Conversation 701-011

TapeTape 701StartTuesday, April 4, 1972 at 11:58 AMEndTuesday, April 4, 1972 at 12:11 PMTape start time03:26:08Tape end time03:37:49ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Bull, Stephen B.;  Butterfield, Alexander P.;  Dystel, Oscar;  Jaffe, Markus;  Schulman, Samuel;  Wilson, Richard L.;  Klein, Herbert G.;  White House photographerRecording deviceOval Office

On April 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Alexander P. Butterfield, Oscar Dystel, Markus Jaffe, Samuel Schulman, Richard L. Wilson, Herbert G. Klein, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:58 am and 12:11 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 701-011 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 701-11

Date: April 4, 1972
Time: Unknown after 11:58 am until 12:11 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull and Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President's schedule
          -Meeting with Prisoner of War/Missing in Action [POW/MIA] lawyers
          -Gifts
                -Pens

     John B. Connally
          -Idanell (Brill) (“Nellie”) Connally

          -Use of Camp David

Bull and Butterfield left and Oscar Dystel, Markus Jaffe, Samuel Schulman, Richard L. Wilson
and Herbert G. Klein entered at 12:00 pm; the White House photographer was present at the
beginning of the meeting.

     Greetings

     Introductions
           -Klein
           -Dystel
           -Jaffe
           -Schulman
           -Wilson

     Photograph session

     Presentation of The President’s Trip to China
          -Copies
          -Page of book
          -Production quality
                -Time
          -Value

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 09/16/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[701-011-w001]
[Duration: 36s]

     Book on the President’s trip to People’s Republic of China [PRC]
         -Presentation to the Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP]
               -Discount
               -Aid to sales
                     -Republican National Convention
         -Text

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

The President's trip to the Soviet Union
          -Possible book
          -Leningrad
          -Kremlin
          -Iran And Poland
          -Impact on world
                 -Comparison to World War II
          -Substance
          -News stories
                 -Pictures
                        -Kremlin
                        -Leningrad
                        -Warsaw
                        -Teheran
                             -Crowds
                                   -Railroads and trains
          -Size of press corps
                 -Television
                        -Compared to PRC trip

Presidential gifts
      -Cuff links
      -Pens

Book on the President's trip to Soviet Union
    -Pending decision
    -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
    -Preface by the President
    -Possible contents
    -Arms control
    -Middle East

Middle East
    -Ceasefire

The President’s Trip to China
     -Binding
     -Cost
     -Subsequent book on Soviet Union trip
           -Topics
                -Arms control

                      -Trade
                      -Space
                 -Wilson

     Gridiron Dinner
          -The President's absence
               -Women
          -Henry A. Kissinger's attendance
          -The President's schedule
               -Florida
          -Charles G. (“Bebe") Rebozo

     Unknown person's support

     San Diego Chargers
          -Status
          -Seattle Supersonics
          -Season's record
          -John Hadl

Dystel, et al left at 12:11 pm.

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.

