Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 588 › Conversation 588-021
Nixon, Haldeman & Bull on Communication strategy and Public relations
Tuesday, October 12, 1971 · 2:31 PM–2:45 PM ET · Oval Office · 12 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed communications strategy, specifically focusing on the necessity of keeping public addresses and recorded messages concise and impactful. They reviewed the President's upcoming film commitments and considered how to effectively frame the administration's achievements, particularly regarding the balance between foreign policy milestones like the forthcoming China trip and domestic economic progress. Nixon directed Haldeman to ensure that White House staff consistently integrate these key accomplishments into their own speeches to maximize public awareness and support.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 17% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Oh, actually, so they're not going to be able to do it.
Mom, you're right.
We don't think we're going to do anything next week.
I didn't realize that he was going to use this as a launching thing for it.
I thought this was a meeting to talk it over with you and Bill, but it wasn't.
Make sure we're in the right place.
The only other question is on that film clip, they can do it tomorrow.
They process it here and Percy's going out at 3 and they can take it out then.
To be on the state side, it would be better to do it today.
If you want to get it out of the way, we can do it right after the cabinet meeting.
And then you don't have to worry about now the goddamn thing.
So we haven't got anybody to write this sort of thing.
Oh yeah, it's written.
30 seconds.
I'm not going to do five minutes or two minutes.
One minute.
I want 50 words.
50 words of each one.
They're called 90 seconds to lose.
And they're one pages.
It's too long.
90 seconds is too damn long.
I'd say knock the other one off, the five-minute one off.
Not doing anything else.
Great.
He's the only two.
Just listen to your own words.
That's all he says.
I think we're ready for wilderness.
I've always appreciated Chuck's support and his vigorous persuasive advocacy.
Now, God damn it, he hasn't said, well, you can't, you know, look, am I wrong?
I can't, it's dishonest.
Is that what it says?
Yes.
I've always appreciated Chuck's persuasive support and his vigorous persuasive advocacy.
I, I mean, I, I can't walk.
Thank you.
The columnist is darn good.
He's really good at what he needs to work, you know, get your deal.
I hope this runner's talking to the problem and some people that John Six is better.
Let's get it done better.
I don't want to be braided now.
I don't know why you don't need to see Mark Good and all that crap.
I'll walk the direction of what other people did.
They had a potion set up.
The teleprompter said I'd be walking.
I walked in.
I said, no, I'm not.
You see Mark Good.
If you just send me a teleprompter, it's fine.
Then I set it all up.
But I want them to know that I don't give a damn how I look.
I don't really care on this thing.
I just want to walk in and get it done.
And I'll read it and be done.
Fair enough.
Yes, sir.
Have I done the speech typewriter?
No.
But we'll do the speech typewriter and the telephone.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Here's the telephone.
That's the case.
I won't use the speech.
I'm not going to sit there and read something.
I'm just going to use the telephone.
Okay.
I shouldn't have put that in this way.
They are tracts.
They're just not named at all.
It's the leadership again.
There we go.
There we go.
Send messages.
Send wires.
Yeah.
And it's a brief, brief, brief, brief reason.
Nobody likes to send wires.
The key to the wire is just that it's from the President of the United States.
President of the United States.
I am delighted to talk about you and Salili.
I'm grateful that you got the person to sign.
President of the United States.
Wow.
That's what it is today.
But, uh...
It's awful hard to imagine.
We're doing better.
We're doing better.
They're all realizing now that the short speech is better now, aren't they?
Yep.
It's amazing how they've gotten around to it.
Yep.
So he's got to be the right one.
He gets back to doing it long again.
It's hard to write a short speech.
Sure is.
And I'm tired.
I read that he's had a response to it.
I did the research.
I wasn't doing it for the other.
I didn't tell George that.
That's good.
Well, it's just a little bit for the other.
It shows you, you know, you're launching yourself off to Russia, and you're also keeping labor ground together.
It's not a bad balance.
And they'll probably use both of them.
It doesn't really make any sense.
I mean, it's really two different things.
I don't know.
Maybe it doesn't make any sense.
It's sort of respect.
On the other, they don't communicate.
And you expanded on me beyond what you read.
Oh, yeah.
So, the Chinese communicate, they expect you to read.
They have to.
You know, getting back to what I was going to say, for example, Bob, just the little thing I said there, look what has happened, I think.
This is spurring progress in negotiations.
And that's what our guys have got to hit.
And I don't know that they do that.
Could somebody write, could you have, you can write two, two pages, for example, for four or five minutes, and everybody should put it in their speech.
I mean, this is a story that, you know, let alone wind down, wind down before opening in China, man.
I may be underestimating what we're trying to do, but I have a feeling that we just take it for granted.
I mean, just in a few conversations I've had with Colson and Scallion and the rest, that while everybody knows that he's a big deal in foreign policy, so he's got to work on progress and reorganization and revenue sharing and all the rest.
And I really think that's true, that everybody doesn't know it.
That's the right point.
Everybody does not know it.
They don't.
Would you agree with me that this is a case?
Would you agree?
And you got it?
And also, we know from a little, as I say, it's a little goddamn namesake, you know, the airports, cleaning up crimes.
And so all people are interested in it.
That's when they listen.
Correct?
Yep.
It's when they listen and it's when they cheer.
Would you pass that car to the staff and say, look, don't talk about the other guys' issues unless you have to.
Just throw in enough of it to show you're paying attention to it.
Put out savers.
That's right.
Let him figure it out.
Let him throw it in.
Let him ump these other things.
But it's harder than either.
But if I had this package to sell, I could sell it.
If I were around, Christ takes the magnum all ahead of every speech.
Shouldn't he?
Absolutely.
He does.
Does he?
He does a good job on it.
Rogers, as you know, does a good job on it.
Yes.
We need to get...
all the other people the domestic guys should hit it because they don't mind the little inside of the mix in the man and the thing on the manager those two things they'll get more interest
NARA Description
On October 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:31 pm to 2:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 588-021 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 588-21
Date: October 12, 1971
Time: 2:31 pm - 2:45 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
The President's schedule
-Cabinet meeting
-John D. Ehrlichman
-John N. Mitchell
-William P. Rogers
-Robert H. Finch
-Film
-Charles H. Percy
-Rogers
-Percy
-Endorsement
Kenneth W. Clawson
The President's schedule
-Mark I. Goode
-Teleprompter
-Speech typewriter
-Wire by President
-Percy
Speeches
-Difficulty in writing
-George Meany
-George P. Shultz
-John B. Connally
-Meany
-Joint Communiqué
-People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Biological war agreement
-Sea bed agreement
-Accidental war agreement
-Hot line
-Congress
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Charles W. Colson, John A. Scali
-Assignments
-Ronald L. Ziegler, Ehrlichman
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 2:34 pm.
The President's schedule
Bull left at an unknown time before 2:45 pm.
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Rogers
-Ehrlichman
The President and Haldeman left at 2:45 pm.Also recorded on October 12, 1971
- 011-064 1:55 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 1:55 pm to 1:59 pm.
- 011-065 1:59 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:59 pm and 9:07 pm.
- 011-066 1:59 PM · 2 min — Henry A. Kissinger and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:59 pm and 9:07 pm.
- 011-067 1:59 PM · 11 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:59 pm and 9:07 pm.
- 011-068 1:59 PM · 21 sec — the White House operator and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:59 pm and 9:07 pm.
- 011-069 1:59 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:59 pm and 9:07 pm.
- 588-019 2:21 PM · 35 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:21 pm and 2:26 pm.
- 588-020 2:26 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:26 pm and 2:34 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 588-021, October 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/588-021 (accessed September 28, 2026).