SORT OF A STRAIGHTFORWARD
APPROACH TO TELL THE PRESIDENT.
WE WANT SOMETHING DONE.
NO PROMISES, NO THINGS RULED IN
OR OUT.
HISTORIAN, EVAN THOMAS ON THE
SIGNIFICANCE THE LETTERS,
PERIOD.
EVAN, WE KNOW FROM THE PAST THAT
EVEN IN THIS DAY AND AGE, THE
WRITTEN WORD AND ACKNOWLEDGING
SOMETHING, YOU KNOW,
PEN-TO-PAPER MAKES A BIG
DIFFERENCE.
WE CAN GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO
J.F.K. AND HIS MEETINGS WITH
KHRUSHCHEV.
ENLIGHTEN ME.
>> IT'S PERSONAL.
DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS,
THE WORST CRISIS EVER, THE HEAD
OF RUSSIAN, KHRUSHCHEV WROTE A
PARTIAL LETTER TO KENNEDY
SAYING, HEY, WE CANNOT HAVE
WORLD WAR III HERE.
THE BUREAUCRATS WROTE ANOTHER
TOUGH LETTER AND KENNEDY CHOSE
TO ANSWER THE FIRST LETTER, THE
PERSONAL LETTER FROM KHRUSHCHEV.
THAT HELPED SAVE THE WORLD.
PERSONAL DIPLOMACY THROUGH A
LETTER HELPED SAVE OUR LIVES.
>> Neil: YEAH.
CHOOSING THE LETTER THAT THEY
DID PAVED THE WAY FOR
DEESCALATION.AND I REMEMBER
RONALD REAGAN AND GORBACHEV.
RONALD REAGAN WAS A FAN OF
WRITING A LETTER, CONVEYING HIS
THOUGHTS ON PAPER.
THAT APPROACH IS SOMETHING THAT
HE VALUED AND IT WAS
RECIPROCATED.
>> HE WAS.
REAGAN AND GORBACHEV MET IN
ICELAND.
GOT TO THE POINT IN THE PERSONAL
CONVERSATION WHERE THEY TALKED
ABOUT ELIMINATING NUCLEAR
WEAPONS ALTOGETHER.
DIDN'T HAPPEN.
YOU CAN SHEA THEY WENT TOO FAR.
THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT STEP
TOWARDS ENDING THE COLD WAR.
PERSONAL DIPLOMACY MAKES A
DIFFERENCE.
IT RATTLED DIPLOMATS.
IT'S LIKE EVERYTHING WILL GET
OUT OF CONTROL.
IT'S SCARY TO HAVE THE
PRINCIPLES MEET.
SCARY TO SUBORDINATES.
WE KNOW IT CAN MAKE A
DIFFERENCE.
>> Neil: IT'S A RITUAL WHERE ONE
PRESIDENT HANDING OFF THE BATON
TO THE OTHER, WRITES A LETTER
AND LEAVE IT'S IT IN THE OVAL
OFFICE DESK FOR HIS SUCCESSOR TO
READ.
IT'S VERY POWERFUL.
DOESN'T GUARANTEE PEACE, HARMONY
AND LOVE BETWEEN THE TWO.
BUT IT IS A PROCESS THAT WE
HONOR
HONO
HONOR.
WHY IS THAT?
>> I THINK ESPECIALLY IN THE AGE
OF THE INTERNET, THE PERSONAL
LETTER IS MORE PERSONAL.
>> Neil: ABSOLUTELY.
>> THE LETTER I'M THINKING
ABOUT, L.B.J. LEFT BEHIND THE
BODY COUNTS IN VIETNAM.
HIS PERSONAL REACTION TO THE MEN
DYING.
RICHARD NIXON SAW THOSE.
IT HAD AN IMPACT ON NIXON.
THE PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS.
OTHER AUTHORS HAVE SAID THERE'S
A PRESIDENT'S CLUB WHERE THEY
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, BY
LETTER, SOMETIMES IN PERSON AND
IT'S A BOND THAT IS IMPORTANT.
IT'S LONELY BEING THE LEADER OF
THE FREE WORLD OR BEING A
LEADER.
YOU NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD BY
PEOPLE THAT UNDERSTAND YOU, BEEN
IN YOUR SHOES, BEEN THERE
BEFORE.
THAT IS WHY THESE COMMUNICATIONS
BETWEEN PRESIDENTS ARE
IMPORTANT, EVEN DIFFERENT
PARTIES.
IT'S JUST CRITICALLY IMPORTANT
THAT THE CONNECTIONS CAN BE MADE
BY LETTER, FACE-TO-FACE.
THEY'RE IMPORTANT.
>> Neil: THE LETTER THING IS
IMPORTANT.
WE LIVE TO YOUR VERY ASTUTE
OBSERVATION.
RUSHED TEXTS AND TWEETS AND
QUICK EXCHANGES ON THE PHONE.
A LETTER IS SOMETHING THAT YOU
SIT DOWN, YOU THINK ABOUT IT,
TYPE IT OR WRITE IT.
IN ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S DAYS, HE
WROTE THEM.
HE QUESTION QUITE A FEW PEOPLE.
NOT ON GENERALS WITH WHOM HE WAS
DISPLEASED, BUT WAR WIDOWS AND
MANY, MANY MORE.
AND THEY CARRIED LASTING IMPACT,
DIDN'T THEY?
>> SURE.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH
THE INTERNET IS THAT WE RAP OUT
THESE QUICK MESSAGES.
WRITING A LETTER LONG, MAKES YOU
THINK.
YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
THOUGHT IS TOO OFTEN MISSING IN
COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN ANY OF US
IN THIS MODERN AGE.
WE WHIP STUFF OFF.
WRITING A LETTER HAS A HEALTHY
DELIBERATENESS OF IT.
WE HAVE TO STOP AND THINK,