Secret White House Tapes

66–2

About this recording

66–2
July 23, 1971
Conversation No. 66-2

Date: July 23, 1971
Time: 3:11 pm - 6:45 pm
Location: Cabinet Room

The President met with John B. Connally, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, Caspar W.
(“Cap”) Weinberger, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., and Edwin L. Harper; H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
entered at an unknown time after the meeting was in progress
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

The economy
-Income tax rates
-Sales taxes

The automobile industry
-California, Michigan, Ohio

Unemployment in the United States
3

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Texas
-Pennsylvania
-New Jersey
-New York
-Ohio
-Indiana
-Illinois
-Wisconsin
-The South
-Louisiana
-Texas
-California
-The West
-Mexican-American unemployment
-California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico
-California
-Washington state
-Aerospace workers
-Daniel J. Evans
-Supersonic Transport [SST]
-Emergency unemployment benefits
-Highway money
-National rate compared to local rates
-California, New Jersey
-Washington state
-Oregon
-New Jersey
-Newark
-Elizabeth
-Jersey City
-New York
-Projected 1972 employment rate
-Third-quarter, 1971
-Tax breaks
-Tax credit
-Forthcoming 1972 presidential election

Balanced budget (1973)
-Taxes, spending, deficits
-John F. Kennedy administration action
-Full employment deficit
-Tax increases
4

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Tax credits
-Investment tax credits

Inflation
-Reduction
-National Commission on Productivity
-Fiscal and monetary policy
-Anti-trust actions
-Import sanctions
-Manpower training

Wage-board pay raise bill
-Congressional action
-Presidential veto

Crime in the United States
-Rise in rate
-Age breakdown of criminals
-Violent crimes
-Arrests
-Criminals under the age of twenty
-Federal crime legislation
-Gun control of “Saturday night specials”
-Gun lobby
-National Rifle Association
-Richard S. Schweiker
-Hand gun control
-Metropolitan criminal justice centers program
-Washington, DC
-American cities
-Prison reform
-Cost
-Proposal
-Hand gun control issue
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Potential congressional action
-Crowded court dockets
-Speedy trials
-New judgeships
-Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
-New York City
-Narcotics cases
5

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Use of special courts
-Pre-indictment probation
-New judgeships
-Circuit rider concept
-DC courts
-Judge David L. Bazelon
-Burger
-Juvenile delinquency programs
-Justice Department
-Law Enforcement Assistance Administration [LEAA]
-Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]
-Transfer of program responsibility

Privacy issue
-Office of Management and Budget [OMB] study on confidential information
-Domestic Council
-Possible presidential statement

Juvenile crime
-Statistics
-The District of Columbia
-Drug-related nature of crimes
-HEW personnel
-DC schools
-Absentee rate
-California

Crime
-Key states, cities
-Political issue
-Rate and percentage of population
-Prevention
-Increase in police
-LEAA
-J. Edgar Hoover
-Crime decrease
-Houston, Texas
-DC
-Types of crimes
-Non-permissive judges
-[Forename unknown] Gerstein of New York
-LEAA expenditures
6

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-White House Chiefs of Police meeting
-Hoover, Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Drug problem
-Burger
-DC

Drugs
-Addict numbers
-US servicemen in Vietnam
-Drug program
-Administration
-International drug traffic
-Elmo Roper poll
-Nation’s problems
-Drugs
-Vietnam
-Date of poll, field of poll
-Relationship between drugs and crime
-Regional differences
-Crime rates
-Impact of crime as an issue
-Effect of news reports
-Administration efforts
-Media efforts at discrediting administration
-Comparison to Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Democratic opponents
-Stand on crime-related issues
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Edward M. (“Ted”) Kennedy
-George S. McGovern
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Perceptions of anti-crime image
-John N. Mitchell
-Hoover
-Deportation of Charles (“Lucky”) Luciano
-US-Turkish relations
-Drug agreement
-Public relations image
-May Day demonstrations
-Support of Hoover
-Timothy Leary
7

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Cost of heroin habits
-Organized crime
-”Godfather” movie
-Popularity of book
-Administration efforts against organized crime
-Italian vote
-Joseph Colombo

