going to act as we would act.  [Applause.]
     Let me give you an example. Every time we get in trouble in the field of diplomacy is when we assume that the actions of Mr. Khrushchev are going to be as President Eisenhower or Mr. De Gaulle, or Mr. Macmillan, or Mr. Adenauer might do. Remember the summit conference in Paris? Khrushchev broke it up (he said over the U-2 incident, but he had other reasons, as we know). And then people criticized and said: "Well, why didn't the President do something to save it - when Khrushchev said, 'well, if Eisenhower will only apologize for this, then maybe I'll come back and we'll have some dealings.'" And some people in this country with the best of intentions said: "Well, the President, at least, might have tried; he might have expressed regrets to Mr. Khrushchev on the U-2 flights, because then we could have saved the conference possibly."
     Let me tell you why that would have been wrong. First, because this shows a complete naive attitude with regard to the Communist mind. Expressing regrets to Mr. Khrushchev wouldn't have saved it, it wouldn't have satisfied him; it would only have whetted his appetite and made him ask for more. We simply have to learn that appeasement with an aggressive dictator has never worked and it isn't going to work with him. [Applause.]
     Now, does this mean, on the other hand, that every time he calls us a name we answer back in kind? Of course not. Just as the President again so magnificently handled himself at Paris. He said that rather than replying in kind he recognized that when you're strong and when you have faith that you're right, you don't respond in kin you maintain your dignity, and there's another reason you don't, and this is going to be hard, too. Sometimes it's much easier to snap back and lose your temper when the other fellow loses his, but we can't have the luxury, certainly the Chief Executive, of a man who will snap back, because we must remember that in this world in which we live that a President particularly must maintain that calm but firm stance which avoids engaging in a war of words that might set off a nuclear disaster. And so this also is necessary - to maintain this line between peace on the one side and surrender on the other.
     What else do we need if we're to maintain peace? Well, we need in addition to diplomacy, in addition to military strength, we must strengthen the instruments of peace themselves: The United Nations, for example, which has done such an effective job in the very ticklish situation in the Congo; the Organization of American States, which is joining with us in attempting to mobilize all of the opinion of Latin America to deal with this cancerous situation that exists in Cuba. Why are these things necessary? Why wouldn't it be easier, for example, for the United States with its great power to move in on Mr. Castro, to move in on the Congo (as Mr. Khrushchev is muscling in)? I'll tell you why it wouldn't be easier, because it wouldn't be the right thing, in the first place, for us to do this unilaterally; and, second, because we are not interested in moving in for ourselves as the Communists are; we are interested in peace for all the world and we want other nations, our friends, with us - and that's why we work through the United Nations, that's why we work to strengthen it. And may I say that I think we can do a better job in that field not because of my experience - that would be presumptuous to make any comparison there - but I can say that I have a partner that I don't think certainly anybody will question has unique qualifications in this respect, and I don't think there's any man in the world today who has done a better job representing the causes of peace and freedom - vigorously and effectively - than our candidate for Vice President, Henry Cab