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Conversation 686-004

TapeTape 686StartFriday, March 17, 1972 at 7:58 AMEndFriday, March 17, 1972 at 8:04 AMTape start time00:05:51Tape end time00:15:58ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ziegler, Ronald L.;  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Recording deviceOval Office
AI Summary

President Nixon met with Ronald Ziegler and H.R. Haldeman to discuss the administration's political strategy regarding school busing and a proposed Constitutional amendment. The participants reviewed the public response to the President's recent policy announcement, focusing on favorable polling data and bipartisan support from congressional allies. They also discussed the utility of utilizing computer-categorized call data to gauge public opinion and counter critical news media coverage.

BusingConstitutional amendmentPublic opinionBipartisan relationsH.R. HaldemanRonald Ziegler
AudioNARA Description

On March 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:58 am to 8:04 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 686-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 686-4

Date: March 17, 1972
Time: 7:58 - 8:04 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Ziegler's conversations
          -H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
          -John D. Ehrlichman

     Forthcoming bipartisan leaders meeting
          -Robert P. Griffin
          -Message to Congress
          -The President’s return from the People’s Republic of China [PRC]
          -Television
          -Congress
          -Michael J. Mansfield
          -George H. Mahon

Haldeman entered at an unknown time after 7:58 am.

     News story
         -Unknown place
               -Washington Post
               -Ziegler’s schedule

     Busing
          -Ehrlichman

-Constitutional amendment
-Griffin amendment
-Press briefing
      -East room
      -Reporters
      -Timing
      -Busing speech
-Constitutional amendment
      -Ehrlichman [?]
            -Talk with Haldeman
      -Leonard Garment
      -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
      -Elliot L. Richardson
      -George P. Shultz
      -Support
      -William E. Brock, III
      -Howard H. Baker, Jr.
      -John G. Tower
      -Washington Post
      -George S. McGovern
      -Edmund S. Muskie
      -Edward M. Kennedy
      -McGovern
      -George C. Wallace
      -John N. Ashbrook
      -Henry M. ("Scoop") Jackson
      -Brock
      -Hugh Scott
      -Newspapers
      -McGovern
      -John V. Lindsay
      -Roy Wilkins
            -News
      -Congress of Racial Equality [CORE]
      -Thomas G. Wicker
      -Sander Vanocur
      -Percentage of people supporting the President’s policy
            -Comparison to New Hampshire primary
            -Professors
            -Telephone calls
                  -Computer
            -Overall reactions

                     -Rowland Evans and Robert D. Novak
                          -Florida primary
                     -Wallace
                          -Archie Bunker
                                -All in the Family

Ziegler and Haldeman left at 8:04 am.
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.

We're working on it.
Oh, yeah.
We talked about it earlier.
We just talked about it earlier.
It's a, I think, an action that needed to, you know, carry with the message.
And I think it's just a bipartisan, you know, we already have a person here.
Well, the thing that changed is, you know, I'm going to call it a day.
I'm going to do it again.
Recap of the message.
What you said today is showing the bipartisan leaders how to get into the division.
They were trying to get Congress to go to that.
Right.
And then this bipartisan thing is massive.
It's massive.
Yeah.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Banner and post?
Plays it?
No.
What floor is it last night?
Uh...
I know you can do a good job.
I think we're going to meet with the brief.
um is
It is in no way an interference of the Constitutional Amendment.
There are a number of suggestions being considered by the House and the Congress on whether we should go forward with the Constitutional Amendment.
And any of those that have worked out a reasonable plan can certainly go forward.
The problem there is that it takes too long.
And in the meantime, we did that awfully hard.
I'm sorry.
That's, well, very nice.
No, but the guys like Brock, Baker, and so on, who are Constitutional Amendment-oriented were in power, all made the point that they were glad he didn't reject the Constitutional Amendment rule, and that they were for what he said.
Thank you.
Thank you.
No, I can't.
No, because I thought about the governor.
The governor's good.
I thought there was a great governor on the bus.
He didn't.
Well, the more I think about it, the more I consider what he did for the strategy.
I was expecting he'd stay with it.
He doesn't come in right after anything.
He deserves to come in until the next step.
It's very smart of him.
What he's doing is missing the cutting edge.
I guess that's it.
He went against it.
He said it was... Well, Gover did it very hard on those that, uh, that you met.
Well, I forget what he said.
I was just trying to say, this is the first thing he said.
That's right.
Yeah.
The right hasn't done it very hard yet.
Wallace is supposed to do it today.
He's making a major speech.
Poor old Andrew, I mean, he said that nothing he knows of ever will.
Hmm.
That's that poor guy.
What about the other call?
He told me he'd get a six, but at least get himself on his feet.
He doesn't get a six.
What about Jackson?
Jackson had a six and a kick.
Well, that person didn't get a kick.
Well, that's it.
They got...
They got Brock out right away, which is good.
If we can get some of our...
We've got a number of others out.
The reaction at the end of the end, they were just, they might help.
They're working.
They're all going to work.
We've got to be ready for the blocks.
Let's see.
Roy Wilkins was on the team yesterday before you came in.
He was against that.
He was against her.
I'm going to put it where it was, where I don't want it to happen.
The Corps of People was on the other way.
The Big Four?
Yeah.
Well, right now, they're on.
Before you went on, they're all out right now.
The Corps, as you said last night, just totally cracked.
Wicker.
Yeah.
I bet you hate them.
Oh, the wickers.
Yeah, I mean, wickers.
Those guys, wicker in battle, they're just, you know, laying down in tears and crying.
Oh, my God.
We're in a place where it belongs.
It looks like what you've done is you've told me that you had technically not got the support of about 5% on the wing right and about 20% on the wing left.
And you've got 75%.
It's kind of like where you were in the manager on that.
We're bugging the contract.
reaction and your calls.
I did live on the spot exactly the same as you did.
And a couple of students, college president and her professor, you know, thought it was terrible.
And we told people, college professors do good.
But we had this cross-section thing that's terrible.
It sounds terrible to me and everybody, but we've got that thing on our whole, you know, office computer now, categorized so that we can, the computer can put up a cross-section for us on these kind of issues.
and give us a set of calls today that we should tell people about.
But they got those calls.
We had that set up.
They were able to personally punch them up ahead of time.
They made the calls, and we got all of them in within a half hour after he went off the air.
This is a pretty good, you know, very good reaction.
Very good reaction.
All.
All of them.
All of them.
And he had 10, he had a son of mine too.
He read about the deep end town and he said, he made a point there.
He said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said,
He said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said,
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