Conversation 341-012

TapeTape 341StartSaturday, June 10, 1972 at 11:20 AMEndSaturday, June 10, 1972 at 12:15 PMTape start time01:19:11Tape end time02:05:42ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Price, Raymond K., Jr.;  Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan);  Bull, Stephen B.Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building

On June 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Raymond K. Price, Jr., Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:20 am to 12:15 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 341-012 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 341-12

Date: June 10, 1972
Time: 11:20 am.-12:15 pm.
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President met with Raymond K. Price, Jr.

     The President’s schedule
            -Charles W. Colson
            -Camp David


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 5s      ]


The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon between 11:23 and 11:27 am.

          [Conversation No. 341-12a]

          [See also Conversation No. 25-24; one item has been withdrawn.]

[End of telephone conversation]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
                                          8

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                  Tape Subject Log
                                    (rev. Jan-02)


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          The President’s forthcoming article in US News and World Report
              -Foreign policy
                  -Possible changes
                       -The President’s views
                  -Isolationism
                       -Richard M. Scammon’s view
                            -George S. McGovern
                                -Compared to Robert M. LaFollette, Jr.,
                                  Gerald P. Nye, and Burton K. Wheeler
                       -Wording
                  -Wording changes
                       -The President’s view
                  -US policy with the Soviet Union
                       -The President’s role
                       -Strategic weapons
                            -Multiple Independently-Targeted Re-entry Vehicles [MIRVs]
                       -Wording

             -Possible changes
                       -Vietnam
                           -Reasons for President’s policy
                                -Peace negotiations
                                -Return of Prisoners of War [POWs]
                                -McGovern’s views on amnesty
                  -Developing nations
                       -Form of governance
                           -The President’s view
                                -Mohammed Reza Pahlevi [Shah of Iran]
                  -US foreign policy
                        -Goals
                           -Wording
                       -US history
                           -Role
                        -President's 1967 article in Foreign Affairs
                           -Drafting
                                -National Security Council [NSC] staff
                                -State Department
                  -Henry A. Kissinger's world reports
                        -Content
                        -Length
                        -Use
              -Colson’s role
                                              9

                         NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                       Tape Subject Log
                                         (rev. Jan-02)


                      -Administrative spokesman use
                      -Douglas L. Hallett
                      -Previous speeches
                          -Inaugural address
                          -State of Union speeches
                               -Environment
                               -Revenue sharing
                          -Social Security
                               -Senate Finance Committee
                               -George P. Shultz
                               -John B. Connally
                               -Possible veto
                  -Previous speeches
                      -Busing
                          -Media coverage
                      -Use

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 6m 30s     ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

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Stephen B. Bull entered at 12:00 pm.

     Unknown person's presence

Bull left at 12:02 pm.
                                             10

                      NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                       Tape Subject Log
                                         (rev. Jan-02)



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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 58s     ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4

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     Conservatives and liberals
         -Devotion to principle
               -Policies
               -McGovern
                     -New York Times
               -Barry M. Goldwater
                     -John Birch Society
                     -Human Events
               -Interest in power

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 6m 23s     ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5

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The President and Price left at 12:15 pm.
                                            11

