On November 30, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:15 am to 9:45 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 626-003 of the White House Tapes.
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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.
You won't have to be jumped.
I think that we've got a chance of Drew Pastore looking at compromising his tax credit for political contribution by taking out the check mark, which is, on the merits, a bad idea.
What Pastore's really been after is the tax credit.
He could argue the market point to tax credit or deduction.
It works hard, but because if either deduction or credit is worth more to the large taxpayer than the small one, or a large taxpayer, what's the limit?
It's not about $10.
It isn't enough to make any difference.
You'd have to make the contribution in order to get the credit, and it isn't that much of a contribution.
Yeah.
Any other contributions?
I'm not sure if my figure's right.
It's a low number of some kind.
It is maybe up to 100, but I don't think it is.
And they're putting pressure on.
What they think is that the conference, that they won't be able to solve the conference, but they think, especially if they can get the conference papers to the House first, which is what they're also working on, they think the House can turn down the conference report and start to not breeze on that read submission and get that out.
So they're not strong enough.
They're not in any degree of certainty.
They see some possibilities, at least.
And they're mobilizing a hard pressure drive down Charlie's on the outside to try and put the screw in between them.
Trying to convince business, which has been difficult.
Well, trying to convince that you mean it about the veto.
Yeah, of course.
See, they're talking about the threat of that part has handled that.
And he's gotten some others to hit mills on it that
There is no threat of a beat-up here.
In fact, there was not a threat.
It was a signal.
Out, down, and up.
So he's coming back in, isn't he?
Hmm?
Anyone else?
No?
There's the feeling of somebody else.
you know, make it by the narrow road.
Batten-Wells, they put off.
They heard that they had a hearing yesterday, put off the vote, and they're not going to bring it to the floor until next year.
I want to be there.
We came out on the news stuff on it, at least, and on television quite well in that it was, that the way it was reported was that the Senate confirmed that it was a, the Ray Hunter factory was a put-up job by the legislature.
I couldn't believe them last night.
I watched CBS News, which, you know, very often, it would sound like an administration propaganda half-hour.
They had a series of interviews with Eugene, both leaders and workers in Ohio, who just, it was just spectacular.
The guys came on, you know, the president feels we should hold back on this.
We'd rather work, be working instead of getting a lower rate than not working at a higher rate.
You know, this is going to help the economy.
And the leaders came on saying, I represent my people.
I don't represent your people.
We agree with the president.
We want to do what's right.
And, you know, all kinds of real sort of square, solid American type stuff.
I thought it was all right.
But then what I was saying was,
We have to get something up this week in court.
Apparently, bus comes first, and then in court.
We're going to do bus last.
What's the federal pay raise?
Make sure that's annual.
Let's work back into that now.
That's set for a given.
Make sure that applies to the year rather than just the first pay raise.
And there should be a fairly good shape on that because the mythology they used in that and getting the support they got was that it fit the guidelines.
That's right.
Yeah.
Huh?
You know, I was wondering, reading the news summary, if we do have somewhat of a problem here that might be actually a skeleton of people leaking their back to the radio.
And he was the only one that said, right, yeah, the only one that had the leak idea.
Of course, everybody has come on my direction.
Absolutely.
And so he's got a week and he's writing.
Now that isn't guessing, that isn't something that's where he's just getting the other group in.
And he comes in also in the business that I was finding straight in the middle of the week.
He came home early, you know, which occurred to Rob that it appeared totally knocked down.
He had not said that at all.
And Ron saw that too, his turn.
The only thing he can appear because he had this weekend so completely bottled up is that those guys take, you know, get around to the bar or something, talk to Walker or policemen or Secret Service or, you know, any level of people like that and just say, well, I think we'll stay out here until Wednesday and...
And I said, yeah, I think we will.
Is it necessary to tell the Secret Service and the bar people on the walk of time?
I think it is.
I think we just got to... No, don't tell them.
I mean, don't tell them anymore.
You know the newsmen.
How long are we going to stay?
No, they don't know.
See, that's it.
But they... Any guy... You sit there and say, geez, well, I'm sure we'll get to stay after Wednesday.
They know we're going to Chicago on Wednesday, so they... Well, he was... Pierpont was the only one.
CBS guys that have plenty of that.
As I said, it's very close to hell.
He said a week to ten days.
You think, uh, other reviews think it's just lower and lower levels.
So, uh, so Ron tried to figure it out.
That's because he, they gave you no guidance.
They purposely
It went the other way, for sure.
For sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, among the political riders, man, he's gonna go around there, they're going in and stuff.
Because he's trying to knock that whole syndrome.
He hit it hard on us.
They're the only ones that have done it based on it this way.
Trying to hit that whole business of, well, the thing to do, the way to get them to come to the planet, tell them the thing of the future, tell that lesson to other people.
Or mislead them.
But this week we had to keep our schedule absolutely free.
I'm saying that one column had a considerable effect, as I mentioned earlier, on the New York community.
It's constantly giving us a bad time.
It's Perry, the well-known National Observer, James Perry.
You'd follow him, though.
You'd follow him.
It goes way back to 66.
I don't know what the situation is.
