Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 278 › Conversation 278-070

Nixon & Haldeman on Draft extension bill and Legislative strategy

Thursday, September 16, 1971 · 3:00 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation278-070 on Tape 278 (tape position 03:48:33–03:51:12)StartThursday, September 16, 1971 at 3:00 PMEndThursday, September 16, 1971 at 3:00 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 278-070 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman met to coordinate legislative strategy regarding the draft extension bill, specifically focusing on managing key congressional figures like Gordon L. Allott and Clark MacGregor. The discussion addressed the need for securing stronger leadership support for the President's agenda within Congress. They further considered the role of Attorney General John N. Mitchell in facilitating meetings with Republican legislators to align their efforts with White House objectives.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I don't know

And the beast goes, goes this way.

I read the overview, and I see somebody there.

They're on ice, and they're in that leadership position.

And he's got his own mask, and he's going, you know, he's on and off, on and off.

And this guy knows that he should do this, so, you know, and that.

And he's got his own mask.

Colorado is at a point, you know, where you can get without anything.

Yeah.

Yeah, but this situation now is the story of this, where Gregor had to call me after I go to the toilet, but I woke up, I had to call him and tell him to put us in that position.

Somebody agreed with us and said, no, I don't know, the infection's got to not fall through, or it could be some special, you know, I'm not looking for the president.

You should start supporting the president.

That's what somebody did.

Yeah.

Okay.

NARA Description

On September 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 278-070 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 278-70

Date: September 16, 1971
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

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

     Congress
         -Draft extension bill
              -Gordon L. Allott
                    -President’s reaction
              -Clark MacGregor
              -F. Edward Hébert [?]
         -John N. Mitchell
              -Possible meeting with Republicans in Congress
              -The President's contacts
              -Allott

Also recorded on September 16, 1971

009-043 2:10 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 6:21 pm.
009-044 2:10 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 6:21 pm.
278-068 2:10 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 2:47 pm.
278-069 2:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
278-071 3:00 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:41 pm.
278-072 3:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:41 pm to 3:43 pm.
278-073 3:43 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:43 pm and 4:00 pm.
573-001 4:00 PM · 56 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, William L. Safire, Clark MacGregor, Herbert G. Klein, Stephen B. Bull, Patrick J. Buchanan, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:00 pm to 4:58 pm.

All 52 conversations from September 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 278-070, September 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/278-070 (accessed October 12, 2026).