(3 of 4)
Brezhnev also made his pitch to Treasury Secretary George P. Shultz and 52 U.S. bankers and businessmen -potential sources for Russia of credit and advanced technology. In a two-hour monologue, he explained Soviet desires to expand commercial and economic relations with the U.S. (see box). He offered for now no specific deals; it was scene-setting soft-sell for Soviet emissaries who will come after him.
Much of the week was ritual, relaxation and quiet conferences between Brezhnev, Nixon and their men. The sessions ranged from the White House to Camp David to San Clemente.
On arrival at Camp David, Brezhnev spotted a bicycle parked at the door of his cottage, slung a leg over it and told Assistant Protocol Chief William Codus with a grin: "Now you can report that I arrived by bicycle." He found the retreat meticulously prepared for his visit. There was a blue windbreaker with a presidential seal, and next to his bed in the rustic cottage named Dogwood was a Russian-language guidebook to the presidential hideaway. During his stay, the Soviet leader preferred hiking along the wooded paths to using the extensive recreational facilities. In the luxurious Blair House, diagonally across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, his bedroom was supplied with bowls of cherries, a silver carafe of tea and an assortment of U.S. cigarettes. The larder was amply stocked with Russian vodka and wild honey to sweeten the yogurt he likes as a midnight snack. The bathroom, with its gold faucets, contained an elegant array of men's toiletries—shaving cream, aftershave lotion and hair spray. In California, the Nixons introduced Brezhnev to some 200 guests—many of them Hollywood celebrities—at a poolside, fiesta-style party at San Clemente.
Gold Teeth. Characteristically, Brezhnev repeatedly disrupted Nixon's careful schedules. He passed up lunch with his staff to keep the first day's talks going for four hours—twice the allotted time. It was an obvious attempt to throw Nixon off balance and a ploy used by Brezhnev when he met with West German Chancellor Willy Brandt in May. That night, the lobster supreme and fillet of beef had to be kept on the warmer at the White House for an hour while Brezhnev socialized with the 120 guests, his gold teeth flashing and his heavy boxer's face creased into genial folds. He fingered the two gold stars dangling from his left breast pocket, proudly identifying them as the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Hero of Socialist Labor awards. "Pure gold," he said. "There is a certificate, too, that proves I am a hero." After dinner, he looked as if he wanted to tarry with the guests again, prompting Secretary of State William Rogers to remark: "I don't think he wants to go." But Nixon firmly grasped the Soviet party leader's arm and steered him out the door.
In the State Department's ornate Benjamin Franklin Room, Brezhnev turned what was supposed to be a formal occasion for signing agreements Tuesday morning into a jovial get-acquainted party. For 17 minutes, he circulated like a favorite uncle at a wedding reception, with a word, a grin or a handshake for everyone within reach—Senators, Congressmen and Administration officials.