Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 012-003
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1971 at 3:06 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Rumsfeld, Donald H.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-003

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello.
[0:01] Yes, sir.
[0:02] Yeah.
[0:03] Hi, Don.
[0:03] Yes, sir.
[0:04] Oh, I wondered what your final figure came from your friend up in Princeton.
[0:09] Oh, I've not gotten it.
[0:10] Oh, I see.
[0:11] I was not aware that you were under the impression that I had.
[0:15] Oh, no, no, no, no.
[0:16] I thought you said that he was going to have it, but that's all right.
[0:21] It's not important.
[0:22] Well, I'll check with him and see what he's got.
[0:24] Let's see.
[0:25] Today's
[0:25] Wednesday.
[0:27] I think he has to send it out to the papers Wednesday night or Thursday morning, so he must have it.
[0:31] We don't want it in advance, unless he wants to give it to us.
[0:33] Sure.
[0:34] Well, I'll take a crack at it and get back to you.
[0:36] If you have it.
[0:37] I'm just curious.
[0:38] Sure, I am too.
[0:38] If he's going to come out Sunday, if he's going to come out Sunday, he'll probably just as soon let you have it.
[0:44] I would think so.
[0:45] Since they're going to have it, because hell, he knows damn well you're not going to tell anybody.
[0:49] No.
[0:49] Right, right.
[0:50] Good.
[0:51] Well, I'm... How are you getting on your names?
[0:54] Everything on the committee is still... Well, it's coming.
[0:58] The price is completely done.
[1:00] There's still one... You need a public member?
[1:04] A private member.
[1:06] One name that occurred to me, who's a very good man in social, I mean, public-minded, is Hoyt Amidon.
[1:14] Has that name ever come across your desk?
[1:16] No, sir.
[1:16] I've not seen his name on there yet.
[1:17] He's the president of New York Trust.
[1:18] He's a great friend of Connolly's.
[1:21] Connolly was on his board.
[1:22] And he's about 60 years of age and, you know, very public-spirited, great fellow, and sort of one of the big men in the financial communities.
[1:34] i'll pass that along to amadon peter knows him well they're all their social buddies very good i don't know why i hadn't thought of his name previously because we've he was so good that as a matter of fact we offered him ambassador to paris once so but he's he's a name that occurs to me we're hoping and shooting for an announcement tomorrow on both of them and then a visit a brief visit with you oh i should have a visit sometime friday it would be fine fine the other thing is that uh
[2:02] Yeah, anytime you say, because I'll be here all day Friday.
[2:05] I'm not going away.
[2:06] Great.
[2:07] This weekend.
[2:08] So we could do it, and that'd be good, get it Friday afternoon so it hits next week's magazine.
[2:14] Right.
[2:15] And the Sunday papers.
[2:16] Right.
[2:16] Friday afternoon.
[2:17] I do something.
[2:19] Oh, yeah, I do the Republican Women Friday morning.
[2:21] But I do not want that to be the big news anyway.
[2:25] I would much prefer to have this blanket that.
[2:27] We could do it at 11 o'clock, 11.30.
[2:29] That's when we were hoping, and the only thing is pinning down this one last fellow.
[2:32] Fine.
[2:35] Who'd you make chairman of the price board, finally?
[2:37] Did you decide?
[2:39] Grayson is his name.
[2:40] I don't know him personally.
[2:42] But you've got a pretty good board.
[2:43] The pay one is the open.
[2:45] Oh, it's the open.
[2:46] The chairman.
[2:47] And George has got to call into a fellow right now and
[2:51] You're trying to go for what?
[2:53] What kind of a fellow there?
[2:55] Well, he's got to be a public type, and we're hopeful he's a...
[2:58] He's got to be a professor, in other words.
[3:00] Well, or a mediation type who could get people to work together.
[3:06] Yeah, yeah.
[3:07] Well, we always come up with that same fellow from Harvard all the time, but I guess we can't use him on this one.
[3:14] It's going to be a tough job.
[3:16] Oh, this is the most important assignment of all.
[3:19] Not Scranton, huh?
[3:21] No, sir.
[3:22] He's on the price one.
[3:24] Yes, indeed.
[3:25] Let me think about on this.
[3:27] Let's think.
[3:29] You really need a strong man here, a strong, strong, vigorous man.
[3:33] The fellow who George is calling is a dean up at Michigan.
[3:37] and well that's a kind of well he ought to be able if he can run a goddamn campus he could do this maybe so maybe i don't know okay well but i think it's coming along george's judgment would be very good on this sort of thing because really when you come down to it uh
[3:59] The ideal man to head this is George.
[4:01] I mean, he would be excellent.
[4:04] He's the kind of man we're looking for.
[4:06] So just tell George to get somebody like himself.
[4:09] Yes, indeed.
[4:09] That'll make you feel good, too.
[4:11] Okay.
[4:12] But don't you agree?
[4:13] George is strong.
[4:15] He really would.
[4:16] He's liked by both sides and respected.
[4:18] Sure.
[4:18] I mean, I don't know.
[4:20] It's...
[4:20] The names are sure a problem, though, they're sure.
[4:23] It is, and it's also going to take some guy with some backbone and guts.
[4:26] He can't be... Oh, yeah, because you see, the pay one is the one that scares all the businessmen together.
[4:30] Of course, the businessmen are wrong.
[4:31] They're too spineless, but you've got to have somebody that can not let George Meany and these fellows muck them down every time.
[4:41] Yes, sir.
[4:42] Well, good luck.
[4:43] If you need any help, let me know.
[4:45] Great.
[4:45] And I'll get back to you on this.
[4:47] I'm just working over in the OB today on some private things.
[4:49] Good.
[4:49] Well, I'll get back to you on the other thing.