Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 642 › Conversation 642-026

Nixon & Haldeman on Media relations and Television production

Monday, January 3, 1972 · 11:09 AM–11:15 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation642-026 on Tape 642 (tape position 04:12:36–04:18:58)StartMonday, January 3, 1972 at 11:09 AMEndMonday, January 3, 1972 at 11:15 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 642-026 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman evaluated the technical production of the President’s recent television interview with Dan Rather, expressing dissatisfaction with the camera angles and framing. They discussed potential improvements for future media appearances to avoid unflattering visual effects. Additionally, the pair strategized on the political benefits of appointing a qualified woman to a government council, with the President directing Haldeman to gauge the support of key officials for a specific candidate.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 148.0 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 04:12:36 into the tape and ends around 04:18:58.

Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
4:12:52Which, if we can possibly bring, if they could bring themselves to live with a woman, other than their wife, we could put a woman in that council and it would be very good, this one.
4:13:05well there is this uh girl that i mentioned to you on the helicopter that day oh yeah he would like her john o'connelly's reading was not negative but rather lukewarm on her uh i don't think that's a personal reading because he doesn't know her he asked and he gets out of that but she's the best woman around and she's
4:13:32She's very good.
4:13:33She says, no.
4:13:34All right.
4:13:35Would Stein take her?
4:13:37Oh, yeah.
4:13:37Stein would be rather.
4:13:38She would come to Bob Hall and ask him to call Collin and tell Collin that this would help us very much politically to have a woman on the council.
4:13:47That doesn't make any goddamn sense.
4:13:49I'm not sure we can get it, but she would be in fine stroke if we could get it.
4:14:13I'll be glad to do that, or I'd be glad to call John myself if it's like, or would you rather have Bob call?
4:14:18You call him.
4:14:19You call him, yeah.
4:14:20No, I was just saying, you know what I'm saying?
4:14:23You were just saying that, uh, we, we've got the thing open from a political standpoint, and I, uh,
4:14:30I feel that since we struck out on the court, I think a woman on the council would be good that she's really first-class, she'll play her game and sign and satisfy Woodburn and Bradford.
4:14:43First of all, unless she's totally acceptable to John, then who do you want?
4:14:49Put it that way, that I respond like that.
4:14:51She isn't.
4:14:52Who am I?
4:14:52Somebody else?
4:14:54Okay.
4:14:55Very fine.
4:14:55I'll do that.
4:14:56You have to have a fight with her.
4:14:59No, I don't think.
4:15:00She's on our price commission, and that's the only sense in which he's focused on her.
4:15:05And I'm sure that her field is international economics, and probably some in the Treasury have evaluated her as so-so or whatnot in the international economic field.
4:15:18But our fault is...
4:15:20Ken Dan, for instance, a judgment I have good respect for in this field, has worked with her and thinks she's first class.
4:15:27The guy in the Kraken doesn't think so.
4:15:30She's pretty.
4:15:31Oh, that's better.
4:15:34Okay.
4:15:49the way they shot the way they shot they they at least it seemed to me that gave you the appearance of somewhat lopsided
4:16:52Could you name Mr. Smith?
4:16:53Uh, he is, uh... Mr. Smith, you've got a number.
4:16:54He's our mayor of Iowa, Ironshire.
4:16:57Uh, the number is 712-426-2185.
4:16:58Mr. Smith?
4:16:59Yeah.
4:16:59Yeah, Mr. Smith, uh, 712-426-2185.
4:17:00You want to say a greater name, Mr. Smith?
4:17:03Uh, I have a little bit of trouble, sir.
4:17:30For whatever it is worth,
4:18:15The camera work was not the best.
4:18:18The face was given a lopsided appearance, which is in a straight-on shot, which I sat in that chair.
4:18:25I felt it wouldn't be that way because I could see what they were doing.
4:18:34Schultz thought that his percent of the truth.
4:18:38He didn't criticize it.
4:18:40He said that he heard it on the radio and said it was a tremendous thing.
4:18:48I know that you and others, all the people say it was wonderful.
4:18:54They shot the room.
4:18:56It's a nice shot of your feet.

NARA Description

On January 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:09 am to 11:15 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 642-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 642-26

Date: January 3, 1972
Time: 11:09 am - 11:15 am
Location: Oval Office

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

     The President's previous interview with Dan Rather, January 2, 1972
          -Technical aspect
               -Private poll
               -Camera angles
                      -The President's appearance

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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 5s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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

                            -Opinions
                                 -George P. Shultz and Henry A. Kissinger

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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 4s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

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

                                 -J. Edgar Hoover
                                 -Haldeman
                     -Room and feet
                -[Unknown person]
                -Mark I. Goode
                -Complaints
                -Shots
                     -Set
                     -The President's face
                     -Height
                           -[Unknown person]
                           -Camera angles
                -National Broadcasting Corporation [NBC], American Broadcasting
                     Corporation [ABC]
                -Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
                     -Satisfaction with end product
                -Goode
                     -Experience
                -CBS
                     -Camera angles
                     -Possible opinions from Patrick J. Buchanan, William L. Safire and
                           Leonard Garment
                     -Richard A. Moore's possible opinion
                     -Camera shots
                           -Feet
                           -Room

     Misplaced papers
          -Manolo Sanchez
          -Notes
          -Sanchez's search

Haldeman left at 11:15 am.

Also recorded on January 3, 1972

  • 642-021 10:56 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 11:00 am.
  • 642-022 10:56 AM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 11:00 am.
  • 642-023 11:00 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:00 am to 11:08 am.
  • 018-004 11:08 AM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:08 am and 11:09 am.
  • 642-024 11:08 AM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:08 am and 11:09 am.
  • 642-025 11:08 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:08 am and 11:09 am.
  • 642-027 11:15 AM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Clark MacGregor, Jody Smith, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:15 am to 11:42 am.
  • 018-005 11:20 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Jody Smith talked on the telephone from 11:20 am to 11:21 am.

All 105 conversations from January 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 642-026, January 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/642-026 (accessed October 22, 2026).