Conversation 596-021

TapeTape 596StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 1:39 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 1:44 PMTape start time03:19:12Tape end time03:25:33ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Rumsfeld, Donald H.Recording deviceOval Office

On October 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:39 pm to 1:44 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 596-021 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 596-21

Date: October 19, 1971
Time: 1:39 pm - 1:44 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Donald H. Rumsfeld.

[See Conversation No. 11-135]

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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.

36, 36, 17 years of the place.
Right?
Right.
And Paul was a congressman.
Right.
Right.
Well, I'll tell you, I'll just push that.
That's for one of them.
Not that one.
I don't know all of them.
I don't know all of them.
I'll leave it as a name.
Yeah.
In other words, just to see what I eat.
All right.
Okay, thank you.
Bye.
Well, if we have our brothers with me, we'd rather have him have the victory.
If we can't get him, then we might take victory home.
Well, on the court, being a dean, they understand.
So that is too good.
Who's going to argue that one?
I think we can make a pretty, we can fight pretty hard on that issue.
Okay, fine.
What is the situation?
Did you have something that I need to call and follow up?
Yeah.
Sure, sure.
All right, fine.
Okay, sure.
Sure.
I was on a mission, that's why I had to take this call.
I'm trying to close it out.
Oh, all right.
I'll call you back.
Hello?
Yeah.
I was on phone with John Mitchell on a matter that I'm sure you understand.
Ha!
You got a... Yeah.
Oh, you had something on that, didn't you?
Oh, yeah.
He went to school with you, didn't you?
Let's do it.
Well, he has distinguished from...
Harrison, well, we talked to Harrison on Coastal, but basically Gallup has generally been considered to be without reproach.
And, oh, there was a question in 1960 as to whether in the last weeks they got a little close to Kennedy.
But the main point about Gallup, Gallup through the years, I think, has retained the most reliable poster.
That's what people think.
Oh, no, you're right.
But we don't figure that they're, the main thing that people figure is they're not being bought by a candidate.
That's what it gets down to.
Right?
I understand.
But that's the way it should be.
We don't pass anything around around here.
When are they coming out?
I see.
Because they never know.
They know before.
But before the Soviet announcement was on the 12th, the Soviet announcement probably had a very little impact.
Well, it did have some, but very little, I think.
It depends on how much he waits to do the vote, particularly.
More than one or two points.
Good.
That would be very helpful.
You see, as you probably know, that the, uh, Harris had a book on Monday, and he's going to have to try to eat some of the better, better gallops.
But I understand that.
Yeah.
Harris wrote, or got.
Good.
Good.
So he'll get his figure, he'd think, by vice, by money, he'd get it.
But he does say that he knew that it has gone up.
Yeah.
Yeah, so it's all the same.
All right, one more.
I'm just talking.
Oh, I'm close to there.
Let's go.
Yeah.
We have really a problem with the goddamn stock market.
But I said, let the things slide around.
That is a really bothersome thing.
But they say, what about phase two?
We're not uncertain about it.
Phase two is going to be uncertain.
It can't work without uncertainty, as you know.
If you want certainty, we can give you certainty.
And you can have certainty with a huge bureaucracy, or you can have uncertainty with a chance to regain your freedom.
And now we just kind of hit that.
And also, I think what the market is afraid of, and of course, in these days, aren't the businessmen of Disneyland as much?
What they're afraid of is that there's going to be a chop-off in some of the way some of the factories.
Well, there is, isn't there?
Sure, how can you go to people without human?
But on the other hand, John, there isn't any, I mean, John, there isn't any question, in my view, the thing you've got to accept is that, look, we've got meaning, and we've got the top five labor governments of the United States on the line, assuming responsibility for mitigating some of these racist, or, you know, or, or, or,