On October 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 8:11 pm to 8:24 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-005 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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.
Well, what's the verdict tonight?
I think we, actually, it was a damn good little speech.
Didn't the letters add a lot, though?
You know, both Julie and Trish called us.
Well, it's fascinating.
In the comment that we got, the number of people who've
mention letters, which you'd expect.
Would you mention that for Price and Sapphire?
Oh, sure.
Because they both did an old rejection.
I know, I know.
Bill Brock, for instance, says, I thought the challenge for the American people was magnificent.
I particularly liked the personalized reading of the letters.
He brought it down to human terms.
Delighted by the way he's handled the political problem with profits.
In other words, it was great.
I think it'll sell.
But I was looking for one.
There's one here from one of the
newspaper guys, that's kind of interesting on the letters.
I knew the letters were good, but you know, both Ray and Bill just regurgitated, so I finally left it out of the text.
I didn't put out the letters.
I ad-libbed that.
That's too bad.
Oh, no, no.
It's better that way.
It's better to ad-lib it.
They just don't believe in them, and I just thought the letters were a goldmine.
I keep telling you, who is working on this now?
Is this
Andrews?
Julie Eisenhower.
No, this...
But I mean to pick me out some now.
Right.
Believe me, three or four letters.
Not just one.
Three or four.
Or it's just like the same thing.
A woman came in and brought me a flag and said every state should bring 78,000-something for America.
That's big stuff.
That's what they want.
Yep.
Well, that's... Yeah.
Brady Black at the Cincinnati Inquirer says...
I thought he was very effective.
He touched all of the sensitive bases in dealing with price and business interests.
Profits will likely be a little sensitive with labor.
The whole speech made sense to me.
I suppose the labor leaders will continue to attack, but I believe the president did such an impressive job that rank-and-file union leaders will continue their support.
The president's reading of the letters, I thought, was very effective.
And that's Brady Byron.
Lou Guzzo at the Seattle P.I.,
It says, I'm personally pleased that we received about as strong approval as the August 15th message.
I was disappointed, however, that the president did not say specifically that he planned to continue foreign restraints, that in our area of the country this is very important.
I think it was wise of him to give the public credit for holding the line.
Reading the letters might have been corny, but I thought it was as effective as hell.
Will you read that to Sapphire and Price personally?
Sure.
And say, God damn it, they've got to understand it.
tonight that's intellectual folks like letters you want to know what people and also there's another thing it shows your listening yeah I mentioned I'd met you either I've met with the God calm but the average guy that I write my president what the hell does he care I care a great deal you know I had lived quite a bit of stuff that's good the Phoenix Republican didn't like it Dowell the editor there's said it was
Tremendous imposition of controls, stark departure from Republican policy.
They were opposed to the freeze in the beginning, and their opposition's doubled now.
Yeah.
That's all right.
There's going to be some of that.
But the...
Bound to be, because I don't like it either.
Of course not.
The labor thing has been good.
The news, you know, the commentary ran till 8 o'clock after you finished.
And all the networks reported that the AFL-CIO is going to support those.
They were going to make an announcement tonight, apparently, or they would say so.
So, which is good.
I mean, it gave a good... We've got them on the spot.
Rabbi Jess Calhoun, the president of the Marine Engineers in New York, said you'll have the support of his union and should have the support of the labor movement.
The president of the National Real Estate Brokers says it's a good move, but he's concerned about the continued increases of local property taxes.
Of course, I said another thing, even back to the Phoenix guy.
I said, we'll keep them as long as it's not permanent.
As soon as we finish them, we're going to get rid of them.
That's right.
I'm not that strong of a person.
Senator Bennett says the President did a masterful job in adding the human touch and making the mechanics disappear behind the values for the individual citizens.
I'm glad again that he called on Americans to support the program, and I believe they'll give the same response in the vote of confidence.
You see, here's where Price and Sapphire do not understand.
That's right.
I really believe that.
Don't you agree?
You've talked to them, haven't you?
No, I do.
You're right.
And they say, well, this is corny, right?
Isn't that their word?
Yep.
Bill says, well, it's a little corny.
All right, I'm going to use it.
And Ray just gulps and says, okay, I'll get them.
You've got to get somebody in that shop, Bob, who likes letters.
And it will come up with the corny ones.
Why don't you put Leonard in the goddamn job?
Could you do that?
Yep.
Let him read them.
Sure.
And even bring me up things that have mocks in them.
God damn it, that's my style.
I like corny stuff down there.
It's folks.
Folks.
You see?
Yep.
Meskel of Connecticut says the telecaster is great.
Message just excellent.
He thinks it will be difficult to operate the two commissions with such a small staff.
Yeah.
He thinks the president is handling the difficult issue of inflation and improvement of economy beautifully.
He wanted you to know that the Hartford Times published today a poll that shows that since April there's been a 10% increase in the number of Connecticut citizens who approve the president's having his job.
The approval figure is now 65, disapproval 25.
In Hartford?
In Connecticut.
Dick Laney at the Deseret News is puzzled by the speech, completely at a loss, because he questions who it applies to.
Do they get a pay raise?
The public needs more answers.
There'll be some of that, but I don't think you need to worry about that.
