Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 302 › Conversation 302-029

Nixon & Haldeman on Republican National Committee and Robert J. Dole

Monday, November 1, 1971 · 2:30 PM–2:47 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation302-029 on Tape 302 (tape position 02:40:25–02:46:36)StartMonday, November 1, 1971 at 2:30 PMEndMonday, November 1, 1971 at 2:47 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 302-029 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed the necessity of establishing regular weekly political meetings to improve coordination within the administration. The conversation focused on the role of Republican National Committee Chairman Robert Dole and the importance of integrating key figures like John Mitchell, Ronald Reagan, and Nelson Rockefeller into these strategic sessions. Nixon emphasized the urgency of managing these political relationships and schedules to ensure unified party messaging and preparation for future electoral challenges.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 56% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 was talking to Colson about the building, and he said that there were several
What I would like to get on this, remember I recommended several weeks ago that we ought to set up a weekly
session on politics.
I think we all see that now.
And I think we need to get gold in, and they're going to be dominant in the future, you know.
So they just sit around and they ask about the problems, and I know that everybody's going to be dominant.
And we're in the coast, you know, without measurement.
Maybe not with measurement.
Maybe...
All right.
It doesn't have to be .
This should just be a session for the purpose of discussing issues, not the .
How would that be ?
The point is that if you're the national chairman, you should be basically upholding the spread of the threat, the spread of the trauma, the report, and the check, you know what I mean?
And I think the problem is that we've just got to get it, you know, well, if you can't do it, you know, if you can't negotiate it now, you never will be able to do it.
You've got to stop the check before you do the campaign.
That's it.
That's pretty much it.
Thank you very much.
He doesn't have any questions.
I see.
Why don't you consult with him?
Why don't you consult with him?
Just to tell him, say, look, we're just going to do this for the purpose of, you know, everybody's health, you know, and so on.
Well, I wish you could do that.
What do you want?
There'll be gas sessions .
I'm not sure that his time is worth it.
I don't really agree.
I think it is.
He's just got to make the right move to come down.
Or Reagan, or Rockefeller.
They're the only guys who can handle this potential.
Or any of these others.
It just doesn't kick up the job.
It's a problem.
And it seems to me that it would be a great idea to put it down and make a minute or two a day at a time, one at a time.
Okay.

NARA Description

On November 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:47 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 302-029 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 302-29

Date: November 1, 1971
Time: Unknown between 2:30 pm and 2:47 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

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

     The President's conversation with Charles W. Colson
          -Robert J. Dole

**********************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 09/19/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[302-029-w001]
[Duration: 3m 50s]

       Robert J. Dole
              -Weekly meetings
                      -Charles W. Colson
                      -John N. Mitchell
              -Role as Republican National Chairman

       John N. Mitchell
              -Forthcoming conversation with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                     -Robert J. Dole's schedule
              -Ronald W. Reagan, Nelson A. Rockefeller

       Robert J. Dole
          -Schedule

**********************************************************************

Also recorded on November 1, 1971

  • 013-054 2:29 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 2:29 pm to 2:30 pm.
  • 302-027 2:29 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:29 pm to 2:30 pm.
  • 013-055 2:30 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 302-028 2:30 PM · 6 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 2:30 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 302-030 2:30 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 013-056 2:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 302-031 2:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 302-032 2:54 PM · 1 hr 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Melvin R. Laird, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:54 pm to 4:04 pm.

All 31 conversations from November 1, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 302-029, November 1, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/302-029 (accessed October 12, 2026).