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August 19, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Saturday, August 19, 1972, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Friday, August 18, 1972

Next Date: Sunday, August 20, 1972

Schedule and Public Documents

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Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Saturday, August 19.

      By now we have Andrews up here––who came up yesterday––Ziegler, who came up yesterday also, and then is coming back up today with Reagan and will stay for the dinner with Henry this evening. And Ray Price came up at noon today. Rose and Marge are up doing the typing.

      President had me over to Aspen at 9:30 this morning, saying he wanted Ziegler to come back up to discuss the speech with the President, because his judgment is good, he knows the sensitivities and where the raw nerves are in the press. The President's plan is to continue writing Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Wrap it up Monday night, and then spend Tuesday and Wednesday getting it polished for delivery. He got back into the content again on some specific items, but he says he's made the basic decisions to go with the specifics. He then read me a lot of Andrews' and Price's drafts and talked about the things that are wrong with them. He's still seeking other words for "New Majority", maybe he'll use "New American Majority". He suggested a good line for Reagan to use at the Convention is that our Convention is a "striking contrast to the late-late show" of our opponents-- that our opponents put on in the same hall last month. The fact that they restaged it in prime time doesn't bother us; the more they talk, the more they demonstrate their incompetence to guide America. He feels strongly that we should stay with the "kick the man when he’s down" theory, that we should not let him be a serious respectable candidate for President.

      He called later in the day, wanting to be sure that the platform gets in his strong ideas on reform of education, a couple good paragraphs, regarding the need for excellence in education. Wanted Buchanan to work on this. Also wants Moynihan to do 700 words on education for his speech in Detroit. Hitting the establishment, and giving him some good new ideas. He mentioned that he got Ray Price's foreign policy stuff. Ray mentions the Tanya story and says that because of the documentary, he can't use it in the speech, or if he does, he must cut it, and he puts it in terms that the President won't use. He said he isn't going to raise with anyone else the question of his reference to Agnew or he's going to say, despite the critics, I'm not going to change my mind. He's going to drop the, "despite the critics" part, but thinks he wants to leave the rest of it in.

      I raised with him the question of Goldwater introducing him, instead of the Vice President. He said absolutely no; that that would be a disaster. Still pushing on information for-- on the O'Brien tax investigation. We had Bill Rogers and Henry for dinner tonight. And the President was very-- went way overboard in his effort to keep Rogers on track and avoid getting things screwed up.

      He had Henry up an hour ahead of time. He came right from the airport from his return from Japan. He reported to the President, then we had dinner with Rogers, Kissinger, Haig, Ziegler, and me. And got into discussion of the things the President wanted Bill to know, which really was that there was nothing. Dinner ended, they saw Rogers off, and that was it.

      End of August 19.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

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Context (External Sources)