Conversation 288-011

On October 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Patrick J. Buchanan, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, George Meany, Stephen B. Bull, and George P. Shultz met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:20 am and 10:04 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 288-011 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 288-11

Date: October 12, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:20 am and 10:04 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Patrick J. Buchanan.

     Buchanan's memorandum on Economy
         -Phase II
         -Possible agreement
               -George Meany, George P. Shultz, James D. Hodgson
                    -Pay Board

     US foreign relations
          -Forthcoming announcement of US-Soviet Union Summit

The President rehearsed an announcement at an unknown time between 9:20 am and 9:40 am.

[A transcript of the final broadcast of this announcement appears in Public Papers of the
Presidents, Richard M. Nixon, 1971, p. 1030]

     Use of forthcoming announcement
          -Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty [SALT]
                -Silos
                      -The President’s position
                -Negotiations
                      -Anti-ballistic Missiles [ABM]
                      -Land based missiles

               -Multiple Independently-Targeted Reentry Vehicle [MIRVs]
               -US position
               -Summit
          -Chinese
     -US-Soviet relations
          -Effect of negotiations
          -Middle East
          -Europe
          -Japan
          -Announcement

Robert C. Byrd and the Supreme Court
    -The President's instructions to Ronald L. Ziegler
           -Possible appointment to Supreme Court
    -George S. McGovern
    -The President's choice for the Supreme Court
    -Supreme Court
           -Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
           -Hubert H. Humphrey
           -Mildred L. Lillie
                -Ronald W. Reagan
                -Appeals Court of California
                -Experience
                -Earl Warren
                -William J. Brennan, Jr.
                -Abe Fortas
                -William O. Douglas
           -Possibility of Jewish appointee
                -Civil rights
    -Conservatives and democrats
           -Jackson
           -McGovern
           -Byrd
           -Richard H. Poff
           -Edward M. Kennedy [?]

     Lyndon B. Johnson and Dwight D. Eisenhower
         -Supreme Court appointees
               -Warren
               -Brennan
               -Potter Stewart

     Supreme Court appointment
          -Warren E. Burger
          -Southerner as appointee
          -Stewart
          -Rumors
               -Woman appointee
                      -Public opinion
                           -Compared with gun control
                      -McGovern
                           -Lillie
                                 -Record as judge
                                 -Husband
                                 -The President's remark to John N. Mitchell
                                 -Gerald R. Ford
          -Byrd
               -Senate
               -National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP]
               -Senate
          -Possible statement
               -Timing

Henry A. Kissinger entered and Buchanan left at 9:40 am.

     Moscow
         -Leaders

     US foreign relations
          -Announcement of Kissinger's schedule
               -Briefing book prepared by Buchanan
          -Japan
               -Message
               -Negotiations

Victor Louis
     -News summary
          -KGB
          -US-Soviet Union
               -Vietnam
     -Vernon A. Walters
          -US proposal on dates
          -Andrei A. Gromyko

Vietnam
     -Negotiations
         -Xuan Thuy
         -The President's forthcoming press conference
                -Nguyen Van Thieu
                      -Election victory
                           -Possible effect
                           -President’s position
                -Air support
                -US goals
                -Residual military force
                      -Kissinger’s view
         -American combat role
                -William P. Rogers
                -Melvin R. Laird
                -Timing of announcements
         -Paris negotiations
                -Le Duc Tho
                      -Possible US announcement

The President's schedule
     -Conversation with Buchanan
          -Shultz
          -Donald H. Rumsfeld
     -Supreme Court appointment
          -The President’s strategy
                 -White House staff
          -McGovern
                 -"McGovernment"
          -Humphrey

Kissinger's schedule

          -Reagan
          -Nelson A. Rockefeller
          -Reagan
          -Jay Lovestone
                -Meany
                     -People's Republic of China [PRC]
          -Meany
                -Schedule

The President talked with White House operator at an unknown time between 9:40 am and 9:58
am.

[Conversation No. 288-11A]

     Request for a call to George Meany

[See Conversation No. 11-52]

[End of telephone conversation]

     Meany
         -Possible cooperation with administration
              -Economy
         -Forewarning of announcement
              -Arms control

     Leaks

     Non-leakage of announcements
          -PRC trip
          -SALT
          -Summit

Kissinger talked with George Meany at an unknown time between 9:20 am and 9:58 am.

[Conversation No. 288-11B]

[See Conversation No. 11-53]

[End of telephone conversation]

     Meany
         -Attitude
               -PRC
               -Lovestone

     The President's announcement, October 12, 1971
          -Ziegler
               -Press corps

     US foreign relations
          -Reason for the President's trip to Moscow
               -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                      -Kissinger's meeting, April 1970
               -Cambodia
               -Laos
                      -Importance
               -Thieu
                      -Rogers
          -Previous press conference

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 9:40 am.

     The President's schedule
          -Shultz

Bull left at an unknown time before 9:58 am.

The President talked with White House operator at an unknown time between 9:40 am and 9:58
am.

     Request for a call to George P. Shultz

[Conversation No. 288-11C]

[See Conversation No. 11-55]

[End of telephone conversation]

     Kissinger's schedule
          -Meany
          -Dinner with the President, October 12, 1971

           -Meeting with the President, October 14, 1971

The President talked with George P. Shultz between 9:58 am and 10:04 am.

[Conversation No. 288-11D]

[See Conversation No. 11-55]

Kissinger left at an unknown time before 10:04 am.

[End of telephone conversation]