Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 705 › Conversation 705-005

Nixon & Haldeman on voter participation and political strategy

Monday, April 10, 1972 · 11:33 AM–11:41 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation705-005 on Tape 705 (tape position 02:20:45–02:26:05)StartMonday, April 10, 1972 at 11:33 AMEndMonday, April 10, 1972 at 11:41 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 705-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the political advisability of an Army voter participation project, which the President critiques as a poor idea similar to the Boy Scouts' civic engagement efforts. Concerned about the initiative's origins within his administration, Nixon questions if any staff members were responsible for the project's inception. Ultimately, the conversation shifts toward managing relationships with outside groups, concluding that the administration should focus on maintaining goodwill with established allies rather than pursuing questionable voter mobilization programs.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
I noticed that the Army has its project border participation.
I suppose it's too late to turn that off.
I assume nobody with any political sense in our shop ever recommended such a thing.
Okay.
I just want to be sure we didn't have a maniac loose around the place.
Yeah.
I understand.
You know, it's like the Boy Scouts getting the vote out.
What are they going to do?
Go down the harbor and get in the boat and all that kind of thing.
You know, this is a very, this is a very bad idea.
You know, you don't follow the game.
It's a, it's a hell of a bad idea that they want to help our cause because what they generally do is to... Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
So the purpose of this is to just thank them for what they've done and wish them well.
Because they have been great in the past.
Well, I saw, they saw that I couldn't leave.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Guys, they have to and they're good friends for the most part.
Okay.
Bye.

NARA Description

On April 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:33 am and 11:41 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 705-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 705-5

Date: April 10, 1972
Time: Unknown between 11:33 am and 11:41 am
Location: Oval Office

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

     Project on voter participation
          -Possible cancellation
          -Political advisability
                -White House staff
          -Boy Scouts of America
                -Comparison
          -Purpose

Also recorded on April 10, 1972

  • 705-004 11:30 AM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:30 am to 11:33 am.
  • 705-006 11:33 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:33 am and 11:41 am.
  • 705-007 11:41 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:41 am to 11:44 am.
  • 705-008 11:44 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:44 am and 11:45 am.
  • 705-009 11:45 AM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William J. Porter, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:45 am to 12:23 pm.
  • 705-010 12:23 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:23 pm and 12:25 pm.
  • 705-011 12:25 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert W. Barker, Arch N. Booth, William N. Burch, George Champion, Jr., Mary Pillsbury Lord, James P. Low, Leonard H. Marks, Herbert E. Marks, J. Willard Marriott, Alice (Sheets) Marriott, William J. McManus, Charles S. O???Malley, Jr., A. Pollard Simons, Katherine (Merrill) Swim, Walter E. Washington, C. Robert Yeager, John P. Cosgrove, John B. Kelly, Jr., David C. Hoopes, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:25 pm to 12:38 pm.
  • 705-012 12:38 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:38 pm and 12:44 pm.

All 36 conversations from April 10, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 705-005, April 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/705-005 (accessed October 1, 2026).