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Conversation 471-004

TapeTape 471StartWednesday, March 24, 1971 at 9:32 AMEndWednesday, March 24, 1971 at 9:47 AMTape start time00:26:26Tape end time00:40:46ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.;  Butterfield, Alexander P.;  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  [Unknown person(s)]Recording deviceOval Office
AudioNARA Description

On March 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:32 am to 9:47 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 471-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 471-4

Date: March 24, 1971
Time: 9:32 am - 9:47 am
Location: Oval Office

The President with Henry A. Kissinger and Alexander P. Butterfield
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

     President’s schedule
          -Meeting with Clifford P. Hansen
          -Other meetings with Senators
          -Louie B. Nunn
          -Kissinger’s schedule
                -Luncheon
          -James J. Kilpatrick, Jr. [?]
          -William P. Rogers

     Harvard University faculty
          -A petition

     Items for the President
          -Letters

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 9:38 am

     President’s television interview
          -Ellsworth F. Bunker’s view
                -Kissinger’s previous conversation with Bunker
                -Reception in Vietnam

     Harvard University faculty petition

          -Current situation
          -Moscow Radio
                -Laotian operation (Lam Son)
          -Bunker
          -Forthcoming military action
          -President’s forthcoming speech
                -Timing
                      -Kissinger’s assessment
          -An unknown man’s position
                -Effect of media coverage
          -President’s forthcoming speech
                -Tone
          -Liberals’ position

     Supersonic Transport [SST]
          -Ecology
          -Soviet Union
          -Environment
          -George Meany
          -A report by President
          -Outcome

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman entered at 9:38 am

     President’s interview, March 23, 1971
          -Follow-up
                -Public relations efforts
                -Kissinger’s role
                      -Meeting with Max Frankel
                -Melvin R. Laird and Rogers’ role
                -Role of departments
                      -Public relations efforts
                      -A March 25, 1971 meeting

               -Senators’ role
                      -Speeches
                      -Robert J. Dole
               -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
               -Laird and Rogers’ role
                      -Laird’s 3:00 event
               -Monday’s speeches
               -Al Capp
                      -National Association of Broadcasters
               -Mailings
               -Columns
               -Meany’s statement on Vietnam
                      -Support for the President
               -Agnew
          -Possible re-broadcast
               -American Broadcasting Company [ABC]
               -Public Broadcasting Service [PBS]

     President’s previous televised interview
          -White House phone poll
                -Ratings
                -Viewership
                -Response
                -Format

Kissinger left at an unknown time before 9:47 am

                -Job approval rating for President
                      -Compared with George H. Gallup poll
                      -Party alignment

     President’s schedule
          -Hansen

An unknown man entered at an unknown time after 9:38 am

          -Marlow W. Cook and John Sherman Cooper
          -Nunn
               -Whitney M. Young, Jr. memorial

Haldeman and the unknown man left at 9:47 am
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.

