722–3

Conversation No. 722-3

Date: May 9, 1972
Time: 10:03 am - 10:41 am
Location: Oval Office

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

President's schedule
-Morning work
-Meeting with John B. Connally
-Coming days

Vietnam
-Blockade
-Necessity

Welfare reform
-President's meeting with George P. Shultz and John D. Ehrlichman
 4

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Conv. No. 722-3 (cont.)
Vietnam
-Blockade
-William P. Rogers
-Possible testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations and House
Foreign Affairs Committees
-Timing
-Congress
-Adm. Thomas H. Moorer's testimony
-Armed Services Committee
-Rogers's testimony
-Timing
-Henry A. Kissinger's testimony
-Timing
-Rogers's testimony
-Fact sheet draft
-Author
-Charles W. Colson
-S. Steven Karalekas
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s review
-Contents
-North Vietnamese offensive
-President's peace offers
-North Vietnamese rejection
-Necessity of action
-Other nations
-Public opinion
-Publicity for positive responses
-White House staff
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Support for President
-Strength
-Telegram problems
-Endorsement from public figures
-Publicity
-Tone
-Comparison with previous speech
-Intensity
-\"Hawks\"
-Prisoner of war [POW] wives
-Reaction
-Maj. Gen. James D. Hughes
-Resolutions
-Vietnamization
 5

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Conv. No. 722-3 (cont.)
-POW wives
-Attitude
-Change
-League of POW-Missing in Action [MIA] families
-United Press International [UPI]
-Resolution
-Work with Hughes
-Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft
-Press reports
-Resolution
-Changes
-POW
-President's objectives
-Necessity of blockade
-Public opinion
-Opposition
-George S. McGovern
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Nebraska campaign


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 21s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

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-McGovern statement
-Compared to Cambodia statements
-Protests
-Colleges
-Number
-Demonstrations
-White House
-Extent
-Senate and House response
-Democrats
 6

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Conv. No. 722-3 (cont.)
-Clark MacGregor
-George H. Mahon
-John C. Stennis
-Caucus meeting
-Republicans
-MacGregor meeting
-Democrats
-Briefings
-Rogers’s performance
-Moorer
-Kissinger
-Melvin R. Laird and Rogers
-Briefing evaluated
-Conduct of briefing
-Rogers
-Statement on mines
-J. William Fulbright’s view
-Laird interruption
-Rogers
-Position on blockade
-Support from executive departments
-Draft statement
-President's objectives
-Methods
-Rogers
-Statement on mines
-United Nations [UN] notification
-George H.W. Bush
-\"Hawks\"
-MacGregor
-George D. Aiken
-Statement
-Changes
-Comparison with Bangladesh
-Republican response
-James L. Buckley
-Gerald R. Ford
-Robert P. Griffin
-Jacob K. Javits
-Margaret Chase Smith
-George C. Wallace statement
-Edward M. Kennedy statement
-Democrats
 7

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Conv. No. 722-3 (cont.)
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew rebuttal
-Time
-McGovern
-Television appearance
-Purchase of television time
-News coverage
-Amount and tone
-Comparison with Cuban missile crisis
-Necessity
-Kissinger
-Contribution to US foreign policy
-People's Republic of China [PRC] and Soviet Union initiatives
-Soviet trip
-Necessity
-Criticism
-Democratic caucus
-Counterattack
-Comparison with Cuban missile crisis
-Republican support for John F. Kennedy
-Confrontation with Soviets
-Democrats
-Strategy
-Humphrey and McGovern
-Comparison with President's support for John Kennedy
-President's previous television speech
-Humphrey and McGovern
-Counterattack
-Humphrey
-McGovern
-Edward Kennedy
-Agnew's role
-Connally's role
-Success
-Soviet moves
-Possible Summit cancellation
-US statement
-Kissinger
-Tone of commentary
-North Vietnamese arms
-Soviet Union
-PRC
-Rogers
-Schedule
 8

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Conv. No. 722-3 (cont.)
-Role
-Kissinger’s view
-Testimony
-Senate Foreign Relations Committee
-Support for President
-Publicity to Congress
-Methods
-Intensity and scope
-Impact
-Rogers, Moorer
-Encouragement to Congressional supporters
-Soviet ships
-Location
-Photographs
-Use for publicity
-Haig's instructions
-Soviet response
-Haig's report
-Soviet ships
-Location
-Photographs
-Laird
-Call from President
-Support
-Rogers
-President's meeting with leaders
-Necessity
-President's appearance
-Manner
-Kissinger
-Meeting with subcabinet officers
-Possible replacements
-Laird
-Rogers
-Kissinger's appearance
-Briefings
-Press
-Rogers
-Purpose
-Rogers
-Briefings
-Laird
-Rogers
 9

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Conv. No. 722-3 (cont.)
-Moorer
-Congress
-MacGregor's office
-Democrats
-Stennis
-Kissinger briefing
-Democrats
-F. Edward Hebert
-Southern Democrats
-Support
-Necessity
-Haldeman's position
-Kissinger's position
-President's position
-Irreversibility
-Rogers
-Statements
-Rhetoric
-Content
-Coolness
-Dedication to peace
-National interest above political interests
-US role in world
-Further work

Haldeman left at 10:41 am.