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Conversation 869-019

TapeTape 869StartTuesday, March 6, 1973 at 12:48 PMEndTuesday, March 6, 1973 at 12:56 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ehrlichman, John D.Recording deviceOval Office
AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman met to discuss the administrative burden of the President's schedule, specifically regarding high-level meetings with members of Congress and lobbyists. Nixon expressed frustration over the perceived ungratefulness and demanding nature of some legislators, leading the two to evaluate the political effectiveness of various engagement strategies. They concluded that excessive personal outreach creates unnecessary attrition for the President, and they agreed to shift toward more efficient, targeted interactions that minimize time-consuming, unproductive conversations.

Congressional relationsPresidential schedulingPolitical strategyLobbyingExecutive branch management
AudioNARA Description

On March 6, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:48 pm to 12:56 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 869-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 869-19

Date: March 6, 1973
Time: 12:48-12:56 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with John D. Ehrlichman.

       Jerry V. Wilson
             -Leadership skills

       L[ouis] Patrick Gray, III
            -Testimony before Congress

       Wilson
                                          -51-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                  Tape Subject Log
                                   (rev. May-2010)



      -Qualifications
      -Travel
      -Press conference
            -President's representative

President’s schedule
      -President's meeting with Hugh Scott and Gerald R. Ford
            -Complaints about length
      -Meetings
            -Maurice N. Stans’s people
            -Counsellors meeting
            -Wilson
            -Abdul R. Abdulla
            -Scott
            -Value

Carl T. Curtis
      -President's support
      -Qualities as a candidate
      -Complaints

Congressional relations
     -Senators’ complaints
     -Senate policy luncheon
           -President’s attendance
                  -Democrats
     -House events
           -Value
     -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
           -State dinners
                  -Value
     -George H. W. Bush, Clark MacGregor and Bryce N. Harlow
           -Report on value of social events
     -President's meeting with Scott
           -Value of meetings with Senators
           -Charles McC. Mathias and John Sherman Cooper
           -Margaret Chase Smith
           -Curtis
     -Meeting on family assistance legislation
                                        -52-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                               Tape Subject Log
                                (rev. May-2010)
                                                    Conversation No. 869-19 (cont’d)



     -Dwight D. Eisenhower
          -Harlow, MacGregor, Bush
          -1956 elections
          -Work with Congress members
                -Impact

Meetings with the President
     -Impact on President
     -American Bankers Association
          -Budget cuts [?]
          -Businessmen
                 -New York
                 -Ehrlichman’s viewpoint

     -Congress
          -Value
               -Constituent’s letters

President’s letter campaign
      -William J. Baroody, Jr.
            -Congress
                   -Budget
      -Lobbyists
            -Number
            -Issues
            -Tax foundation, Chamber of Commerce, National Association of
            Manufacturers [NAM]

Congressional relations
     -New plans
           -President’s role
     -Ehrlichman’s work


President's schedule
      -State Department meeting
      -Mayors
             -Length
                                             -53-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                      Tape Subject Log
                                       (rev. May-2010)
                                                           Conversation No. 869-19 (cont’d)



                   -Photographs
                   -President's appearance
                   -Kenneth R. Cole, Jr.

The President and Ehrlichman left at 12:56 pm.
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.

Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
We've just been doing a little press plan.
He's going to announce that the president's giving him a broader assignment on a national scale.
There's all sorts of things.
I want to say, you know, you see these suggestions by Scott or the rest of the president.
We spent half an hour with each member of the House and Senate.
And you look at the schedule like this.
Yeah, please.
I don't know why I don't know how we control it I must say
You take them all, John, like Carl Curtis.
I haven't had a man for Curtis yet in years.
He has always been a lousy candidate.
I've saved his ass time and time again.
He gets didged four percent of the vote.
We get 75.
What in the Christ is he complaining about?
What are you telling me?
It's as if they're in menopause.
They're cranky and bitchy and, you know.
If we ever get into a position, I totally don't call them.
I think there are some target individuals that we can tie in with other kinds of things.
And we'll watch for opportunities.
The reason I thought we were doing these huge social attacks was that you and Anderson thought that was a good idea.
It is.
But I didn't think it was a good idea.
No, no, it is a good idea, and it is fair to do it.
We need to come back.
We're running them in.
Well, we're getting far more seats than State and Anderson.
We're going to let it go.
We don't want to fail.
We're going to get a goddamn fit in Anderson.
We've been with Bush, McGregor, and Harlow.
Yes, I heard you.
And we got a report back from them on that.
And they say that it is paying real substantial dividends.
And they all get their readings, of course, from a different standpoint than we do.
But on the other hand, they all say the president can only
Well, you know, that's the old story.
That's the old story.
Well, it can't be done.
And it would not work.
All right.
And we don't have to do it.
I have brought it.
I wanted to throw it at Scott.
We'll be right back.
And as I said, also, I think some of these songs, I think there's this to be said, this goes totally against what Harlow would say, probably very early in the Bush.
And they gave this land to the Stuyvesant army within 56 elections.
The poor man we got down there killed him and he finally had a stroke.
It's been working around him too much.
more than you've done previously.
That's an important point.
That's an important point.
These guys are a rubbing place and the attrition on you of those kinds of contacts, unless it could be proved that there's some payoff, it's just out of the question.
I want to do the job well.
If four years is a hell of a lot of attrition, you've got to upload these
Well, really, they said, how the hell would you do it?
They wonder.
I don't know.
But one day, something will happen.
Just as sure as hell.
If you get a district choice, you'll come up with all these miners and pictures in here, including that head of the American Bank Association.
I got awfully good readings from that New York physics crash there.
about until they get a letter from home
There are at least 100 lobbyists...
earning $100,000 a year or more, who in one way or another are against a bigger government and more tax benefits.
Sir, the tax foundation is there.
And what did the chamber of commerce in Indiana, what in the name of hell are they doing?
Are you talking?
I can't say, but I'll find out.
Have you heard of the cartel in Indiana?
No.
Not much, not much.
But I haven't had an education.
Let me tell you how I see this congressional thing.
It's evolving now.
We're beginning to develop some ideas that don't involve text here.
But I think that's great.
But that's trade-off.
You see, if I don't do that, then you have to do it.
And much better, I think, than this.
Pretty tight this afternoon.
I'm sure the State Department and I can see that we're not over time yet.
My thinking is that...
I really would like to just come in and say, these guys are going to talk to you about your problem and get the hell out.
I don't want any conversation with them.
Can we go it that way?
I'm not in that position.
so that you can just pop in and out.
Would you just come in and thank them for their support?
They've said very supportive things.
That's right.
And just acknowledge them.
Don't put those on the record.
And I'll have that before everybody gets back.
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