864–9

Conversation No. 864-9

Date: February 27, 1973
Time: 5:21pm-6:35 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Patricia R. Hitt and John D. Ehrlichman; the White House photographer
was present at the beginning of the meeting.

Greetings
-Dress

[Photograph session]
-Seating
-Hitt’s appearance
-President’s tan

Florida and California
-President’s visits

President’s schedule

Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:21 pm.

Schedule

Refreshment

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 6:20 pm.
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


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[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

Coffee
-Fina Sanchez
-Other refreshments
-Meals
-Sleep
-Effect of coffee

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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Hitt’s possible appointment
-Talks with various people
-Ehrlichman
-Hitt’s decision
-Persuasion
-Application
-Qualifications
-Relevance

Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:21 pm.

Refreshments

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 6:20 pm.

State Department job
-President’s conversations with Robert H. Finch
-Political future
-Nature of job
-Salesmanship
-Travel abroad
-Donald H. Rumsfeld
-Decision
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] appointment
 -23-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Compared with Cost of Living Council [COLC] appointment
-Attitude
-Political aspirations


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[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

-Senate candidacy

Politics
-Hitt’s plans
-Political candidacy in California
-Senate
-Finch’s role
-Primary race compared with outright nomination
-California state treasurer
-Ivy Baker Priest
-Tenure
-Plans to run
-Finch
-Governorship
-Senate
-Alan Cranston
-Ronald W. Reagan
-Potential conflicts
-Finch’s viewpoint
-Interest in Governor’s race
-Control of delegation
-Leverage
-Interest in Senate
-Political plans
-Governorship
-Conflict with Reagan
-Campaign on Reagan’s record
-Compared with President’s running on
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s record
-Problems with Reagan
 -24-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Primary for Governor as opposed to Senate
-Support of President

California Republican Party
-Earl Warren, J. Goodwin Knight, William F. Knowland, the President, Reagan
-Minority Status
-Voter registration

Hitt’s political ambitions
-Candidate
-President’s view

Finch
-Potential primary conflict with Reagan
-Henry Salvatori
-Senate race, Lieutenant Governor’s race
-Reagan’s support for Finch
-Reagan’s political aspirations
-Presidency
-Control of California Republican Party
-Democratic representation
-Governorship
-Senate
-Finch’s candidacy
-Qualities as Governor, Senator
-Compared with Reagan
-Health, Education and Welfare [HEW] Secretary
-Hitt’s experience with Finch
-Department
-Conflicts compared with general public disorder
-Microcosm
-Press image
-Liberalism
-Polling
-Personal qualities
-HEW Secretary
-Effects on Finch
-Health
 -25-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Governorship
-Compared with HEW job
-Difficulties
-President’s support
-Reagan
-Opposition to Finch
-Nancy Reagan
-Views of Carol Finch
-Finch’s tenure as Lieutenant Governor
-Relationship with state legislature
-Governor’s race
-Finch primary run
-Scandal for Reagan
-Edward Reinecke
-Association with criminals
-Finch’s chances
-Reagan’s support of Reinecke

Reagan
-Presidential candidacy
-Political scandals
-Political aid
-Effect
-Court cases
-Compared with Florida politician
-Reagan’s political future

Finch
-Appearance

Reinecke
-Intelligence
-Appointment as Lieutenant Governor
-Compared to Charlie McCarthy

Finch
-Lieutenant Governorship
-Secretary of HEW
 -26-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Future plans
-Poll results
-Impact of scandal

Reagan
-Evelie Younger, Houston Flournoy
-Presidential Candidacy
-Age
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-Age as presidential candidate
-Other presidential candidates
-James Buchanan
-William Henry Harrison [?]
-Governorship compared with presidency

Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Compared with Reagan’s political experience
-Resilience

Presidential candidates
-Rockefeller
-Reagan
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Charles H. Percy
-President’s successor
-Agnew
-Possible presidency
-Barry M. Goldwater
-Constituency
-Public reception
-Republican women

Presidential elections
-1960 election results
-Effects of women’s vote

Goldwater
-Constituency
 -27-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Appeal
-Compared with Agnew

[End of segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 5:21 pm.

President's schedule

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 6:20 pm.

Hitt's plans
-ACTION job
-President’s viewpoint
-Ehrlichman

ACTION
-History
-President’s call for volunteers
-1968 election
-New Federalism
-President’s administration
-George W. Romney
-Max M. Fisher
-John Shay [Shea?]
-Democrat
-Appointment by Romney and Fisher
-Executive Director of National Red Cross
-Opposition to President
-Response to its creation
-Reaction
-Agencies consolidated into ACTION
-Older Americans Program
-President’s, Hitt’s opinion of Volunteers in Service to America [VISTA], Peace
Corps

Peace Corps
 -28-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-John F. Kennedy
-Rockefeller mission
-Hitt’s experience
-Response by foreign governments
-Foreign policy
-Costs justifications
-Peru
-Success
-Allocating appropriations for other uses
-Teachers, older Americans
-Foreign policy
-Difficulties
-Future missions
-Compared with aid package
-Peru, Brazil, Uruguay

Latin America
-Presidents
-James Monroe
-Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
-Richard M. Nixon
-President
-Identification with Latin America
-Rockefeller mission

Peace Corps
-Concentration on Latin America
-Africa
-Far East
-Resentment

Peace Corps reform
-Rename missions
-Contracts
-South America

VISTA
-Concept
 -29-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Purpose
-Business, labor, volunteer organizations, foundations, and federal
government in cooperation
-Personnel
-Skills
-Idealism
-Private, public cooperation
-Romney’s viewpoint
-W. Clement Stone

