Conversation: 678-007
Prev: 678-006 Next: 678-008Start Date: Monday, March 6, 1972 10:15 PM
End Date: Monday, March 6, 1972 11:59 PM
Participants:
Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Ehrlichman, John D.; Bull, Stephen B.; Kissinger, Henry A.Recording Device: Oval Office
Full Tape Conversation Start Time: 02:16:05
Full Tape Conversation End Time: 03:55:21
NARA Description:
On March 6, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, Stephen B. Bull, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:15 pm to 6:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 678-007 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid:
Conversation No. 678-7
Date: March 6, 1972
Time: 5:15 pm - 6:59 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
The President’s schedule
-Forthcoming breakfast with George Meany
-George P.Shultz and Henry A. Kissinger
-Forthcoming breakfast with leaders and Speaker of the House [Carl B. Albert]
-Clark MacGregor
-William E. Timmons
-Meeting with George W. Romney
-The President’s recent rip to the People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Citizens for Michigan
-Great causes
-Cities
-Racial division
-Concentration of power
-Lack of confidence in government
-Common Cause
-John W. Gardner
John D. Ehrlichman entered at 5:20 pm.
-1972 election
-Undelivered speech
-William C. Simon quote
-The Real City
-Citizens for America
-The President’s recommendations
-Financial support
-Staffing
-Kissinger
-Romney
20
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Staff at Housing and Urban Development [HUD]
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Compared to John W. Gardner
John N. Mitchell
-New law office
-Meeting with Ehrlichman
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]
-Mitchell’s statement
-Testimony
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Confirmation
-Dita D. Beard
-Rose Mary Woods
-James E. Bassett
-Ted Rodgers’s secretary
-1960 campaign
-Washington lobbyist
-Robert C. Mardian
-Wallace H. Johnson
-San Diego
-Convention
-Robert H. Finch and Herbert G. Klein
-Other sites
-Robert C. Wilson
-Testimony
-Finch
-Chicago
-Robert J. Dole
-Finch
-Contribution
-Wilson
-Miami and Chicago
-Dole
-Chicago
-Mitchell
-Finch
-James O. Eastland
-Hearings
-Edward M. Kennedy, Philip A. Hart, Birch E. Bayh, Jr.
-Kleindienst
21
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Hearings
-The President’s statement
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Testimony
-Justice Department
-Executive privilege
-Patrick J. Buchanan
Busing
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Leaks
-Announcement
-Timing
-Statement
-Florida primary
-George C. Wallace
-Moratorium
-Press briefing
-Leaks
-Wire story
-United Press International [UPI]
-Justice Department
-Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]
-Edward L. Morgan
-Justice Department
-Civil Rights Division
Government employees
-Staff changes
-Schedule C employees
-Civil service
-Bryce N. Harlow
-Public information personnel
-Lawyers
-Congressional liaison personnel
-Lawyers
-The President’s view
-Mitchell
-Morgan
-Hiring and firing
-Schedule C employees
22
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Resignations
-Timing
-Election
-Buchanan
Busing
-Moratorium
-Leak
-Reported on radio
-The President’s view
-Tricia Nixon Cox
-News summary
-Lyndon B. Johnson
Presidential Libraries
-Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library and Museum
-Model of the Oval Office
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Scale
-The President’s visit to the library, May 1971
-Popularity of cabinet
Nixon Library
-“China Room”
-“Soviet Room”
-“China Room”
-Personal papers
-Lyndon Johnson Library
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Editorial cartoons
-Campaign material
-Daughters weddings
-Foreign affairs exhibits
-Vietnam
-Glassboro Summit
-Ehrlichman’s tour
-Education exhibit
-Size
-The President’s view
-Harry Middleton
-Motion picture exhibit
-Site location
23
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Pendleton, California
-Congressional role
-“China Room”
-Gift from Chou En-lai
-History of China
-State Department
-Placement of second set
-Harvard University
-University of California, Berkeley
-Nixon Library
-Presidential documents
-Whittier College
-Endowed chair
-School of Asian studies
-Lyndon Johnson Library as a model
-Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
-School of International Affairs
-Johnson School of Public Affairs
-John A. Gronouski
-Winton M. (“Red”) Blount
-Luncheon
-Gronouski, Walter W. Rostow, Tom Johnson, Middleton, and
Betty Tilson [?]
