President Nixon consulted with speechwriter William Safire to outline the thematic framework and key messaging for an upcoming national address regarding school busing. The discussion focused on drafting a clear public explanation of a proposed legislative moratorium on busing, while positioning the administration's stance against the backdrop of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling and the broader goal of improving educational equality. Nixon provided specific instructions regarding the speech's rhetorical tone and directed Safire to coordinate the drafting process with Raymond Price, Leonard Garment, Elliot Richardson, and John Ehrlichman to ensure a timely completion.
On March 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 2:55 pm to 3:15 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-066 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 21-66 Date: March 14, 1972 Time: 2:55 pm - 3:15 pm Location: White House Telephone The President talked with William L. Safire. [See Conversation No. 685-12] Busing speech, March 16, 1972 -Length -Content -Message to Congress [March 17, 1972] -Majority -Prejudice -Desegregation -Appeal to television audience -Effect on children -Example -Brown versus Board of Education -Elliot Richardson -Leonard Garment -White and black neighborhoods -Parents concern -Message to Congress -Moratorium -Segregation and desegregation -George C. Wallace -Constitutional amendment -Moratorium -Liberals -Court decisions -Focus of speech -Television -Florida primary -Timing -Segregation -Dual school system -Inferior education -Brown versus Board of Education -Desegregation -Improvement of education -Need for action -Constitutional amendment -Length of process -Legislation -Moratorium -Equal Opportunity Education Act -Implementation by federal agencies -Lawyers -Justice Department -Health, Education and Welfare [HEW] -Rhetoric -Negro rights -Administration record -Title One -California -Connecticut -Need for support -Wallace -Howard H. Baker, Jr. -William E. Brock, III -Robert P. Griffin -Message to Congress -Constitutional rights of US citizens -Issue described -Average citizen -Moratorium -Explanation of term -Instructions to Safire -Deadline for draft -Raymond K. Price, Jr. -Garment -Richardson -John D. Ehrlichman -Deadline -Timing
No transcript is available for this conversation. The audio may not contain audible speech, or the recording may not yet have been processed.