Since these people are writers, we can give them some pens and a dish to have with us.
and I want them to use it over this weekend.
Nobody will be there this weekend.
That's all we're going to do, all right?
Okay, they're locked.
Okay, Ms. Stein.
Come on over here.
I guess I need to record this in living color.
Living black and white.
You got color?
I got both, sir.
Let's see, on either side.
One of you stuck on that side.
That's right.
Now you got what?
I have a copy.
A gold copy?
That's a wrap.
That's a wrap.
I think the book was particularly disgusting to me because I wrote it.
Yeah, I wrote you.
I think you were the boss.
I was at the...
It's a marvelous job, the production, the pictures, the writing.
These guys had to write it on the plane kind of battle.
And to get out in all that space of time is a fantastic job.
And it's something also that will be in the library piece, of course.
I wish I was one of the main things there.
Yes, it's going to be a great project.
So you're going to meet with the major re-elect?
I have to be here.
I've got to work on something.
I was thinking of a discount to get some of the books out.
Right.
Right.
Mr. Whistler, what's the point of the discount?
Well, I don't care about the discount.
What if it's sold?
No.
No.
No.
The main thing is to sell a lot of books.
And I have to think that they could join me.
I don't know whether you would take it, but I think you ought to make it.
It's a very different vehicle, but it's a very different vehicle.
It will have a different connotation.
It's going to be the photograph of the car.
Leningrad, we're going to save the ground.
We're going to save the ground.
Afterwards, of course, there will be a couple of little
Now, I think in terms of the, the main thing is that it's, that in terms of the impact on the nation and the world, these two events are two great events.
It's World War II, they really are, and neither works without the other.
Just want to, excuse their say, but will we have to do the material?
Well,
You'll have, the main thing you'll have is the substance.
You'll have an instrument.
That's the point.
And another thing you'll do is that you will have it.
That's what I'm contending upon.
You will have it day by day.
In other words, you will not have it all weighted.
Your substance here will be weighted very high.
but you will have it coming out as you go along, you see what I mean?
And so you can have story, story, story, story, and at the end, so in terms of the news, you can write it, it's got pictures of the Kremlinsworth City, and it's got some characters that have been in grads, and the leading faculty, they talk to each other, and you'll see, also, you're likely to get one of those that's very, you can't tell, well, certainly, Warsaw, Iran, Iran, there's some crowd shots, but you might understand Russia.
If you might, you might not.
They might just be the same as Charlie and I.
Do you remember before, Dick, we had Krause and Nova Severe?
Oh, yes.
They couldn't turn them off.
No.
They tried.
They rocked the press bus.
Do you remember?
And Nova Severe said, Nova Severe's got it.
Right.
And when Ray rode the train, he said, go.
Aren't you?
I think so.
Yeah, that's right.
Are you saying there are people going to the strip club?
No.
We're trying to hold it.
It's constantly the same because we can't do a good enough job for tomorrow.
But there'll probably be a few more, a few more.
But I would like to go to about where we are, about maybe a hundred or so.
That was a management.
You see it, you have 400.
And I've overruled it.
I've heard a lot of people say, well, everybody wants to go.
But how will that?
The thing to do is to have a group to go with that you can manage.
A hundred guys can come to you, plus 400 can come and say, I wish you'd be able to come to me.
They don't need television to tell you what you can't do.
This is the word.
Excuse me.
Well, let's see.
We haven't got anything new for you guys.
The only book I can give you.
I had a pen, which I will...
Try it again.
All right, that's quite good.
All right.
There we go.
As a matter of fact, I didn't so much as to have written out of that an 18-page book.
But if you do, if you did decide to do it, you know, I don't think we'll do it.
The thing is, I don't have a great price for it.
I would be glad if you would promise us on that.
I don't know if you did decide to do it, but it'd be a pleasure to take it to everybody else.
Thank you.
And I don't know, I guess I can just say that .
Wish you well.
We'll have all sorts of things .
Do you remember the last time we were with you?
You don't remember this time.
The last time we were with you was a momentous day because there had been a ceasefire declared in the Middle East that Friday.
Yeah.
You told us about it.
I don't remember.
The Middle East, of course, is still an enormous problem, and we're trying to move beyond that.
Well, I hope you don't give that up right now.
I hope you don't give it up.
Thank you.
Everybody has suffered so long.
That's great.
You see that all these things are about, this is nice little leather.
How much of the other ones are puppy?
We appreciate it.
It might not be that you want to have that soon, but I think that the companion pieces might fit very neatly.
If you get the same team, it might be very easy.
And the way I would do it would not be this way.
I would do it in terms of, for example, arms control, trade, maybe those things.
I can't promise that any of them will be negotiated, but we're in the middle of it now.
I hope Wilson will write it.
We missed you Saturday night, Mr. President.
I wish I could be there.
There's a few problems we've all got.
My, uh, my not coming has nothing to do with that silly women's thing.
I think it's ridiculous to have everybody else, and I didn't say, I didn't, everybody else, Peter Henry's coming up.
I mean, I'm gonna be in Florida, but I, he wanted to come anyway.
The proposal's coming, so, you know, get the pants off of everybody, including me.
I'm not gonna say it, but I just wanted to say that I'm very proud of you.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's all he cares about.
He is going to get my most generous support.
I mean, I'm just so excited about the work he's doing.
I appreciate it.
Sam, tell me about the charges.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I thought you were more interested in the amounts of the signings based upon what you've done.
Yeah, I don't know.
The charges are off me, but I thought that was the season.
Maybe you have to throw better.
Maybe not.
Don't let those kids run over San Diego.