Romney
-Chairman of the Board [President], National Center for Volunteer Action
-Stone

National Center for Volunteer Action
-Funding
-Romney’s chairmanship
-John N. Gardner
-Urban coalition
-Merger
-Report
-President’s support
-Assessment of Romney’s tenure
-Hitt
-Detroit

ACTION
-Volunteers compared to paid staff
-Public compared to private contributions
-Christopher Mould
-Shay [Shea?]
-Volunteer coordinator
-Potential for success
-Hitt’s management
-Termination
-Effects on volunteerism
-Public sector
-Private sector
 -30-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Red Cross drives
-Older Americans
-Youth
-New Federalism
-Changes

Hitt
-Experience at HEW
-Ehrlichman
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Hitt's office
-Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger, Frank C. Carluccli’s [?] role
-Personal management
-Hitt’s office
-Other volunteer departments
-HEW, Labor Department
-President's commitment to volunteerism
-Weinberger’s offer of job at HEW
-Hitt’s rejection
-Hitt as symbol at HEW
-Richardson, Finch
-Threat to agency leadership
-Rapport with civil servants

Richardson
-Defense Secretary
-Abilities
-Public speaking
-Electability
-President
-HEW employees
-Respect for Richardson
-Vice President candidacy
-Reagan’s running mate
-Talk with Henry A. Kissinger
-Conversationalist
-Staff meetings
-Excitement
 -31-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Family assistance legislation
-Conflict with Abraham A. Ribicoff

Family assistance
-Compared to food stamps program
-News summary
-Texas
-Orange crops
-Labor shortage
-Wage, subsidy differential
-Enforcement
-Agriculture Department
-Alternatives
-President’s opinion
-Reagan
-National standard
-Working poor provision
-Daniel (“Pat”) Moynihan, Richardson
-Floor on welfare
-Working poor
-Incentives
-Job training
-Congressional resistance
-Carl T. Curtis, Wallace F. Bennett
-Guaranteed Annual Income
-Moynihan
-Book
-Working requirements
-Reagan
-Formulas

Romney
-Difficulties

National Center for Volunteer Action
-President's support
-Romney
-Difficulties
 -32-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Federal government
-Role
-Bicentennial
-Use of volunteers
-Role of federal government
-Expenses for volunteers

Hitt
-Position
-ACTION
-Strengths
-Credibility
-Poor

Mexican-Americans
-Spanish speaking
-Problems
-Appointments
-Anne L. Armstrong
-Departures from administration
-Phillip V. Sanchez
-Ambassador
-Henry Ramirez
-Position
-Alejandro (“Alex”) Armendariz
-Votes for President
-Departures from administration
-Positions in administration
-News summary
-Los Angeles Times
-Talent search
-Party affiliations

Ethnics
-Appointments
-Mexico, Italy, Poland, Eastern Europe
-Political affiliation
-Democrats
 -33-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-John A. Volpe, Silvio O. Conte
-Political affiliation
-Change of registration
-California, Arizona
-Support for President
Hitt’s position
-ACTION
-Reorganization
-Hitt’s awareness
-Weinberger


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[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

California
-Political situation
-Hitt as candidate
-District
-Hitt’s refusal

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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Hitt left at 6:20 pm.

Executive privilege
-John W. Dean, III

Hitt meeting
-Handling
-Problems
-Michael P. Balzano, Jr.
-Commitment

ACTION
-Hitt's philosophy
 -34-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Volunteerism
-Romney, Shay [Shea?]
-Balzano
-Recruitment
-Italy, Poland, youth

Appointments
-Mexico
-Mexican-Americans
-Frederick V. Malek
-Compared with blacks
-Women
-Blacks
-Poland, Eastern European compared with blacks
-Ethnic support
-Mexican-American
-Integration
-Labor Department
-Archie Bunker compared to Peter J. Brennan

Mexican-Americans
-Armstrong
-Sympathy
-Rapport
-Appointments
-White House staff
-Ramirez, Sanchez
-Ambassadorial appointment
-Jerry H. Jones’s office
-Meeting with Ehrlichman

Blacks
-Lack of support

Polish-Americans

Mexican-Americans
-Defense Department
 -35-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Richardson
-Secretary of the Army
-John A. Love
-Significance

John W. Warner
-Secretary of Navy
-Political contributions
-Appointment elsewhere

Hitt
-Forthcoming call from Ehrlichman
-ACTION

Hugh Scott
-Meeting with Ehrlichman
-Purpose
-Vetoes
-Mood of Senate
-President's participation in events
-Dewey F. Bartlett

Ted Stevens
-Talk with Ehrlichman
-Voting record
-Vietnam reception
-Invitees
-Criteria for invitation
-Support for President
-Record on votes
-Foreign compared with domestic
-Vetoes

Scott
-Visit to White House
- Everett M. Dirksen
-Other Senators
-Desire for meeting with President
 -36-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 864-9 (cont’d)


-Leadership
-Bartlett
-Clifford P. Hansen
-Paul J. Fannin
-Milton R. Young
-Reelection concerns
-Bartlett
-Reasons for meeting with President
-Desirability
-White House social affairs
-Church services
-Conflicts with White House
-White House staff
-Thomas C. Korologos
-Ehrlichman’s call

The President and Ehrlichman left at 6:35 pm.