Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-094

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Busing speech and Public opinion

Thursday, March 16, 1972 · 10:57 PM–11:07 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation021-094 on Tape 21 (tape position 03:38:37–03:48:53)StartThursday, March 16, 1972 at 10:57 PMEndThursday, March 16, 1972 at 11:07 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 021-094 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman reviewed the feedback and public reactions to the President’s recent address on school busing. They assessed the opinions of various political figures, media editors, and civic organizations while coordinating outreach efforts through staff members like John Ehrlichman and Charles Colson. Additionally, the pair discussed the ongoing ITT controversy, specifically focusing on the status of Dita Beard’s files.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:38:37 into the tape and ends around 03:48:53.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On March 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:57 pm to 11:07 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-094 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 21-94

Date: March 16, 1972
Time: 10:57 pm - 11:07 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.

     Busing speech
          -Opinions
               -Arch A. Moore
               -D. Tenant Bryan
               -Frank W. Burke
               -John Loeb

      -Felix McKnight
      -Joe D. Waggonner, Jr.
            -Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]
            -John D. Ehrlichman
            -Leonard Garment
            -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
      -William S. Broomfield
      -Richard R. Wainwright
      -Harold E. Hyde
      -Mario Machuochi [sp?]
      -President of the National Association of Post Office Employees
      -Editorial page editor of the Birmingham News
      -Donald Goodenow
      -Ken Morrell
            -Attorney General
            -Ehrlichman
      -Clark T. Reed
            -The President’s view
                  -Edmund S. Muskie
                  -George C. Wallace
      -Cruise Palmer
      -Everett D. Collier
      -Brady F. Black
      -County Executive of Onondaga County, New York
      -Cabinet members
            -Earl L. Butz
            -Rogers C.B. Morton
            -George P. Shultz
            -James Hodgson
                  -Minorities
      -Robert H. Finch
      -Mayor Allen, Columbus, Georgia
      -Martin S. Hayden
-Ehrlichman
      -Talk with John B. Connally
            -Connally’s schedule
-Opinions
      -Edith Green
-Wires and letters
      -Congress
      -Herbert G. Klein
      -Charles W. Colson

                      -George T. Bell
                -Ehrlichman
                -Colson
                -Bell
                -International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]

     ITT case
          -Dita Beard’s file

     Busing speech
          -Wires and letters
          -Colson
          -Civic groups
               -American Legion
               -Jaycees
               -Unknown person
          -Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP]
          -Finch

Also recorded on March 17, 1972

  • 021-092 10:31 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:31 pm to 10:38 pm.
  • 021-093 10:40 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II talked on the telephone from 10:40 pm to 10:49 pm.
  • 021-095 11:07 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:07 pm and 11:12 pm.
  • 021-096 11:12 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.
  • 021-097 11:12 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.
  • 021-098 11:13 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 11:13 pm to 11:18 pm.
  • 021-099 11:18 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:18 pm and 11:19 pm.
  • 021-100 11:19 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 11:19 pm to 11:26 pm.

All 55 conversations from March 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 021-094, March 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-094 (accessed October 3, 2026).