Sure, we know that.
Anybody that thinks no, I'm puzzled, too.
Well, and it doesn't matter, because in the first place, Connolly's going to answer that tomorrow.
That's right.
Did you notice the way I worked?
I thought it was good to work.
Rumsfeld, we got him in enough, didn't we?
Oh, you sure did.
And Connolly's going to be on television.
I gave the Congress a lot of credit.
I met with them twice.
And that was good.
And building Long up was great.
Boy, you put a lot in the bank with that one.
That's right.
He loves it.
He'll love it.
All our folks here were very impressed with the suit.
The light suit?
Yep.
We've got a couple more left.
Looked as good as you'd ever looked on TV.
I thought so, too.
It does look good.
It's a, I don't know why, but it's a good feel.
You see, we go clear back to Ted Rogers here, and also even, also the present fellow.
Brothers always said, wear dark suits.
But maybe the light suits, but good may be right.
Maybe the light suits are better.
I got a lot of them.
It's good to change around a little, too, I think, so you don't...
aren't always the same.
Carruthers, incidentally, had a couple, he thought it was an excellent presentation.
He did say that he doesn't think he should ever refer to network newscasts in a presidential speech because you lend authority to them.
Well, that's true.
Where you are the only real authority.
Yeah, but I know, but I did that for a, I wanted to do it because of the effort thing.
Sure.
And if the sons of bitches didn't carry it, they've got to, you know.
Yep, yep.
He doesn't understand it.
I know, and then get to the point.
He's right generally, but he doesn't know why he did it.
He made the point of the excellent references to the individual viewer and established strong personal relationship.
That's, of course, what Bill's always pushing hard for.
Well, he's right, and also that's what the letters do.
That's what he's talking about.
And Bob, they want to hear that.
They want to hear the same matter.
I liked your thing, too, that you haven't done before, at least in that way, which is you get to the end and you say, let me sum up what we will do and what we won't do.
That was sapphire.
And then say, we will do this, but we won't do that.
And that's sapphire.
People understand that.
Very good.
They need a little explanation.
What Patricia and Julie both liked was the conclusion where they said he gave hope, put him on the high plane, that this is a great time to be alive.
That was his young people.
They liked that.
They said that you're so much of a medium.
Courtland Oregonian says, good statement, forthright, courageous, to the point, program has good sensible structure, needs public support, should increase public confidence because it gets more factions involved.
Omaha World Herald, thought it went very well, touched all the issues, especially the profits issue, and he's certain Conley will be more explicit.
He felt policy was fair and came to grips with the problems, proposals weren't too surprising, paper is happy with the way the wage price is going,
Okay.
Chicago Tribune, Kirk Patrick, felt the address was very persuasive and that the president's program has a good chance of succeeding.
He's going to have to pioneer some new paths.
Systems for price and wage controls have never worked before.
The old-style wage and price control system of managed economy would not be acceptable.
I find this to be a rather new approach.
The public reaction will be quite good, and I sincerely hope it will work.
Mark Hayden says, this is a prelude, not a program.
The pieces have to be filled in.
He's totally right in saying the public supports the original piece.
They will start out supporting this program, but they will need more details.
It was a good performance.
Bob Ingersoll of Lord Warner says, phase two, very promising.
I'm opposed to controls, but the education of the people will be salutary.
I'm for this economic education.
The way the president stated the limitation on controls, profits, and interest has taken the sting out of the province.
That's some congressional reaction on the wire.
Chuck Percy says the most striking and most important element of the president's phase two program is its emphasis on equity.
Restraint will be expected to equal labor in the streets.
Proxmire said if there ever was a program that will require a period of trial before it can be judged, it's the president's phase two anti-inflation program.
We all hope it will work.
It may be soft on price restraints and therefore on profit exploitation.
It may well be too soft on wage restraints.
effects would depend on whomever the president appoints, but it may work in spite of this because there's more than five million unemployed.
He says there's a very disturbing element in this presidential wage price package.
The president is tossing virtually absolute final power over wages and prices to a pay board and a price commission that won't even be confirmed by the Senate.
The President will ask the Congress for a full year extension, which he in turn hands over to others.
If Congress gives this power, and it very well might, it would be a flagrant congressional cop-out.
He wants to.
Right.
Patman says the President has taken some bold steps, but he is deeply concerned that he's confused the possibilities for effective control of interest rates.
I'm hopeful and greatly surprised by the President's request for a new stand-by law on interest rates when he already has ample authority in this area.
Well, they've got to pick something.
They are.
You know, they're not thinking long headlong.
Hugh Scott says the President has given all Americans hope that for the first time in 15 years, our country will achieve prosperity and peacetime.
Now.
Sure.
Bold economic moves must be given a chance.
In Congress, when the usual smoke clears, I am confident this program that stands for peace and prosperity will be thoroughly supported.
Hale Boggs promised that Congress will give expeditious consideration to Nixon's legislation and close down by control.
The president has spelled out a comprehensive economic program.
Like I said, all of us hope it will be successful.
As soon as his legislative recommendations are received by Congress, they will be given expeditious consideration.
Okay.
Well, that's enough.
All right.
All right.
Thank you.
Good.