On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:06 pm to 10:21 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 007-129 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
Hello?
Yeah, okay.
Hello?
Hi, you want a small rundown?
Yeah, fine.
I just finished with Connelly.
Oh, good.
He's really up.
Good.
Connelly, particularly.
He looks at the cold throw.
He felt that he hit the right parachute.
Well, and I think your speech went beyond the level of effectiveness that he was probably counting on, because I think he probably was looking for a more mundane.
Yeah, yeah.
He liked clothes.
Because you rose above the material.
He liked clothes from the beginning.
He liked expecting things.
Yeah.
Good, good job.
Well, what else do you have?
Well, just a little quick stuff on the... Talk to Mitchell, too.
Mitchell was all for it.
He thought it was good.
Yeah.
The media thing, I've got the final wrap-up on their coverage.
There really isn't much news to update.
They made the point that Congress will enthusiastically agree that there were eight significant measures of considerable magnitude that Nixon has disarmed the political opposition.
That kind of thing in their wrap-up.
The UPI
The lead paragraph is wage price freeze and the 6.3 tax cuts, and Japan took actions expected to result in some devaluation of the dollar in international trade.
Harvard has far-reaching and dramatic steps to revitalize the economy.
And then they go into the specifics.
There's so damn much meat that they all get right into that.
Now, let's see.
I've got political stuff.
Gordon Allitt said, uh, done a good job of wading into the problem.
There'll be those who say he didn't go far enough, but he's doing a fine job of saying we shouldn't freeze ourselves into a permanent economic situation.
Cutting foreign aid would be very welcome.
Those are the two things I put in.
As well as the hike in personal tax exemptions.
Tax on imports will cause wailing and anguish to those who have gotten rich, but it's something that had to be done.
This is going to help the economic picture and reestablish the confidence of the American people.
Bob Bird says a bold stroke on a very broad front should help to shore up buying power of those people on fixed income.
We needed the thing on imports.
You look wise.
I support it.
I'm glad he held back on welfare reform.
Bill Whitnall said overall it was very good.
He had to do something.
It was comprehensive.
Recognizes all the problems and ties them together.
Shows concern and means to do business.
The voluntary part would be a problem.
He wants to help in Congress.
Mike Mansfield, a great speech.
Very happy he did it before it was too late.
Harsh but necessary.
Time for patience has passed.
Glad he came out tonight.
I would have preferred it six months earlier.
Wage and price long overdue.
I would have preferred 180 days instead of 90.
Should have mentioned the NATO troops.
Lower federal jobs by normal attrition.
I'm glad he took this action or these actions, rather.
Not bad.
Good.
John Sparkman says he thought the program was great and he's for it.
Proposals and things he had advocated for a long time.
He feels a freeze is the best way to do the job.
Wally Bennett says, wow, was that strong.
It was a very good speech.
The President seized the initiative for domestic economic leadership with the same boldness he displayed in his China speech, challenging all segments of our economy to respond with greatness.
The President again demonstrated he's a brave, broad-gauge leader with faith in the American people.
I'm sure they will respond to his courageous call.
Then, uh, out in the, uh, local political, John Rhodes said, uh... John Rhodes?
Yeah.
Ohio, you know, that'd be Jim Rhodes.
He's John Rhodes.
Takes the economic issue away from the Democrats, will help stop... Let's state.
Let's give the state.
I'll check that.
Governor Love says, I'm very favorably impressed that when we move, we really move.
Certainly both the things are serious enough that this is necessary.
God grant that it'll work.
Meskel says, I'm not an economist.
I don't know what kind of effect it will have economically, but it will be a great assistance psychologically.
Steps ought to calm many fears.
I believe people will applaud what the president has done.
Mayor Kramer of Patterson, New Jersey, thought the overall telecast was very good.
economic ramifications so broad it's difficult to comment, but he felt the President did a very good job dealing with a very technical subject.
He thought the most important effect of the telecast was that it showed his strong leadership.
Where there's a problem and action is called for, he's ready to do something.
A well-rounded, comprehensive presentation is all he needs to do.
Mayor Allen of Columbus, Georgia, said a very courageous job, particularly with regard to action affecting jobs.
The 10% tax on imports is particularly applauded.
Thanks to the voluntary wage freeze, it will be recognized as a good idea.
It's also goddamn complicated.
Well, it's interesting, though, that they pick up these points.
Particularly encouraged to see the President take such strong leadership, hopes the Congress will cooperate.
And he says the hopes will no longer be necessary for the U.S. to deal with the economy with one hand tied behind its back.
They picked up that little picture, sure.
Then on the business front, Perry helps with the president of 3M.
It's pretty dramatic.
He took some bold steps.
More power to him.
I know he had to swallow a lot of things he was hoping to avoid.
It really took courage.
Great respect for his steps.
Jerry Milbank, very good overall.
The only question is what happens after the three months.
That's right.
Dale DeWitt of the Business Council, extremely pleased with the President's statement, a bold, courageous, and far-reaching step.
Particularly pleased with his position on wage price freeze, and fully endorses his position.
You've got to get now, the one thing.
You've had planning for something.
Well, he'll be back tonight.
Right.
I'm late.
Right.
Right.
Okay.
This is interesting because they sure are in these calls.
Willard Robinson, who's in New Orleans, one of our contributors and citizens here, but is also the southern distributor for Volkswagen, says even though the import surcharge will adversely affect his income and business, he thinks the overall package is a great move which has been needed for some time.