Lyndon Johnson
-The President’s view
-The President’s talk with Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
-Plans
-Democratic candidates
-Republican candidates
-Former Presidents
-Law practices
-Boards
-Boys Club of America
-Young Men’s Christian Association [YMCA]
-Mexico
-Ranch
-Acapulco
-Use of planes
-James D. (“Don”) Hughes
-Travel on government planes
24
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Florida
-Jetstar
-Secret Service
-The President’s future travel as a former President
-The President’s view
Former vice presidents
-The President’s view
-Car
-Secret Service protection
-Pension
-Staff
-The President as Vice President
-Republican National Committee
-Funding for correspondence staff
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-The President’s (as former Vice President) staff budget
-John Clifford Folger
-1962 election
William P. Rogers
-Finances
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 19s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
******************************************************************************
Former vice presidents
-Government support
-Transition funding
-Secret Service protection
-Hubert H. Humphrey
25
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Former Vice Presidents compared to former Presidents
-Politics
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 9m 51s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
******************************************************************************
Presidential debates
-Legislation
-The President’s possible veto
-John O. Pastore’s Bill
-Lyndon Johnson and Barry M. Goldwater
-John F. Kennedy
-Robert F. Kennedy
-Klein
-Newspapers
-Associated Press [AP]
-United Press International [UPI]
-The President’s previous speeches
1972 campaign
-Ziegler
-White House Press Office
ITT case
-Mitchell testimony
-Wallace Johnson
-Kleindienst confirmation
-Beard testimony
-Memorandum
-Harlow
-Flanigan
-Henry E. Petersen
26
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 51s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
******************************************************************************
Forest Hills Housing Project
-Ehrlichman’s forthcoming meeting with Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Department of Labor
-Jewish vote
-James L. Buckley
-Possible administration actions
-Rockefeller
-John V. Lindsay
-Florida primary
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 19s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
******************************************************************************
The President’s forthcoming press conference
-Reporting of campaign contributions
-Maurice H. Stans
-Reporting forms
27
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Elmer Staats
-Record keeping
-Stans
-Mitchell
-Response to political questions
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 2m 55s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
******************************************************************************
Press
-News summaries
-Briefing books
-Buchanan
-The President’s response to political questions
-Hugh S. Sidey
-The President’s previous press conference
-Legal aid question
-Press corps reaction
-Answering questions
-Office press conferences
-Televised press conference
-Refusal to comment
-Harry Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Ziegler
-Jack N. Anderson
-[F. Donald Nixon]
-Gossip columns
-Anderson
-Relationship with the President
-Sidey’s previous talk with Kissinger
-Compared to Lyndon Johnson’s relationship with the press
28
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Ehrlichman’s meeting with Rowland Evans
-Evans’s book
-Evans and Robert D. Novak newsletter
Books
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 5:20 pm.
Meeting with Kissinger
Bull left at an unknown time before 6:32 pm.
Books
-Jeffrey Hart
-James Keogh
-Victor Lasky
-William L. Safire
-Keogh
-Herbert E. Kaplow
-Robert Pierpoint
-Sales
-Bantam book on China
-Initial number printed
-Haldeman’s view
Kissinger entered at 6:32 pm.
Mitchell
-Wallace Johnson
Ehrlichman’s schedule
-Busing announcement
-Timing
-Ehrlichman’s forthcoming talk with Ziegler
Haldeman and Ehrlichman left at 6:33 pm.
Vietnam negotiations
-North Vietnamese postponement of meeting
-Chinese
-North Vietnamese
29
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Kissinger’s talk with Winston Lord
-Linkage of Vietnam to Taiwan
-Hugh Scott
-State Department
-Charles W. Bray, III
-Troop withdrawal announcement
-Kissinger’s backgrounder in Shanghai
-Leadership meeting
-US forces in Taiwan
-Scott
Haldeman entered at 6:38 pm.
Stock market
-Dow Jones
-Strength
-Compared to April 1971
-Blind trusts
Haldeman left at 6:45 pm.
Vietnam negotiations
-Meeting with North Vietnamese
-Forthcoming US-Soviet Summit
-Chinese
-Cancellation
-Reason
-Alleged aerial action
-Pentagon
-Chinese allegations of aerial activity
-Chinese
-Shanghai Communiqué
-Link to Vietnam
-Scott’s statement
-State Department
-Kissinger’s talk with Rogers
-Timing
-Kissinger’s view
-Kissinger’s schedule
-Michael J. Mansfield
-University of Montana
30
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Forthcoming US-Soviet Summit
-Le Duc Tho
-Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters
-Possible Chinese influence on North Vietnamese
-Chinese criticism of US policy in Vietnam
-Possible message from the Chinese
-Rogers
-Taiwan
-Vietnam
-Statements
-Kissinger’s previous backgrounder
-Possible settlement on Vietnam
-Paris
-Taiwan
-Kissinger’s talk with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Statement of support for North Vietnam
-Timing of North Vietnamese request for meeting
-The President’s trip
-Kissinger’s view
-Jonathan T. Howe
-PRC Ambassador
Buchanan
-Decision not to resign
-Taiwan
-Toast
-Chou En-lai
-Mao Tse-tung
-Shows
-Chinese ballet
-Spartacus
-Soviets
Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW]
-Kissinger’s speech before the VFW Board of Directors
-The President’s forthcoming appearance
-Award
-Thomas E. (“Doc”) Morgan
PRC
31
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Soviet Union
-Forthcoming US-Soviet Summit
-North Vietnamese position
-Korea
-Japan
-Buchanan’s criticism
-Haldeman
-Material
-Toasts
-Shanghai Communiqué
-Wording
-Buchanan’s talk with Kissinger
-Japan
-Use of “People’s Republic of China” compared to use of “China”
-Japan
-Buchanan
-The President’s view
-Rogers
-Defense treaty
-Taiwan
-Buchanan
-The President’s view
-Right Wing
-Cambodia
-Anti-ballistic missile [ABM]
-Memorandum for Rogers
-Rogers’s press conference
-Kissinger’s view
-The President’s view
-State Department
-Shanghai Communiqué
-Kissinger’s backgrounder
-Response to PRC message
-Congress
-[Scott]
-Kissinger’s talk with Haldeman
-Haig’s talk with Kissinger
-Taiwan
-Defense treaty
-World publicity
-Soviets
32
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 678-7 (cont.)
-Linkage of Taiwan to Vietnam
-Scott’s statement
-State Department
-Scott’s Statement
Cambodia
-Marshall Green
-Separate peace deal
-William H. Sullivan
-State Department
-Norodom Sihanouk
-Memorandum
-Instruction
Chinese message to the US
-Vietnam
The President and Kissinger left at 6:59 pm.