Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 9 › Conversation 009-030

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Economic Policy and Phase II

Wednesday, September 15, 1971 · 5:15 PM–5:22 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation009-030 on Tape 9 (tape position 01:05:19–01:12:11)StartWednesday, September 15, 1971 at 5:15 PMEndWednesday, September 15, 1971 at 5:22 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 009-030 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman spoke to coordinate upcoming scheduling and finalize social plans for key administration officials. They briefly touched on the status of the stock market and shared mutual criticism regarding the utility of Governors' Conferences. Additionally, they decided to host a dinner at Camp David for the Quadriad and other key economic principals in early October to celebrate the completion of Phase II economic policy preparations.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yep.
Mr. Haldeman, sir.
Yep.
Hello?
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Just checking if you had any last-minute information or anything.
No, nothing hot or pressing.
I guess Buchanan's going to bring over some more stuff.
Market creeped back up a little bit today, three points.
$11 million.
it is you know the market's really not too significant right now it's it's kind of just wobbling along it's going to stay this way for another couple months yeah opinion yeah and incidentally that's pretty all's worth yeah i feel that's 905 and it seems to be hanging there and if it hangs around there around the 900 area it comes there and then uh it'll get another it will really give it a lift if you get
Good figures on sales.
You get a congressional action on the tax thing.
On some third quarter profits and stuff, too.
Maybe, if they're any good.
I don't know what they're going to be.
We shall see.
All right.
Other than that, there's nothing.
Oh, you know, I didn't know.
I hadn't seen the news.
You know, these governors' conferences, though, aren't they ridiculous?
Terrible.
My God, we sent a whole gang down there, everybody else.
It's really a way for the governors to get somebody to pay attention to them, isn't that it?
Yeah, and to get a paid vacation in some spa for a week.
But it's just a ridiculous goddamn thing.
They are just useless exercises in futility.
They really are.
Well, I'll see a few of them tomorrow.
Is our meeting at 4.30 tomorrow with them?
Yeah.
Well, that's all right.
No, wait.
It's 4.30 or 5.
Yeah.
Well, that's all right.
What time it is, just set it up.
Right.
I had one thought that might be a rather nice one with regard to that Camp David group.
I was thinking that depending upon, maybe not, it couldn't be this, naturally not this weekend, it can't be next weekend.
this will be an anchorage the following weekend we might invite the principals you know again you remember i told you just leave off yeah so that you don't have any problem with with with sapphire the arrest because i just don't feel it's right to have non-principles in on that right on a thing do you agree yes sir yeah but i think we might have the principles uh
with their wives up for dinner.
How would you think that would be?
At Camp David?
Yeah.
I think that'd be great.
That'd be something that would mean an awful lot to all of them.
And then let them spend the night.
See?
They could fly up to dinner and then just say, we'd like for you to come up and have dinner.
And then we'll talk about Camp David and so forth and so on.
And that'll be before our September 30th.
That'll be the weekend we have our September 30th.
See, what is the date?
Would you look that in there?
Let me see.
The...
It would be the weekend at, well, the Alaska weekend.
Then the next weekend would be the first, be the second and third.
Of October?
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Which would be just before your October 7th Phase 2 announcement.
Mm-hmm.
It would be, in other words, it would be right after the September 30th, after they'd gotten all their work done, in effect.
Mm-hmm.
And while you're making the final decision, it would make a lot of sense really to meet with them then.
Because we've said there to have all the stuff done for phase two by the end of the month.
Yeah.
Then you gather that weekend the second.
Or you could have them up Friday night.
Is that what you had in mind, Friday night?
Yeah, I don't know.
Maybe the wives thing of it has to be work.
It's not a good idea then.
Well, I wouldn't make it work.
I'd just talk about it being work.
Yeah, in other words, do the work in other places.
We don't have to do the work.
Right, I get your point.
The work's supposed to be done by then, but we can say it's been done, this is the final session to wrap it up, and you're back together.
You don't think we have any problem in not having the other?
You see, it just gets too many people.
Yeah.
But I think the only people I would add to the quadriad would be, besides Ehrlichman yourself, Peterson, and Volker and Stein.
See?
That's what it amounts to.
Okay.
Stein, right.
Then just leave everybody else off.
Yep.
I don't think anybody gets their feelings hurt, will they?
I don't think so, no.
Because the... About Weinberger.
Weinberger I'd have, yeah.
And Arthur.
Arthur's a quadriad.
He's a quadriad.
I think that works fine.
Four, five, six, seven, eight.
You really can't do much more than that.
We don't have adequate housing for more than that.
They'll all understand.
But that basically would work out very well.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, I think that'd be very nice.
It'd be a very nice touch.
Sort of the spirit of Camp David thing and so forth.
They can all wear their new Camp David jackets.
I'd have them for Friday night.
Yeah.
They can...
with oftenly dinner dinner Friday night and then stay over as long as they want those who want and you know they don't want to they don't have to that's right good all right good we'll work on that

NARA Description

On September 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:15 pm to 5:22 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 009-030 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 9-30

Date: September 15, 1971
Time: 5:15 pm - 5:22 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 277-25]

     Domestic affairs
         -Patrick J. Buchanan
         -Stock market prices
               -Question of significance
               -Time period
               -Number of points
               -Taxes
                      -Congressional action
               -Third quarter profits
         -News summary

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/03/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[009-030-w001]
[Duration: 1m 17s]

     Governors’ Conference
         -Charles W. Colson’s report to the President
               -Edmund S. Muskie’s speech
                    -Attica Prison Riots
                    -Black Vice President comment
                    -Economy

     Demonstrations
         -Liberals
              -Reactions to Edmund S. Muskie’s Black Vice President comment

*****************************************************************

     The President's schedule
          -Governors Conference
               -Meeting with Governors
          -National Security Council meeting
          -Anchorage, Alaska
          -Camp David
               -William A. Safire
               -Principals and wives
               -Time
                      -Phase II announcement
               -Quadriad
                      -John D. Ehrlichman
                      -Haldeman
                      -Peter G. Peterson
                      -Paul A. Volcker
                      -Herbert Stein
                      -Caspar W. (“Cap”)Weinberger
                      -Arthur F. Burns
               -Housing
               -Time

Also recorded on September 15, 1971

  • 009-028 4:38 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:38 pm and 4:44 pm.
  • 009-029 4:44 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 4:44 pm to 4:48 pm.
  • 277-023 4:44 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:44 pm to 4:48 pm.
  • 277-024 4:48 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Toni Sidley met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:48 pm and 5:15 pm.
  • 277-025 5:15 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:15 pm to 5:22 pm.
  • 277-026 5:22 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 7:23 pm.
  • 277-027 5:22 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 7:23 pm.
  • 277-028 5:22 PM · 58 sec — unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 7:23 pm.

All 57 conversations from September 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 009-030, September 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/009-030 (accessed October 9, 2026).