Well presented.
Not best for Robinson, but best for my country.
Uh, Cook, Chairman of General Foods, says he watched it with six industrialists.
They found it very good and timely and full of guts.
Should have a good psychological...
He's getting an awful lot of bold, courageous guts type stuff.
Should have a good psychological reaction.
The three-month freeze was darn good.
Ten percent import tax was a surprise, but good meat.
Glad that the speech was full of meat rather than very nice phrases.
He's been a critic of the game plan and he's glad something's being done with the President on this.
Don Burnham of Westinghouse says it was a blockbuster of the talk.
The president has done everything that the business leaders and economists said he should do to get the economy in shape.
He boldly stepped up to the problem.
The wage price reason is a good way to wake everybody up.
Oh, this is good.
It sure is.
It comes through in so many of these.
Bob Dunlop of the president's son, Oil, says the president's actions were well taken.
Extremely.
The whole program must find out the details before I can comment further.
John Rivas, attorney in Cleveland, says he's all for it.
People have been downcast, wondering where we're going.
The president needed initiative on the domestic side, and there should be a lift for people generally, as well as for business.
Admiral Zumwalt calls it the most exciting speech I've seen.
The Navy will support him in every way.
Lou Harris says breathtaking.
We'll have a tremendous impact.
Political distractors.
Thank you.
This is breathtaking.
It will have a tremendous impact on political tenders.
That's...
I'd better call... Yeah, he probably did.
Then Frank Milliken, the president of Kennecott Copper, says, General approval.
Pleased with the insistence to make France and Germany realize the state of things.
Spice the U.S. dollar provisions and job security provisions.
So you've got that job thing banged out good and hard, too.
It's interesting, Bill Carruthers, who wasn't here,
He said, best speech since in office.
Some excellent phrases within the speech we should continue to use, such as full employment in peacetime and production for peace.
Relationship to the viewing audience was excellent in that he kept referring to you.
Excellent reference and relationship to the individual viewer at home.
He said, excellent example with relation to foreign imports.
Examples simplify the present position of people.
I still feel he's trying to say too much in too short a time.
That is, he should slow down his reading place.
The most decisive speech the president has made.
Attitude was excellent.
Dick Moore, of course, thought it was never better.
He sure put in a confident, true leadership.
Ray Price said it was very effective, strong, and to the point.
Lucid.
He wished for the last part he would have used a teleprompter and talked directly to the camera.
On balance, superb.
Also thought... Could have used a teleprompter.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I didn't think it was that bad.
I don't want to tell him a lot.
I think...
You did.
Oh, you looked up an enormous, much more than you've done before.
And I've written most of it.
Yeah, so it was obvious that you were able to look away from the text a lot of the time.
You were.
He was that kind of person.
Klein, he doesn't have the rundown on his calls.
He's talked to a bunch of them.
They'll be coming in.
Go and send them to Stan and send them to people.
All right.
said all were highly commendatory.
A few questions they asked for further clarification.
We'll have wide newspaper and broadcast editorial support.
People we've talked to are excited.
The package was far beyond what any of them expected.
And what comes through is strong.
The speech had people in strength, leadership, boldness, and an inspirational challenge.
I think that's, and overall, that's the most important thing.
It certainly was strong.
I think it was good, and I'm not sure you want to go too much beyond that.
In an economic speech, you could go too far.
Make it appear that you were trying to stop it.
Yeah.
Here's Fred Vann of Mayfair Mills, most daring and imaginative type of leadership you expected, showed faith in the American people, private enterprise system, very comprehensive.
Sam Wiley says, beautiful, powerful medicine, just what's needed.
Here's Henry Salvatore.
Great.
Dramatic.
Will be well received by business.
10% import duty.
Most important.
Talk excellent.
Well, that's good, though.
You get Salvatore, you get the conservative.
Right.
Tiger Teague.
I applaud the president.
We'll support him all the way on his recommendations.
He said there were 15 people in the room when Hexen spoke.
Democrats, Republicans, bankers, and others.
And they all had excellent reactions.
Floyd Barger at the New York Daily News says it was fantastic.
Politically, I think the administration was running out of time.
I hope the wage and price freeze will work, but I believe after 90 days, the president will have to go to a review board.
That's the part that gets sticky.
As to the international thing, I think we are going to have a trade war on our hands, but we had to do something.
This is a very sudden turnaround, and I hope it will help.
It's really fantastic.
There's a...
You know, the thread through all that is obviously to take charge, boldness and all that.
Cliff Harden said, you know, that was quite a package.
The overall effect would be fantastic.
It was a series of very bold strokes.
I don't have the background to evaluate it, but what came through to me is the fact that the president has taken the initiative and answered most of the major critics.
he has shifted the burden to the Congress and, of course, to the American people.
That's a good point.
Romney says, very bold indeed, very comprehensive, thought the total package put forth was excellent, very necessary, and will prove extremely helpful on all three fronts.
So,
That's the general wonder of what we've got tonight, so far.
I don't know what it is.
Maybe we've got to do with small energy.
Maybe we're right.
I don't know.
Small energy.
I think people are going to get that, but I don't think you're going to get that played back on one like this, because when you talk to them, there's so much in the content that that's what they bounce back to you.
Give me a call in another 20 minutes, will you?
Sure.