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Conversation 413-001

TapeTape 413StartFriday, February 23, 1973 at 2:36 PMEndFriday, February 23, 1973 at 2:48 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Wilkinson, Charles B. ("Bud")Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building
AI Summary

President Nixon met with Bud Wilkinson to discuss a variety of personal and political matters, ranging from sports and the upcoming Olympic committee roles to potential Republican candidacies for governor and senate seats in Oklahoma. Nixon encouraged Wilkinson to pursue a political office, citing a lack of quality candidates in the current landscape and noting that Oklahoma would benefit from his leadership. The pair also touched upon the return of prisoners of war from Vietnam and potential future diplomatic or administrative assignments for Wilkinson.

Oklahoma politicsRepublican partyBud WilkinsonElectionsOlympic GamesVietnam WarPrisoners of war
AudioNARA Description

On February 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles B. ("Bud") Wilkinson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:36 pm to 2:48 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 413-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 413-1

Date: February 23, 1973
Time: 2:36 pm-2:48 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Charles B. Wilkinson.


******************************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

       Sports
                -Football
                -Basketball
                -Track
                -Golf
                -Baseball
                       -World Series
                       -Television [TV] compared with live viewing
                       -Pace
                -Games
                       -Arkansas-Oklahoma
                       -Texas-Nebraska [?]
                -President as spectator
                       -Replays

       Wilkinson
              -Business
              -Plans
                     -Candidacy
                     -Governor
                     -Announcement

       Oklahoma politics
             -Governor David Hall
                    -George S. McGovern
                                              -2-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                      Tape Subject Log
                                       (rev. Mar.-09)
                                                         Conversation No. 413-1 (cont’d)

                     -Dewey F. Bartlett

     Candidacy for political office
           -Nomination

      Republican candidates
            -Poor quality
            -Chances of success
            -Jack R. Miller
                    -Golf
            -Margaret Chase Smith
                    -Age
            -J. Caleb Boggs
            -House of Representatives

      Wilkinson’s candidacy
             -Governor of Oklahoma
                    -President’s possible visit
             -Hall
                    -Qualities

      Henry L. Bellmon
            -Oklahoma
                    -Polling
                    -Political make up

     Wilkinson’s potential candidacy
            -Next Senate race

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
******************************************************************************


      Olympics bid
            -Anti-American sentiment
            -Committee
                   -Wilkinson as head
                          -Input on members
                          -College
                                     -3-

              NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                             Tape Subject Log
                              (rev. Mar.-09)
                                                Conversation No. 413-1 (cont’d)

                       -Independent study
       -Olympics
               -1972 Munich Games incident
       -Richard A. Moore
       -Public relations [PR]
               -Wilkinson’s role
       -Berlin [?]
               -Winter Olympics
                       -Colorado
                              -Denver Post

Wilkinson’s schedule
       -Moore
       -Oklahoma, Dallas

Prisoners of war [POWs] return
       -Emotion
       -Congress [?]
       -POW from Oklahoma
               -Col. Robinson Risner [?]
                      -December 1972 bombing

Vietnam War
      -Henry A. Kissinger
      -“Establishment”
             -Old “Establishment”
             -Removal
             -Credibility

Fundraising

Ping pong [?]

Europe [?]
      -France

Ambassador

Future conversation with Wilkinson
                                               -4-

                     NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                     Tape Subject Log
                                      (rev. Mar.-09)
                                                          Conversation No. 413-1 (cont’d)


Wilkinson left at 2:48 pm.
Transcript (AI-Generated)

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.

I never watch basketball or anything else.
I can't stand basketball.
It's too boring.
You just know it's going to be a big score.
And track, I give up on that.
Ball is the great, great sport.
Baseball.
World Series.
Baseball is great when you're there.
But you know, you're a...
In fact, I probably would have liked to have heard about this.
That Oklahoma target saw a Texas game, saw a national press that took over a secret service.
Just as much.
I mean, I understand it might go out and tell the crowd, but I enjoy sitting there watching the reruns and everything.
I'd like to go to it.
otherwise, how are you doing?
very well, I'm looking great, you know, in the company that I've been working with, it's really nice to be able to share with each other, yes, I'm chairman of the board of the company, so, the company's doing well, yeah, it's been very interesting, it's the first time that I've been involved in a business, all right, experience, bigger plans, yeah, well, if I need to run for office,
You must make it now.
Absolutely.
I've got to make it in a couple of months, and I really just want to go home.
Who is the governor?
That's David Hall.
That's all.
Well, he's taken off 60 times.
He was pretty good.
He really had anybody but the governor.
Terry, what the hell?
Evans was the meat and fireman when I bought him.
Three and two at least.
But, you know, I went in there for that.
The young fireman said, I'm going to carry over my home.
Anybody, wouldn't you wish you could run this year?
Well, I don't even know about it.
But you did another amount in the government.
If I didn't know that, I'd run.
You know, it was a funny thing, but all over the country this year, we had the lousiest group of candidates in the worksheet.
And I don't know why.
This year, any decent candidate can win.
And the guys we lost, I mean, outside,
I wrote her out.
because I'd love to see you get into it.
They'd be lucky to have you.
I don't know about Hall, the governor he's been.
He's been a strong peasant, which is probably pretty true.
I don't think that he's got the class.
That's not setting him down.
Basically, it might be that he didn't have much
as a proud state, proud state now, and they need a guy in the class that might take a poet.
You can't tell me a poet.
Believe me, if you want to go, I'd love to do it.
If you have no center race coming up, we won't help you.
So would you take a
I have that in the back of my mind.
You know, there's some of those jackasses that want to abolish the American Indian Committee, but that's terrible.
I think we need to hear something.
If the American thing, or if you're absolutely fine, and for us, could you hit it?
Yes.
Would you?
I think you'd make a recommendation as to what kind of a committee it ought to lead to.
But I mean, everybody's suggesting they're heading up there.
I don't want the bomb doors.
So whether you're the best man or whether I'm the worst, I am not a college man in that degree, and I have been a college man all my life.
You're perfect in that respect.
I think it should be an independent study for me to have.
I'll know when it comes.
But you know that I'm just concerned.
Do you believe him or what?
Yes, sir.
Do you want to see it flushed because of what happened in his last case?
It took me a lot of time to... Well, I'd love to predict more.
I don't know whether it's a winner or a loser.
For example, for me, I wish I was a winner.
I don't give a damn.
I'm going to do it.
Because I believe in the letters.
Because I've noticed where people in Colorado, they say, well, beat it out.
Well, I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Also, where will you be for a while?
I don't know.
Where are you going to be today?
Could you leave it out?
No, I've got it.
Great.
It's so nice to know the house.
Aren't you glad?
How did you do those?
I think the whole nation cried.
It's very important to us.
I told this before.
They did the right thing.
Absolutely right.
Absolutely right.
One of my folks told me about that.
But I just wanted to say one thing to you that Amber had told me, and I want to say this to about one of the three people that I called over the Saturday night.
.
.
.
.
Well, I do, I do.
I love to do it myself.
I wish I were here.
We're available.
I like all the social media.
I'm really good at all the things in the world right now.
But you've done everything.
But you've done everything in Europe.
You've done everything in Europe.
You've done everything in Europe.
You've done everything in Europe.
That would, in fact, give us what I would say would be Eric Bassett in the diplomatic days of the high attorney without having any contact with him.
Now, that might be the other thing.
I don't know.
I don't know.
They will send.
That bothers me.
Let us explore it then, and when we get back, we can explore it.
Well, we have this picket through, and it's sufficient.
That's the beginning, you know.
Right.
Yeah.
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