                     NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                    Tape Subject Log
                                      (rev. Jan-02)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Yeah, I got a real...
In fact, today I was going to stay up late.
How old are you?
I think I'm close.
Come on, let's go.
I think that the line with regard to what I call the isolation is very, very interesting.
We've come down to a stem and we've been talking for a number of years.
It's a great tradition of the old isolations.
Lafolle, Nye, Wheeler, etc.
He really faced me hard as a withdrawal and as an isolationist.
And I was thinking that the line that you want to put in practice is that you can't be in the same paragraph before my brother went.
At the bottom of page 10, the word ballet, to me, has a rather nice connotation.
If you may remember how to do it, and the depths of the ballet or something, I wonder if we could return quickly to the
If you want to, we've got to have a summit, we've got to have a summit, but we're going to have to meet in the valley or something.
A small change in page 11, that you may not feel is what I'm going to do, but I kind of like to get away from the I.
There is much that I can and much of it is to live with.
They also mentioned that the project was done with personal intervention from me, so it would be more correct for me.
I think Ray, the line
and I know that this is sort of happening on page 14, that in this competition, the runaways with their arms, our choice really is either to live in arms or to have a race.
And this is a race in which there will be no winners, no one to lose, no one to win.
all the civilization groups.
I'd like to get that in.
Probably the last of that, I realize we have to put the second one on the rest, but I think that that's really what's brought about, the Soviet reaction.
They want to be first, we want to be first.
The part is, we both realize that if we just go along and move your arm trace, that
They'll get ahead when we're ahead, for example, on MIRV.
So they go ahead.
And when you've got two powers who are relatively equal, I mean, we're far ahead, honestly.
But they have a great advantage in being able to do that.
We're now in a situation where we're in a race that neither side will run over.
Neither can, neither will I.
A little on that, we can just work it out now, however you want.
I think with page 19, perhaps, for instance, the third paragraph will continue to be required for some time to come.
I think we should just say we're pursuing a future that I'm really more precise in.
As you know and I know, it's going to have to be forever.
I know we don't want to say that.
It is.
The word, at the bottom of the page, we have a lot of issues.
Barber, filet, precious French.
I think I like the filets, but there's packages there.
Barber, filet, not old French.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The Vietnam section is extremely good.
It needs one thing, however, very much so.
When we hear the reasons for these actions, you would have put, of course, the fundamental reasons.
But we had to put in there that it was necessary to protect our community forces in the name of the United States.
It may be that that might be the first thing that has to remain important to you.
By the sake of the people.
To the average American, also bear in mind the fact that McEverett and the likes of candidate for Amherst and all the rest, we have to constantly say, by and large, we're not going to leave our main forces.
That's all that is.
It's a very long piece.
Oh, on 31, on the development of nations, I wrote down at the bottom of my page here, that I don't want to, I have no work, I have to turn this up and improve it.
Correct.
And you got it at this point by a very strong recommendation.
Thank you.
Oh, I think in terms of our, on page 40, when we speak of pride, I think, Ray, that we hear these people constantly jab the United States for its role in the world of war and hostility.
I think that the paragraph on page 40, the fact that we do not claim perfection in the world of war, in the world of war,
Well, we did not see them.
I mean, as Andrew Monroe said, the United States is the first great world power.
They did not see power.
You know, and Americans would.
But, and we do not, we have not been in this race, but Americans can be proud of our record.
Young Americans have won four awards.
And not for conquest, not for territory, but for the right of other people to be here.
Or to have their independence, or maybe not just for a dream, but the right of other people to be here.
I think just a little bit that we need to
Our goal is not to...
Our goal has not been conquest, our goal has not been territory.
Our goal has been a more peaceful world where aggression does not succeed.
We want a chance for all people of the world, all nations, large and small, to have the right to live in dependency.
I think it certainly reads extremely well.
It kind of reminds us of a tortured effort, which is a delegate.
Historically, it was extremely good.
Well, I remember the 6th and 7th are guilty.
I mean, as little as we knew them, you know, as little help as we had, my God, we didn't have the NFC staff, the State Department staff, and all that sort of thing.
It's really, you know, the fact that we're here to go back to that China section is extremely valuable.
But this also is a responsibility.
You never know how it will be
That's about as much as you expect them to do.
They're going to read a book.
They're never going to get enough.
They're never going to get enough.
You know, that's why I say it's a little important to get the people who are the kids.
But I know damn well that none of those guys, well, there's a very few exceptions.
It's only a couple of other people.
A couple of other people.
Foreign policy experts might just sit down and allow for all that stuff, you know.
And, you know,
Excellent, excellent phrase.
When you get it finished, be sure to tell Colson, that crowd over there, that I want them to read through, and to pick out.
They put a sheet on top of it to send to all of our speakers, and saying, you know, we'll do this, we'll do that, we'll do that, and that's what the average guy needs, basically, is a way to sort of make speech.
It's truly useful.
As a matter of fact, I think they ought to probably go back.
I heard, for example, when it picked up, as you did in this piece, the first, you know, girl, the first man, a couple of our, you know, our roommates, we made so damn many speeches.
You know, of course, we come back with toasts, and so forth, through the years.
Basically, portable lines, basically cheer lines, or portable lines, which you can take it out of context.
They'll stand well on their own.
And, for example, if they go,
It's just totally irresponsible.
I don't know how to handle it.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
He had been only a true believer in isolations.
Well, he believed.
And frankly, all of the other, all of the other, all of the other things, all of the other things, and all that sort of thing.
So that turns them on.
I believe these things too.
Although they're realistic enough, you know, maybe the majority of the country, you know, but they believe it.
So that's why they've gotten to the point where they've gotten to the level they've gotten to.
Now, the problem people have, however, is a very, very serious problem.
I know...
God bless you.
Thank you.
With the right hand, that would be good.
Because the right, the right is distinguished from the left.
It's a very, very fundamental distinction.
Generally speaking, the right wingers, it is certain that what we would rather lose, despite the principle that we have, the left wingers, on the other hand, would always generally be willing
to, in order to get power, to compromise, to do what he needs to do.
And I think that McGovern, he said his idealists, they were idealists, but they didn't want to be so.
And I'll go down the form of a clue.
So he moved, though I could never move from his right, because
I'm obsessed with the idea of power.
The right wing is changing now.
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.