Conversation: 659-001
Prev: 658-035 Next: 659-002Start Date: 28-Jan-1972 10:25 AM
End Date: 28-Jan-1972 11:12 AM
Participants:
Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); [Unknown person(s)]; Ziegler, Ronald L.; Bull, Stephen B.;Recording Device: Oval Office
Full Tape Conversation Start Time: 00:01:21
Full Tape Conversation End Time: 00:50:12
NARA Description:
On January 28, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:25 am to 11:12 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 659-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid:
Conversation No. 659-1
Date: January 28, 1972
Time: 10:25 am - 11:12 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
Camp David
-Weather
-Snow
The President’s schedule
-Marina von Neumann Whitman’s appointment to Council of Economic Advisors
[CEA]
-Announcement
-Timing
-Herbert Stein
-Photograph session
-News coverage
-Construction Industry Collective Bargaining Commission
-Drug enforcement program announcement
[Haldeman talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between 10:25 am and 10:47
am.]
[Conversation No. 659-1A]
-Timing
-News coverage
[End of telephone conversation]
Whitman appointment
-Public relations [PR]
-Ronald L. Ziegler’s role
-Patricia R. Hitt
-Barbara H. Franklin
-Republican National Committee
-Congresswomen
-Attendance
-Significance
2
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-The President’s idea
-John von Neumann
-John A. Scali
-Compared to Supreme Court
-Significance
-Women in economics
-Women in administration
-Price Board position
-Stein
-Virginia H. Knauer
-Arnold R. Weber
Congressional testimony
-George H. Boldt
-Prepared answers
-William Proxmire’s questions
-Leak
The President’s schedule
-Testimonial dinner for Robert J. Brown
-Location
-Hilton Hotel
-Washington, DC
-Timing
-Sickle cell anemia
-Fund raising
-Opportunity for the President
-Attendance
-Sammy Davis, Jr. and Edward W. Brooke
-Sickle cell anemia
-Research
-Attendance by blacks
-John Roosevelt (“Jackie”) Robinson
-Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.
-Roy Ennis
-Dr. Arthur A. Fletcher
-Richard Hatcher
-Jesse L. Jackson
-Charles Evers
-Berkeley G. Burrell
-Opportunity for the President
3
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Middle class blacks
-The President’s remarks
-Sickle cell anemia
-Description
-The President’s cancer program
-Announcement of attendance
-Haldeman’s handling
-Camp David
-Length of stay
Henry A. Kissinger
Stock market
-Economic indicators
-Rise
-News coverage
Vietnam
-William P. Rogers
-News conference, January 27, 1972
-Kissinger
-News coverage
-Attendance at staff meeting
-Recent press briefing
-Mood
-Views on peace talks
Gloria Steinem
-Criticism
-Statements
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Ronald W. Reagan
-George C. Wallace
4
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 3m 14s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
******************************************************************************
Editorials
-Vietnam peace initiative
-Quality
-New York Post
-St. Louis Post Dispatch
-Tone
-St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Memoranda from the President
-The President’s memorandum to Arthur F. Burns
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Rose Mary Woods
Busing
-Supreme Court
-Ehrlichman
-Make-up
-Cases
-Timing
-1972 election
-Decision
-Ehrlichman
-Relations with Leonard Garment
-Washington Post
-New York Times
-Social programs
-Administration support
-Civil rights
-Food stamps
5
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-Strategy
-Charles W. Colson
Vietnam
-Negotiations
-Administration strategy
-Memorandum
-Attack on critics
-Nature of attack
-Noel C. Koch
-Haldeman’s talk with Colson
-Nature of critics
-Aims
-Aid and comfort to enemy
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Support
-Kissinger’s draft of the President’s January 25, 1972 peace
proposal speech
-President’s draft
-Communist government in South Vietnam
-Use as an issue
-October 11, 1971 communication to North Vietnam
-Muskie
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Muskie
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew’s attack
-News coverage
-Buchanan speech
-Agnew
-Agnew
-News coverage
-Barry M. Goldwater
-[Democrats]
-Surrender
-Praise for support
-Bradford F. Morris
-Michael J. Mansfield
-John C. Stennis
-The President’s memorandum
-Preparation
-Douglas L. Hallett
6
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-Koch
-Buchanan
-Use of material
-Franklyn C. (“Lyn”) Nofziger
Ziegler entered at 10:47 am.