Veterans’ issues
-Vietnam
-Veterans’ Administration [VA] care of veterans
-World War II, Korean War
-Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW], American Legion
-Vietnam era
-Problems of returning veterans
-Special treatment
-Unemployment
-Cultural shock
-Perceptions of drug use
-Effect on employment
-GI bill
-Medical care
-VA hospitals
-Jobs for veterans
-Comprehensive GI bill of rights
-Outreach effort for the disadvantaged
-Military pay
-Recomputation of retired veterans pay
-Veterans
-Number of voting age for November 1972
-Ohio
-New Jersey
-Illinois
-California
-Southerners
-Career military people
-Comparison to World War II period
-Florida
-Compared with New York, Texas, California
-Veterans programs
-Legislative efforts
-Singling out of Vietnam veterans
8

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)




Environment
-Public perceptions
-Survey, Durham, North Carolina
-Pollution
-Balance between jobs and environmental protection
-Air pollution laws
Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]
-Pollution
-Marginal industries
-Agricultural areas
-Air, water pollution
-Clean Air Act
-Problems (1972)
-California
-Santa Barbara, Los Angeles
-Florida
-Everglades
-Great Lakes
-Four Corners Power Plant
-Alaska
-Aleutian Islands
-Pipeline

Agriculture
-Perceptions by farmers
-Farm income
-Problems (1972)
-Corn blight
-Wheat
-Effect of drought
-Commodities
-Oranges
-Wool
-Rice
-Potatoes
-Hogs
-Support for the President in the Midwest
-Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa
-Corn blight
-Farm Bill
-Exports
9

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Surpluses
-Rural development
-Agriculture Act (1970)
-Proposal to appoint an agricultural ambassador
-Exports
-Farm Labor bill
-Political implications
-Farm prices and effect on Consumer Price Index [CPI]

Education
-Accountability
-Costs
-Expenditures
-States
-Southern states
-California, key states
-Elementary education, higher education
-Real estate taxes
-Mississippi
-Property taxes
-Office of Economic Opportunity [OEO] experiment
-National Education Association [NEA]
-Nonpublic elementary, secondary schools
-Regional differences
-Catholic school enrollment
-California
-New York
-Illinois
-Tax credits
-College credit
-Middle income families
-Student loan assistance program
-Federal education aid
-Poll results
-Impact of issues on constituents
-Nonpublic schools
-Constitutional amendment
-Use of public funds
-Busing
-Nonpublic school aid
-Political implications
-Impact on Pennsylvania election
10

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Louisiana,
Texas
-Busing
-Supreme Court
-Constitutional amendment
-San Francisco
-Chinese-Americans
-Fourteenth Amendment repeal
-Parochial school aid
-Federal funding
-School closings

American elderly
-Administration efforts
-Perception of indifference
-Housing
-Shortages
-White House Conference on Aging
-Social Security increases
-Medicare
-Prescription drugs coverage
-Nursing home standards
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Federal strike force
-White House Conference proposals
-Housing, transportation, jobs
-Compared to the Great Society
-Hot lunch program
-Senior citizen community centers
-Older Americans Act
-Foster Grandparents program
-Projected voting trends
-Florida
-Illinois
-Local problems
-Midwest
-Health
-Political support
-Comparison to other voting blocs
-The President’s administration
-House Resolution [HR] 1
-Welfare
11

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Public perceptions
-Association of Retired Persons (Chicago)
-Jobs and social security
-Problems
-Nursing homes
-Exploitation
-Doctors
-Increased longevity
-Comparison to minorities
-Political implications
-White House conference
-Administration support
-Pension vesting
-Collective versus individual handling
-Job mobility
-Alan Greenspan’s comments
-Costs

Employment
-International trade
-Job loss
-Mobility, job transfers
-Political implications
-Costs
-Regulation of industry

Private school amendment
-Preparation of draft
-Ehrlichman, Weinberger

Health
-Costs
-Medical personnel
-Throughout the United States
-Florida
-Texas
-California
-Chiropractors
-Midwest
-Rural areas
-California
-Suburban nature of communities
12

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Texas
-Small-town areas
-Legislation
-Administration sponsorship
-Key congressmen
-Domestic Council
-Wilbur D. Mills
-Support for administration
-Credit on issues
-Political aspirations
-Muskie, E. M. Kennedy, Humphrey
-Jackson
-Peter G. Peterson, David M. Kennedy
-Shoe industry
-Mills
-Approach to foreign policy
-Political strategy
-Handling of Mills on domestic and foreign policy issues
-Importance
-Revenue sharing
-Taxation
-Political strategy
-Possible Democratic presidential nomination
-Democratic party factions

Health issues
-Various insurance programs
-Private health insurance


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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 51s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************
13

