Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 274 › Conversation 274-042

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Economic stabilization and Presidential address

Wednesday, September 8, 1971 · 3:08 PM–3:26 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 44 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation274-042 on Tape 274 (tape position 03:10:38–03:11:19)StartWednesday, September 8, 1971 at 3:08 PMEndWednesday, September 8, 1971 at 3:26 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 274-042 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman met to refine the text of the President's upcoming address to Congress regarding economic stabilization. The discussion focused on carefully crafting language regarding the ongoing war to ensure it balanced political sensitivity with the administration's goals for peace. Nixon directed Ehrlichman to test specific phrasing with Henry Kissinger to determine the most effective approach for addressing these high-stakes policy issues.

Audio

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Position in tape: 03:10:38 – 03:11:19

part C, 52:53

274a.mp3
274b.mp3
274c.mp3

NARA Description

On September 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 274-042 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 274-42

Date: September 8, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     President’s address to Congress on economic stabilization, September 9, 1971
          -Draft

     The President's schedule
          -Meeting with Ehrlichman

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Friday morning, good.
Why don't you do that with the Japanese, uh... Good.
Eight o'clock, or... Are you?
Well, I'll be there.
Well, I'll be there, so that's all we're gonna do.
That's when you want to go.
Where the hell do you have to get me to sit through the whole thing?
Time all day, don't you?
Yes!
Okay.
I'm between drafts at the moment.
Do you have anything you'd like to go over?
Yeah, but if you come in any time, I'll be here for another hour and a half before they finish the next draft.

Also recorded on September 8, 1971

  • 008-052 3:05 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:05 pm.
  • 008-053 3:06 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
  • 274-040 3:06 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
  • 008-054 3:08 PM · 41 sec — Raymond K. Price, Jr. and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
  • 008-055 3:08 PM · 2 min — Raymond K. Price, Jr., White House operator, and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
  • 008-056 3:08 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
  • 274-041 3:08 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.
  • 274-043 3:08 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.

All 36 conversations from September 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 274-042, September 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/274-042 (accessed November 8, 2026).