It's basically, it may be like they're following Wall Street Journal and saying, here's, maybe it may be part of that, you know, and there may be a little group.
Yeah.
It might be worth it.
It might be worth it.
Only because.
He says, yeah, and he was at 68, too.
Could it be that there may be something that
Something that folks have got to keep in their head.
There could be... Why?
Is there anything?
Try to get across to them.
Well, to both of them, I think that the more you can get across that their value for the next year is their gain, is not in their being here.
and worrying about, you know, substance, but in getting out and talking.
Talking to influential people individually, talking to the right kinds of groups, getting on TV.
The standard line, but the more you can encourage that, because we're pushing both of them, are much more useful than they are in here.
They both come up to works.
When they get into work in here, they do come up to works because they
They do love to talk.
I have to be knowledgeable when I say this.
You have to be true.
But it's a fancy thing, you know.
There's been a story out, and I may have supposed it could be Burns, but a story out that I got a comment, a million speeches in Detroit.
There's a whole series that I did at the lunch now.
The thing about it started with what is true.
These are totally, without any nomination, in fact, whatever, whatever, absolutely nothing.
Do you have any thoughts about anybody working on it?
Yeah, but everybody thinks it burns as soon as it burns.
And I don't know whether that's true or not, but I'm sure he's capable of it, I guess.
It isn't just...
There's a whole series.
It's a strong move, and it may be a consortium of... Yeah.
speaking in some different ways, or it may just be art that's moving effectively.
But it's that kind of a line that now, you know, that the president has stepped in, and we let him finally run out to the end of the rope, but he's jerked it back now, and that kind of stuff.
And we're trying to create that feeling.
He's pushing.
I don't know whether that'll bother you or not.
That's the problem.
I'm concerned.
I'm not concerned a bit about the speculation.
But he raised one on Henry.
And I just don't like that.
I don't want him to leave any chance there.
Again, you see, he'll leave his White House staff.
Yeah.
Well, a number of the stories also have said that Kissinger had to step in and he thinks Henry did put that on the comic book.
Yeah, apparently, because I guess he told Henry that.
Kissinger doesn't do that normally.
Those people could have Arthur do the intercept, and Arthur could use that, and he does the intercept.
He says that he's involved.
You're talking to me in very violent terms, and it indicates that the comedy is being
Connie hit it head on in a meeting that Schultz, Connie, and Kissinger had with Connie.
He said something about people speaking to Schultz and asked him after the meeting, he said, who were you referring to?
And he said, I was referring to Kissinger.
And then Connie apparently, it was the day he came back from the meeting and they were out on the lawn at the meeting, Connie apparently got Kissinger's side at that point and told him he met him.
Good for him.
And, uh,
I was probably responsible.
That is usually the way Henry goes on something.
I'd be surprised if he did that.
I wouldn't be surprised if Arthur did it, because it's exactly the way I always have.
And I'm sure there are other people around that are just
Anybody that gets up as far as he's up is sending a shot.
By a lot of people.
Well, I mean, I'm even concerned about our own staff.
They do talk nicely.
They're trying to keep them from knowing anything.
Also, possibly Peterson.
reassure.
Yeah.
Do you want to reassure Colin, too?
Yeah.
So your job is that.
Well, I think it's good for him to know from us that we're worried about that stuff rather than his thinking that we're putting together.
Why would you do that?
I don't know how much he gets over there, whether it's worth trying to catch him on the phone.
Well, just be
There's no problem doing it on the phone.
Over there, it's probably better rather than letting something stir.
And it's on the line there.
Mark?
Yeah?
So Lydia's thinking about on the way back,
Yeah.
This is on there in a couple of stories.
That was, you know, starting to get an excellent foundation back in two minutes.
There's some others.
I think we are.
Now, let's say not.
Say we're better.
I wonder.
We don't punish.
All the others, you know, tried to punish, didn't succeed.
We've tried to, but not succeeded.
We'll understand it's taken quite a long while.
But it's the best way to use it, Tom, you know, to make it.
I don't think there's anything else in the cabinet that makes it worth talking about the cabinet.
But I think what I've coached Chance on, you know, not getting into, and I think he'd understand it, is that there will be some things, I was standing here, that will be of some interest to the cabinet.
That's contrasted to how many hours he spent with the Prime Minister, and, correct me if I'm wrong, what the Pope said, and all that kind of stuff.
Yeah.
I'd like to report and then get the mic spots, but the details come later.
Yeah.
The time interview has got to be before the 20th.
And that's their deadline.
If you...
We're going to New York the 18th and 19th.
Would you want to do it up there?
No, I'll do it here.
Okay, I'll work on it, John.
You can do it in Florida on the 17th if you're down there.
I'll do it.
I'll do it here.
Okay.
I've got Julie apparently stuck down at the Christmas tree, but I haven't talked to her.
Huh?
Well, then I can do it.
Well, that was the next topic, so I suppose that's partly a good idea.
I did it once out there.
I didn't do it.
Okay.
The other thing is you could, if you were in Florida, do it from there.
No, I think that's a bad shot.
Just a second.
But I can do it.
Okay.
Get some of that shot.
Okay.
We'll do it.