Thank you.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, I think you're safe on the luncheon day here.
What?
I think you're safe on the luncheon day with Peter, what do you say?
Peter won't flip till Saturday, will he?
Why don't you say that?
You know, he's not coming today.
Oh, he's not coming today?
Yeah.
Do you think you can get Jack Millar here at 50th Avenue, sir?
Well, let's see what it's all about.
It's circulating a petition among the Harvard faculty and faculty.
Saying that you're seeing the closure of water that
Bunker also thought that your television interview was superfluous.
Bunker, I called him last night and asked him about how your television program had been received there.
And he said, it was justified.
They're getting it out on all media here.
Hardback certainly didn't take you for a while.
I don't know.
That's not so good.
I don't know.
Coming back to this thing, generally, what is it?
Anything else in the morning report that is of concern or otherwise?
No, it's about nothing.
No, it's been very quiet in Moscow.
The radio has been gloating a little bit a lot.
No, they're going to...
Well, you know, another thing Jeff Buckins said is they're still planning that raid on Moon on that road junction.
And that should come off in the next week.
What do you think about the meeting's point?
I think it will hold till 8th or 7th, Mr. President.
It's only two weeks away.
I remember doing it, but I remember during the moratorium period, it paid off for you to wait and let all the others talk first.
You go on too soon, they're going to spend all their ammunition carrying your thing to pieces.
That's fine, you know.
Is that a show of the discus?
Oh, there you go.
He hears the guidance for us all the way, and he just hears that following madness every night.
But I'd make a pretty aggressive speech on April 7th, Mr. President.
I would put it out there.
And not only in terms of achievement, but of being able to hold our heads up and being within sight of success.
But these guys, I have come to the conclusion
that these liberals cannot be placated.
Oh, I don't know.
This is Jesus Christ.
These guys have all gotten off on the couch again.
The man that I couldn't even...
It's an absurdity because if we don't fly them, the Russians will.
It isn't that we are protecting the environment.
We are not building it.
I think what we would have preferred would be a report on it, but that wouldn't have been the right time to report on it on this.
On that one.
Would it be premature?
Premature.
We can't be sure.
It's going to matter.
I have a feeling it's...
I want us to check with Flutter here about the follow-up on our stuff last night.
We see Henry's going to do some things in regards to that.
What are you going to do, Henry, after you check in on your follow-up on the program?
Oh, yeah.
I've got to cut to this part.
I've got to cut to this part.
I saw a group.
I'm seeing Newsman.
I'm seeing Crackle.
Good, good.
I'm seeing this.
And there's a whole, I mean, I don't want to be sure.
I just want to be sure.
You put everybody on the side.
How about Laird and Rogers and everybody else?
It was all done.
Oh, I know what you are referring to, Mr. President.
We have a meeting tomorrow in which we're going to agree on a line for all of the departments of what accomplishments
Yeah, that's the threat I meant.
If he's having a meeting tomorrow on that, that should go to everybody and everybody should get on.
So, you know, they can do that.
Tomorrow afternoon.
What we've been working on now is using your line, just taking the precise line that you've used and using that as what the question is.
Well, that's why I put you on.
Oh, no, that's the lie.
The reason senators, the political indictment, have been able to do it, willing to do it?
Yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
They had a speech yesterday, and Bill was given a major speech.
Good.
And how about getting back to the pop-up?
I think it would be good.
Let's see.
Let's throw him into the breach.
It's him that I heard from Laird.
We've also talked about it.
Did Laird do it?
Laird is doing it at 3 o'clock this afternoon.
I thought it was yesterday afternoon.
He didn't.
No?
I don't think so.
I think it is today.
Today at 3, I think.
Well, let's be sure to call him and say that he guessed the area.
He did, you know, agree.
Well, he will.
I don't think he will.
In five speeches on Monday, one person's transition to Vietnam.
Okay.
And then they were barred because of, basically, all this nonsense.
That Dole is doing a major speech.
on the floor.
Al Capp on the outside is opening the National Association of Broadcasters convention this weekend.
And his little pitch is going to be on the president's interview.
They're doing all the normal stuff in the main office Monday, but a few hard coverage there.
They're using a piece of the center line for some columns.
Well, the main thing is they're using several stacks.
Pictures don't lie, but they don't tell the whole truth.
You know, the main little things that I got there.
George Meany, you know, he picked up those things that the South Vietnamese proved themselves.
The other 22 battalions came out in good order.
And this is...
that this has guaranteed the success of our withdrawal program.
It guarantees the success of the anonymization.
I just let them go further.
I let them call it a success.
There's no problem on that.
Actually, there should too.
This was essential.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, we also, incidentally, are exploring with some possibilities of rebroadcast.
by AEC and a rerun on the educational network.
And then there's a follow-up to it, which would just on the basis of the end years generated and that kind of thing.
All right.
Good.
All right.
Hello, sir.
Keep your spirit up.
Oh, no.
I think, I know we just did, I think, I know it's going to pay off.
That's the point.
We got our own coal plant started.
And it's interesting, we completed 1,300 columns, which is our own crew in here.
And to all sorts of households, yes, across the country.
And overall, it's amazing.
It stayed right at what we had before, 15% on the interview.
15.4 versus 85 84.6 it did not so out of the 1300 you only had about 300 that uh so he didn't have anything like that because he only completed he only completed uh five six about 600 calls oh yeah
The others, you don't get anybody.
So you had about 50.
The alien, 80.
And an additional 60 that had heard or read about it but didn't see it, another 14%.
The reaction rating, very favorable, 25, somewhat favorable, 32, somewhat unfavorable, 7, very unfavorable, 15.
so it was a uh 57 22 capable unfavorable 57 24 and 31 25 32 25 25 very favorable that's a high and very capable yeah there's two again
Yeah, but what about the folks in unfavorable?
Seven somewhat unfavorable.
Fifteen very unfavorable.
Then the other is just having a twenty-line elevator.
Yeah, the elevator is very high up there.
But then the presence appears in different formats, which you prefer, right?
With a single reporter, twenty-eight percent.
With a small group of reporters, twenty-six percent.
With a large press conference, thirty-six percent.
Don't answer about that.
Most of them prefer a large press conference.
This is taking everybody.
More preferred to single reporter than the other.
No.
Oh, no.
More preferred to large press conference.
Yes, but among the two interview format.
Now by a significant difference, 28.
26 is a good report.
Small.
Approved, disapproved, the waiver is against him.
The job is 6230.
But that's the amount of people that heard it.
That's right.
Or the amount of people who heard or read about it.
Well, that isn't very good, actually.
No, not among those who heard or read about it.
We're going to do better than among those who didn't hear or read about it, you see.
That's still 12 points above the draft.
Gallup's poll group.
On party and now come his, and much better than ours, 28 Democrat, 23 Republican, 31 Independent.
That's about right.
Except Independent's hot, but I think people say they're Independent in this kind of thing.
That's a good job.
It's 60% lemon, 40%.
So it's higher on lemon for sure.
Rather small.
Well, that's a good job.
Good job.
This is a tough thing for us to do.
Oh, we have to do it.
Oh, no, no, no, I know, but that's a good job.
Okay.
Get a run on it anyway, or I'll call it on you.
Good.
Well, we didn't get him.
Probably, no.
He's going to go the other way.
I know.
But we got Cook and Cooper.
I know.
They got him home yesterday, they said.
And we'll get him in if there's any questions.
We're going to bring him in with the Louie Nunn family, or at least for a body.
What is the Louie Nunn family?
That's what we need.
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