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Key states
-Texas
-Cancer lobby
-Heart lobby, kidney lobby
-Dr. Michael E. DeBakey
-The President’s appearance at convention of cardiologists
-Heart problems
-Possible budget
-Cancer
-Public reaction
-Victims
-Stewart J. O. Alsop
-Communication with the President
-Leukemia
-Chemotherapy
-Indiana cancer clinic’s work on tumors
-Dr. Lee Clark

Important issues in 1972
-Jobs
-Florida
-North Carolina
-Virginia
-Taxes
-Crime
-Drugs
-Veterans
-Agriculture
-Environment
-Education
-Health
-California
-California
-Aerospace industry
-Mexican-Americans
-California
-Texas
-Chicago, Illinois
-Minority employment in motion pictures, television and commercials
-Media influence
-Hispanic actors
-Movie “Carnal Knowledge”
14

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Open housing, desegregation
-Southern states and California
-Textiles
-Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia
-Wisconsin
-William Proxmire
-Government waste, consumer issues

Key states
-Pennsylvania

Issues
-National compared with local interest
-Regional approach
-Administration position
-Style
-Packaging
-Public relations
-Edward L. Morgan’s handling of revenue sharing
-Responsive issues
-Fund expenditures
-Cost of living
-Public opinion on government expenditure increases
-Housing, Medicare, environment, education, health care, crime and law
enforcement, water and air pollution, cancer research
-Decreases recommended for space, Vietnam War, defense, foreign aid
-Tax relief
-Decrease
-Space programs
-Vietnam war
-Foreign aid
-Welfare
-Poll results
-Survey results
-Decreased federal expenditures
-Political consequences
-Tax cut
-Jobs
-Cost of living
-Speech writers
-Repetition of phrases
-Need for regional emphasis on issues for maximum effect
15

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)




Vietnam
-Drug issue
-North Dakota

Political speeches, speech writing
-Drug issue
-Crime, boredom
-Unemployment
-Detroit
-Support of athletic teams
-Detroit Tigers
-University of Michigan

Sir Kenneth Clark
-Civilisation book and film series
-Character of America
-American boredom
-Accomplishments
-Goals
-Peace

Administration public relations efforts
-New era
-Peace, prosperity
-Roper poll results
-Negatives
-Vietnam war
-Drugs
-US economy
-Retail sales
-Public opinion
-Prosperity and opportunity
-American future
-Public opinion
-Depressants
-Vietnam War
-Drugs
-The news media
-Compared to earlier administrations
-Left-wing character
-Television
16

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Emphasis on the negatives
-Teachers
-Comparison to the President’s teachers
-Ministers
-Quakers
-Draft evaders
-Colleges
-Smith
-Attendance by Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-Finch
-Attendance by Tricia Nixon Cox
-Churches
-Catholic
-Immigrants
-Irish, Italians, Poles
-Hardhats
-Protestants
-Quakers
-Fundamentalists
-Faith in the American system
-Leaders
-Influence
-Negative attitude
-Administration efforts
-Need for confidence, pride in accomplishments
-Foreign policy
-Economic policy
-Influence
-The administration
-Positive influence

The President’s July 24, 1971 schedule

The Administration’s public relations efforts
-Period of peace
-Unemployment
-Younger generation
-Future
-Challenges
-Present-day America
-Optimism
-Peace, communication, jobs
17

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Defense spending
-Effect on employment
-Vietnam War
-Economic competition in the world
-Germany, Japan, Western Europe


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

People’s Republic of China [PRC]

[To listen to the segment (15s) declassified on 02/28/2002, please refer to RC# E-541.]

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


-The Marshall Plan
-Challenge of peace
-The news media
-The President’s July 6, 1971 Kansas City speech
-Resistance
-Reporters
-Compared to muckrakers
-Robber barons
-Leader class
-Businessmen, educators, media, politicians, ministers
-Belief in America
-Purpose
-Government programs
-Revenue sharing, health
-New directions
-OEO appropriations veto
-Peace issue
-New directions
-Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society
-Programs
-The establishment
-Revolt against the “Establishment”
-Liberals
18

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[National Security]
[Duration: 3s ]


PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

[To listen to the segment (3m26s) declassified on 02/28/2002, please refer to RC# E-541.]

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


-The liberal establishment
-Reaction to the President
-Comparison to reaction to Barry M. Goldwater

Forthcoming meeting of the President and Connally
-July 24, 1971

Presentation

The President’s schedule

The President, et al. left at 6:45 pm
Secret White House Tapes |

66–2

This recording is currently not available on millercenter.org. To listen to it, please email Mike Greco at mdg4u@virginia.edu

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