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The President hardened his choice in a final weekend at Camp David. "If we turn tail now, America's commitments will be worthless," he told an aide. "The prestige of the presidency would hit rock bottom." On Saturday he ordered Laird to prepare for mining. He began working on a television speech that would explain the move. Writing it almost alone, he paused for telephone calls to his campaign manager, John Mitchell, and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.
The decision was all but final when Kissinger flew to Camp David Sunday morning, got the drift from Nixon, and returned to hold a meeting of his Washington Special Action Group to discuss contingency plans for the mining. The first public tip-off of an impending crisis came when Nixon summoned Rogers home to Washington.
The final chance to change the President's mind came in a meeting Monday morning of the National Security Council. Among those present were Kissinger, Rogers, Laird, Connally, CIA Director Richard Helms and Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The discussion was lively. "Some played the devil's advocate," conceded one participant. Nixon said he still intended to mine. "Nobody could dissuade him from it or offer a better alternative," said one observer.
While no one would reveal how the NSC lined up on the issue, reservations apparently were raised by Rogers and Helms. There was no doubt at all that Laird had fought hard against the proposal. He contended that the course would be particularly risky given the political atmosphere at home. Although Laird later came manfully, even belligerently, to the defense of the President's decision in public, he is frustrated and restive in his job. He wants out, though no one expects him to resign until after the end of Nixon's current term.
When he briefed 18 congressional leaders at 8 p.m. Monday, Nixon made no pretense of asking for advice. "Let me come directly to the point and tell you of a decision I have had to make," he said. He talked for just 15 minutes, took no questions and concluded: "If you can give me your support, I would appreciate it. If you cannot, I will understand." Admiral Moorer continued the briefing, and was told by both Senator J. William Fulbright and Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield that they thought the decision was "provocative." Asked Fulbright: "Isn't this a dangerous escalation of the war?" Replied Laird: "You forget that the North Vietnamese invaded last month." As tempers warmed, Rogers interceded. "Let's not go into old arguments," he said. "We understand each other's positions." Given no chance to oppose the decision in advance, the congressional leaders dourly watched the President's speech on White House TV sets.