Conversation No. 855-11

Date: February 14, 1973
Time: 10:51 am - 11:16 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

       President's meeting with Richard M. Helms

       Press relations
               -Ziegler's press briefing
                       -Joint communique with Hanoi
               -Nicholas P. Thimmesch's column
                       -California
                       -Compared with Joseph W. Alsop's column
               -Criticism of President
                       -Editors
                       -Foreign policy
                               -Public support for President
                               -Bombings
                               -Desire for isolation
                                                -13-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                        Tape Subject Log
                                         (rev. August-10)
                                                                Conversation No. 855-11 (cont’d)


                      -Frustration of critics
                              -Reasons

Rose Mary Woods entered at an unknown time after 10:51 am.

       President's speech
              -Press

Woods left at an unknown time before 11:16 am.

       Press relations
               -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
               -Vietnam War
                       -Moral issue
               -Criticism of President
                       -Looking for issue

       President's dinner at Trader Vic's
              -Julie Nixon Eisenhower
              -Washington, DC
              -Outside visits
              -F Street Club
              -Columbia Country Club

       Tax proposals
              -Questions for President
                     -George P. Shultz
                             -Domestic Council
                             -Russell B. Long
                     -Criticism by press

       Press relations
               -Hostility to President
               -Issues to use against President
                       -National healing
                               -Saturday Review of Literature
                                        -14-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                               Tape Subject Log
                                (rev. August-10)
                                                   Conversation No. 855-11 (cont’d)


Public relations
        -Amnesty
               -Antiwar people
                      -Environment
                      -Blacks
               -Right wing
                      -Anger
               -Divisiveness of issue

John Ford
       -Telephone call with President
       -Medal of Freedom
                -California
       -Illness
       -Amnesty
                -Opposition

Amnesty
      -Opposition
             -Majority
             -Right wing
             -Veterans, Prisoners of war [POWs]
      -Divisiveness
      -Abraham Lincoln
             -Draft dodgers
                     -Civil War
                     -Opposition by Northerners
                     -Execution
      -National unity
      -Supporters
             -Minority
      -Leniency
             -Law enforcement
                     -Individual cases
                             -Health examples
      -Public opposition
      -Supporters
                                       -15-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                 Tape Subject Log
                                  (rev. August-10)
                                                       Conversation No. 855-11 (cont’d)


              -Morality of war
              -Real issue

Robert H. (“Bob”) Taylor
       -News reports
       -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
               -Providence, Rhode Island
               -Conflicts
       -William L. Duncan
               -New York Times story
               -Reasons for transfer
       -News stories
       -Duncan's career
               -Desire for transfer
       -James J. Rowley
               -Secret Service leadership
       -Taylor's career
               -Emotional stability
               -Court Administrator school
               -John D. Ehrlichman
                       -Private business
       -Duncan
               -Dedication
       -News sources
               -Attacks on Haldeman
               -Secret Service
       -Helen A. Thomas
               -Telephone calls
                       -Mrs. Robert Taylor
                       -John W. (“Jack”) Warner, Jr.
               -News story
       -Ziegler’s press briefing
       -Duncan
       -Providence, Rhode Island incident
       -Advance men
       -Secret Service stories
               -Changes in posts and agents
                                       -16-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                Tape Subject Log
                                 (rev. August-10)
                                                      Conversation No. 855-11 (cont’d)


                      -John F. Kennedy
                      -Dwight D. Eisenhower
                      -Lyndon B. Johnson

San Clemente stories
       -United Press International [UPI]
              -News stories
              -Costs
                      -Plane
       -Handling in briefing
              -Air Force appropriation
              -Air Force responsibility for transportation
                      -Franklin D. Roosevelt
                              -Army
              -Air Force decision
              -Congressional appropriation
              -Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower's plane trips
                      -Costs
                      -Secret Service
                      -Responsibility for costs

Air Force One
       -Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
              -Swearing-in travel
              -Costs
              -Helen Thomas

UPI
       -Grant Dilmann
       -Politicization
               -Marion (Merriman) Smith
                       -Hostility to administration
                       -Frank Cormier
                               -“Dove”
                               -Walter P. Reuther
                               -Objectivity
               -Frank Lowen
                                    -17-

           NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                             Tape Subject Log
                              (rev. August-10)
                                                        Conversation No. 855-11 (cont’d)


                     -Jew
                     -Fairness
             -George W. Cornell (?)
             -Thomas
                     -Attacks on administration
             -Norm Kisner
                     -Sacramento
                              -Work with Ziegler
                     -Liberal bias
                     -Appearance
                     -Intelligence
             -Gene Richler
                     -Richler's father
                     -Background
      -Competition from Associated Press [AP]
      -Income source
             -Amount of copy used
                     -Sensationalism
                              -Compared to Time, Look
      -Lecturing about bias
      -Thomas
             -Hostility to administration
             -Administration’s handling
      -UPI reporters
             -Norman Kempster

POW stories
      -Support for President
             -San Diego
             -Robert D. Woods [?]
      -Radio story from North Vietnam
      -Raising flag for POWs return
             -Symbolic gesture
             -Publicity
                     -Washington Post
                     -Networks
                     -Radio
                                             -18-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                     Tape Subject Log
                                      (rev. August-10)
                                                             Conversation No. 855-11 (cont’d)


                                     -WTOP
                       -Johnson family [?]

       Press relations
               -US-Cuba hijacking agreement
                       -President’s remarks
                              -William P. Rogers
                                       -Photograph session
                                       -Talking with President
                                              -Telephone calls
                              -Compared to State Department press statement
                              -Florida
               -Melvin R. Laird
                       -Story on draft
                              -Release
               -White House
                       -Authorize stories from departments
                       -Kenneth W. Clawson
               -Public Information Officer [PIO] meetings

       Photograph session
             -Helms
             -Location

Ziegler left at 11:16 am.