Drug enforcement program announcement
-Preparation
Whitman announcement
United Press International [UPI] story
-Departure date for People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Inaccuracy
-Announcement of actual date
-Tentative plan
-Interim stops
-Hawaii
-Guam
-Final decision
-Timing
-Wording of statement
-Departure date
-Intermediate stops
Attacks on critics about Vietnam cease-fire terms
-Clark M. Clifford
-News coverage
-Details of cease-fire plan
-Ziegler’s handling
-Kissinger’s and the President’s explanations
-Negotiating points
-Muskie
-Criticism
-Articulation
-Opponents’ ambition
-US surrender
-Communist government in South Vietnam
-Source of counterattack
-White House
7
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-New York Times
-Thieu overthrow
-Thieu overthrow
-Question asked of Kissinger
-South Vietnam
-Self-determination
-Communist government
-US surrender
-Ziegler’s schedule
-Houston editors
-American Society of Newspaper Editors [ASNE]
-UPI
-Ziegler’s speech
-Question and Answer [Q&A] session
-Timing
-The President’s memorandum to Colson
-Use against critics
-News coverage
-The President’s efforts
-Negotiations
-Prisoners of War [POWs]
-Negotiations
-Secrecy
-George Meany
-North Vietnamese strategy
-Rejection of critics
-The President’s memorandum
-US internal division
-Need for unity
-World Wars I, II
-Praise for Stennis, Mansfield
-Opponents
-Advocates of surrender
-Aid and comfort to the enemy
The President’s schedule
-Kissinger
-Rainer Barzel
-Ehrlichman meeting
Ziegler left at 10:58 am.
8
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-Ehrlichman’s schedule
Stephen B. Bull entered at 10:58 am.
-Ehrlichman
-Kissinger
-Swearing-in [of Myles J. Ambrose]
-Signing of Executive Order
-Ehrlichman
-Kissinger
-Rogers
Bull left at an unknown time before 11:12 am.
Administration counterattack
-Colson
-Workload
-Richard A. Moore
-Herbert G. Klein
-Work quality
-Need for strategy
-Scali
-Clark MacGregor
-Colson
-Haldeman
-Coverage
-Colson back-up men
-Quality
-Robert J. Dole
-Frontal attack
-Partisan problem
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 2m 58s ]
9
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
******************************************************************************
Administration counterattack
-Colson
-Quality of effort
-Burdens
-Forthcoming talk with Haldeman about Koch
-Goldwater
-Haldeman’s talk with an unknown person
-Cabinet
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Expertise
-Kissinger comparison
-PR
White House staff
-Scali
-Notification of the President’s Vietnam peace proposal speech, January 25,
1972
-Memorandum
-Staff meeting
-Kissinger
-Speech writing
-Secrecy
-Kissinger
-Ziegler
-Negotiations
-PRC trip
-Vietnam negotiations
-Strength of the President’s argument
-Kissinger
-Kissinger
-Contact with the President
-Press coverage
-Kissinger’s efforts
-Compared to the President’s
-Kissinger
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
10
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 659-1 (cont.)
-Need for help
-Speech draft
-William L. Safire
-Q&A
-Briefing
-Talk with the President
-Speechwriting
-The President’s position
-The President’s efforts
-Kissinger
-North Vietnamese reaction to peace proposals
-Rejection
-Timing
-Discussion in staff meeting
-[Le Duc Tho’s] health
-Handling of press
-Use of Scali
-Reaction to questioning
-Ziegler
-Kissinger’s staff
-Need for aggressive rebuttal
-Buchanan
[Unintelligible]
Haldeman left at 11:12 am.