Conversation No. 573-1

Date:  September 16, 1971
Time:  4:00 pm - 4:58 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler and members of the press.

Alexander P. Butterfield was present after 4:02 pm

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, William L. Safire, Clark MacGregor, Herbert G. Klein, Stephen B. Bull, and Patrick J. Buchanan were present after 4:03 pm.

	[General conversation]

[A transcript of this portion of the conversation appears in Public Papers of the Presidents, Richard M. Nixon, 1971, pp. 949-959]

Canada

Japan

Mexico

Butterfield left at 4:38 pm.

[General conversation]

Kissinger and the members of the press left at 4:39 pm.

Economic action

Question about Black Vice Presidential candidate
-Blacks, Jews, Catholics
-Buchanan's reaction

Military service draft extension legislation
	-US peace initiative in the Vietnam war negotiations
	-Reaction of the President's opponents
-Congressional action

-Effect of vote
-US position in the world
-Supremacy issue
	-Congressional statements
-Gordon L. Allott, Howard H. Baker, Jr., Len Jordan, Robert A. Taft, Jr., Lawton M. Chiles, Jr. and David H. Gambrell
	-Allott's position
		-Conference report
	-Reasons
		-Polls
			-Youth
		-Military bases

South Vietnam
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Election
-Comparison with other countries
-Greece
-African nations

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[National Security]
[Duration:  12s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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	The President’s recent press conferences
		-Effectiveness
			-Vietnam
			-Draft
			-Attica
			-Economy
	-Phase II
-Number of news leads
-James B. Reston
	-Chou En-lai interview
		-Kissinger

An unknown woman entered at an unknown time after 4:39 pm.

	Cancel request

The unknown woman left at an unknown time before 4:45 pm.

Kissinger entered at 4:45 pm

-The President’s forthcoming trip to the People’s Republic of China [PRC]
	-Timing
-Reston
		-Chou En-lai interview
			-Kissinger
			-Article
		-Vietnam
	-Ngo Dinh Diem
		-Coup
	-Nguyen Van Thieu
	-Communists
	-Democracy
		-Vietnamese election
-Voting eligibility in US in 1800
-US foreign aid
	-Number of countries
	-Voting eligibility in US in 1800
	-Percentage
	-Women
	-Property requirements
		-Slaves
	-United Nations [UN] membership for PRC
	-Military service draft
	-Votes against draft bill
		-Possible consequences
			-Effect on negotiations
-Possible press coverage
-Demeanor of reporters
-Length
-Frank Cormier
-Question on Edmund S. Muskie's statement on the vice presidency
-Muskie
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
	-Action at Attica
	-Jewish candidate
	-Questions of prejudice
	-Edward W. Brooke
	-The US public
	-Catholic question
-Summary
-Television
	-Attica
	-Exposure for the President
	-Use of television time
	-Press conference
	-Length of answers
	-Detroit Economic Club
	-Next press conference
-Reston
-Interview with Chou En-lai
-The President's response to question on summit
-Agreement
-Discussion of issues
-Vietnam policy
-Communist takeover
	-Prevention
-Peter Lisagor

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Privacy]
[Duration:  35s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6

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Vietnam
	-Book by Marguerite Higgins

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 7
[Privacy]
[Duration:  5s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 7

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-Higgins
-Diem
				-Effect of Diem's death on Vietnam

Press conference
-Use of quotes on television
-Election
-Citation of context and historical context

	US foreign aid
		-Stae Department
-Contested elections
-Greece
-Number of countries
-The President’s instruction
	-Asia
	-Malaysia
	-Singapore
	-Philippines
	-India
	-South Korea
-Africa
-David D. Newsome
-Senegal
-Democratic process
-Kenya
-Joseph Mobutu
-Tom Mboya
-Press conference
		-Media
			-Question to Ziegler

The President's schedule
-Carl B. Albert
	-Breakfast meeting
		-Pay raise

The President, Ziegler, Safire, MacGregor, Klein, Bull, Buchanan, and Haldeman and Kissinger left at 4:58 pm.

Conversation No. 573-2

Date:September 16, 1971
Time:  6:21 pm - 6:29 pm
Location:  Oval Office

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

Apollo 15 astronauts
-Colonel David R. Scott
-Mission commander
-James B. Irwin
-Robert H. Finch, Donald H. Rumsfeld
-View of Scott

The President talked with Tricia Nixon Cox between 6:21 pm and 6:22 pm.

[Conversation No. 573-2A]

[See Conversation No. 9-45; one item has been withdrawn from the conversation]

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  1m 20s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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[End of telephone conversation]

	Congress

Ronald L. Ziegler
-Announcement of meeting

Unknown person
-Marital status

State and local officials
-Meeting with unknown person [George P. Shultz?]
-Job of governor
-Job of mayor
-Comparison of responsibilities
	-City Councils
-Compared to the Presidency

Press conference
-Handling
-John B. Connally
-Assistance
-Shultz
		-News
-Questions
-Rowland Evans and Robert D. Novak
-Walter J. Hickel’s book
-Conservative revolt
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Staff concerns
	-East Room
	-Television

The President's schedule
-Black military officers
-Generals and admirals
-Indian scripture presentation
-Charles S. Rhyne
-Maurice H. Stans
-Possible topic for meeting
	-Politics
	-Minority business enterprise
-Scheduled meetings
	-John Geiger
	-National Commander of the American Legion

The President and Haldeman left at 6:29 pm.

Conversation No. 573-3

Date:  September 16, 1971
Time:  6:29 pm - unknown before 6:31 pm
Location:  Executive Office Building

Unknown men [Secret Service agents] met.

[Unintelligible]

The recording of this conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 6:31 pm.