Conversation 563-010

TapeTape 563StartFriday, August 13, 1971 at 1:47 PMEndFriday, August 13, 1971 at 1:51 PMTape start time02:39:04Tape end time02:43:33ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Recording deviceOval Office

Audio

NARA Description

On August 13, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:47 pm to 1:51 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 563-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 563-10

Date: August 13, 1971
Time: 1:47 pm - 1:51 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 7-116]

     President's schedule
           -Quadriad

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/12/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[563-010-w001]
[Duration: 2m 52s]

[See Conversation No. 007-116-w001]

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     John D. Ehrlichman's interview, August 12, 1971
          -Distribution
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/12/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[563-010-w002]

[See Conversation No. 007-116-w002]

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                                                                    Conversation No. 563-11

Date: August 13, 1971
Time: 1:54 pm - 2:10 pm
Location: Oval Office

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

     President’s conversation with Charles W. Colson

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/13/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[563-011-w001]
[Duration: 1m 48s]

     The President’s previous conversation with Charles W. Colson
          -Attack on the President’s critics
               -George W. Romney
                      -George P. Shultz
               -Attack on the Democrats and prosperity

     National economy
          -Prosperity
                -Status under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
          -Possible attacks
          -John D. Ehrlichman
                -[First name unknown] Collins [?]
          -Possible outcome

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Media book [by Edith Efron]
    -Publication information
    -Haldeman’s view
    -Methodology
         -Media bias
               -New York Times, US News and World Report
               - US News and World Report, Newsweek
               -Human Events, New Republic
               -Media's decision-making

Media
    -Coverage of John V. Lindsay, busing
    -Look article about Haldeman
         -Wire services' coverage
         -Press view of the President
         -Press
                -Television network news
         -President's news summary
         -Decision making
                -Selectivity
    -Theodore H. (“Teddy”) White's views concerning television news
    -Look article
         -Political biases of newsmen
    -Efron’s book

James Keogh's book
     -Status

Allen S. Drury
     -Forthcoming book on the President
           -Content
                 -Photographs
                       -Fred Maroon
                       -Text
           -Distribution
                 -Conservative Book Club
           -Look magazine

Look
       -Coverage of administration
            -[Tricia Nixon’s and Edward R.F. Cox’s] wedding
            -Haldeman story
            -Richard (“Dick”) Wilson
            -Drury book

Jeffrey Hart
      -Book on President
            -Hobart D. (“Hobe”) Lewis's views
      -Position
            -National Review
Book reviewers

Forthcoming books concerning President's administration
     -Timing
     -Speeches
     -Frank van der Linden
          -Books concerning Kennedy family

President's foreign policy
     -Publicity
            -People’s Republic of China [PRC] trip
                  -Union of Soviet Socialist Republic [USSR]
            -Henry A. Kissinger
                  -Vietnam
                  -PRC
            -PRC trip
                  -Announcement
                       -Timing
            -USSR trip
                  -Announcement
      -Berlin
            -Kissinger
            -Press reports
      -Publicity
            -President’s forthcoming economic program

Public relations
     -Administration’s program
            -Public confidence

Media
    -Posture toward Administration
    -William A. Gill
         -[New Hampshire story]
               -Ronald L. Ziegler's conversation with James C. Hagerty
               -Reporting of administration
               -John A. Scali's comments
                     -Avram R. (“Av”) Westin
               -Norris Cotton
               -Reporting of administration
                     -White House response
                          -Scali and Ziegler

Vietnam
     -Administration’s handling
         -Summer

President's schedule
      -Wolf Trap Farm
                -Attendees
                      -Opera
                -Programs
                      -“No, No, Nanette”
                      -“The Merry Widow”
                -President's visit
                -Ford's Theater
                      -Abraham Lincoln
                            -Entrance
                                   -Timing
                                   -“Ruffles and Flourishes” and “Hail to the Chief”
                -Baseball games
                -Theater
                -"No, No, Nanette"
                -Kennedy Center
                      -“Ruffle and Flourishes”
                      -President’s box
                            -Anteroom
                      -Announcement
          -Dress for forthcoming event at Kennedy Center
                -Black tie compared to white tie
          -Antal Dorati
                -President’s possible action
                -Tricia Nixon Cox
                      -Schedule
                            -Kennedy Center board
                            -Forthcoming call from Haldeman
          -Forthcoming Camp David meeting
                -Arthur F. Burns
                -Peter G. Peterson
                -Burns
                      -George P. Shultz
                -Duration
                      -Possible leaks

     Critics
           -Administration’s response

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/13/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[563-011-w002]
[Duration: 17s]

     Administration response to critics
         -1960 campaign
         -1962 campaign
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     Critics
           -The President's role
           -Gill

     Book

     President's schedule
           -Unknown man

Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 1:54 pm.

     President's briefcase
          -Executive Office Building [EOB]

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 2:10 pm.

     President's schedule
           -New York
                 -Stock exchange
                 -Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Business Week
                       -Breakfast
           -Dallas
           -Illinois
                 -State Fair
                 -Lincoln
                 -Bill-signing
          -Barry M. Goldwater
          -Ronald W. Reagan
                 -Yorba Linda
                 -Kissinger
                       -Briefing
           -Richard J. Daley
                 -Kissinger
                       -Briefing

     Busing
          -Shultz's view

Haldeman left at 2:10 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.

the means of the Quadrant in about a half hour.

So, uh, do you have anything before we leave?

Quiet, then.

Right.

Keep the damn good speech.

Mm-hmm.

Exactly.

One thing I was going to tell you.

Just virtually everything we do to attack...

I think we should attack.

You've got to set up the strongmen, you've got to attack them for, you don't have the disarmament, you've got to attack them for the, uh, on the economy, you know.

I mean, get, particularly get the war, you know, he had enough brunt to get all the men.

You can hit, hit them harder than that.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Because that's the way that we can get our, the difficulty is.

And it seems that they're just all over us because of these commentators on these issues.

Because basically the other side is attacking and we've got to attack.

I don't see any other way.

I guess it would be negative to tell them to attack us.

I just wondered what you're doing, and I think it's terribly important, it's a top priority assignment, to get Muskie, Kennedy, and Humphrey to stand on bus end.

Have you done anything on that?

Well, well, no.

Get them on this now.

It's a hot issue.

It's a hot issue with these folks.

make statements now and then give them wide publication and apart from that, they won't make statements.

Some grads went up, well, grads went up in the past and circulated so that people, particularly through the South, that these men aren't for busing.

I get a major mail-in to all these people on that of the major editors with regard to this on the who's for busing.

And they put the president's statement in one way and their statement in another to get them in and then out.

I get attacked that hard on the busing issue to get out of that.

Now the other thing is,

I want you to be sure, it didn't get a great play, but it got noticed.

I'm on the early interview yesterday, we fed around particularly the columns in our advocates, because it's a good story, and it's one of the lessons that got nominated.

But nevertheless, nevertheless, if you could keep that one going, that would be a good idea.

Okay.

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