Presidential Recordings Program

President Nixon: Yep.

Operator: Mr. [Peter] Flanigan^∇, sir.¹

Peter M. Flanigan: Yes, sir.

President Nixon: Hope you noted the Dow went to 932 today.

Flanigan: [laughing] Well, I'm just going to have to get out of this business and take your advice—

President Nixon: Yeah.

Flanigan: —every time I hear you make a prediction from now on.

President Nixon: Let me just suggest, though, that this is now a time for fellows like Regan and Lasker and a few others—they ought to be calling in to us and saying well, you know—just tell ‘em to be a little positive, how about that?²

Flanigan: I know that today that, uh, to talk about it to Regan, he was, you had to drag it out of him.

President Nixon: Yeah. Here we are—well, no, he was all right. But he was coming through a receiving line, so it was all right. But the point is that here they are with—the Dow is now up 300 points.

Flanigan: Right.

President Nixon: From the low. More important, it's 2 points above what it was when we came into office. See, no . . .

Flanigan: I didn't realize that.

President Nixon: January 20, it was at 930. January 20 of '69: 930.

Flanigan: [Unclear] believe that one.

President Nixon: Now it's at 932.

Flanigan: I will—

President Nixon: Now, when I think they ought to start talking pretty damn positively, you know, up there. Those guys should be feeling pretty good, and they ought to say so.

Flanigan: Yes, I agree with that.

President Nixon: Don't you agree?

Flanigan: I agree with that, and they ought to be making waves—

President Nixon: Yeah.

Flanigan: —through the rest of the economy because they're the people who are [unclear] on the board.

President Nixon: Talk it up. Bunny Lasker, tell him that he ought to . . . maybe a few of those guys ought to write me a letter or something or, you know.

Flanigan: You bet.

President Nixon: There's something they can do. OK?

Flanigan: Yes, sir. I'll do it.

President Nixon: Fine.

Flanigan: That's good. I'm sorry I didn't think about that.

President Nixon: OK.

Flanigan: Above when we came in. That's great.

President Nixon: All right. OK, Pete.

Flanigan: Thank you. Bye-bye.

¹ Peter M. Flanigan was a White House aide. (↑)

² Donald T. Regan was chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch. Bernard J. “Bunny” Lasker was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange (↑)