Nation: Nixon's Tranquillity Base

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The President nominated South Carolina Judge Haynsworth to the Supreme Court last week and appointed five new ambassadors. He elected to defer a decision on further troop withdrawals from Viet Nam. There were the usual daily rounds of meetings and briefings from the key White House aides, who stay close at hand. But the mood continued to be relaxed. The surf beats at the shore 75 feet below the Nixon house, and the Pacific days inspire a feeling of languid luxury. It is Tranquillity Base for an easygoing operation.

Golf Bug. Nixon is reveling in the freedom afforded him in San Clemente. It has given him the chance to indulge in a newfound passion—golf. After lunch, work ceases and the President heads for the first tee. Attorney General Mitchell, Secretary of State William Rogers and Son-in-Law David Eisenhower often make up the foursome. Scores are state secrets. Although young David is considered to be the best linksman in the group, Nixon thinks highly of Mitchell's game. In his enthusiasm, Nixon seems to have forgotten that he once declared the game to be a "waste of time." Last week he played five days in a row. As his game improves, so do the chances that Pat Nixon will meet the same fate suffered by many suburban wives: golf widowhood.

There are other diversions. Nixon likes to sun himself on his patio and read. He walks along the ocean with Pat, and he enjoys watching surfers skimming through the waves farther down the beach. The Mitchells have been over to share a quiet dinner. The President has twice driven south to Oceanside with his friend "Bebe" Rebozo to inspect pleasure boats. Two or three times he has taken the family out to dine, a luxury that is out of the question in Washington. The family also occasionally orders in a meal of tacos and hamburgers for an informal feast. That, along with other simple pleasures, will be left behind in San Clemente when Nixon returns to Washington on Sept. 7. It is a little difficult to order hamburgers to be delivered to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.