Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 200 › Conversation 200-024

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on neighborhood schools and busing

Thursday, August 10, 1972 · 1:12 PM–1:16 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation200-024 on Tape 200StartThursday, August 10, 1972 at 1:12 PMEndThursday, August 10, 1972 at 1:16 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 200-024 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the drafting of a speech centered on the importance of neighborhood schools and opposition to forced busing. Nixon advocates for a subtle, personal tone that frames neighborhood schools as vital community hubs while acknowledging differing opinions on the issue. He suggests that advisor Ray Price draft the remarks to express this position without appearing overly aggressive, while ensuring the President's firm stance against busing remains unambiguous.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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make a, not too long a speech, maybe 1,500 words.
It was out about basically, and it can be subtle to be a little bit plain, about the neighborhood school.
Now, I don't know whether this is elementary or high school.
Well, we can point out in a good, quite personal way that I made my friends in school.
I went to other schools.
I went to Whittier High School.
I went to East Whittier Grammar School, a little of that.
I was able to walk to school.
Well, what I mean, I was able to walk to grammar school.
Of course, we had buses for the rest, but we may not get into that.
But my point is that many of us attended the same church.
School was the center of the community, the center of the life.
We believed in the neighborhood school.
And then you take on now
I realize that there's a very, very many people in favor of the, you know, the breaking down of neighborhood schools, you know, through going to Boston and so forth, and just put in 9th Street, be quite frank, that it breaks the neighborhood schools.
And then you, of course, get the idea of quality.
We've got to improve the schools in every neighborhood so that they're the best.
I think we could do it in a rather subtle way with talking about quality education generally and how much the school means to an individual.
We should all be proud of our schools and our neighborhood schools.
Neighbors should work together.
Neighbors and the BTA and that sort of thing.
I think actually that Price could probably do that.
He could do it in a subtle way that you shouldn't be because of his school dedication.
It shouldn't be just a raucous attack on busing.
But as I say, I want to talk about it in a very considerate way.
There's a difference of opinion here.
We don't want to exacerbate it.
But I want to give you some of Express's views.
I know they're very sincere.
There's a very great difference of opinions.
in this election year about, I have a totally different view, and here's the reason I have it.
I'm for education, and I'm for the neighborhood school.
I believe in busing, little of that stuff.
Might as well.
Yeah, that's right, that's right.
Just say it, just say it, and I'll listen as price gets, and I'll put in a line that will leave no doubt that I am just totally against busing.
Okay, fine.
And I got the other one.
I worked on it some.
I sent it back to him.
I just told him I was running 415.
Your meeting's at 5 o'clock.
That's my entire time.
Huh?

NARA Description

On August 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:12 pm to 1:16 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 200-024 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 200-24

Date: August 10, 1972
Time: 1:12-1:16 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

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

[See Conversation No. 139-6]

Also recorded on August 10, 1972

  • 139-005 12:00 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:00 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 200-020 12:00 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:00 pm and 1:10 pm.
  • 200-021 12:00 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:00 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 200-022 12:00 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:00 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 200-023 12:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:00 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 139-006 1:12 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 1:12 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 139-007 4:10 PM · 23 sec — Unknown person(s) and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 4:10 pm on August 10, 1972 and 2:03 pm on August 11, 1972.
  • 766-001 4:44 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:44 pm and 4:46 pm.

All 14 conversations from August 10, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 200-024, August 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/200-024 (accessed October 12, 2026).