Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 398 › Conversation 398-001

Nixon & Price on Inaugural Address and Speechwriting

Friday, January 19, 1973 · 3:07 PM–4:10 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 41 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Price, Raymond K., Jr.Conversation398-001 on Tape 398StartFriday, January 19, 1973 at 3:07 PMEndFriday, January 19, 1973 at 4:10 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 398-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard M. Nixon and speechwriter Raymond K. Price, Jr. met to conduct a final review and refine the text of Nixon's upcoming second inaugural address. The discussion focused on editing specific passages, adjusting the speech's length, and ensuring the tone effectively conveyed a sense of national responsibility and personal appeal to the American people. The President directed Price to incorporate these revisions into a final draft for delivery, instructing him to coordinate the logistics with press secretary Ronald Ziegler.

Audio

Download MP3 · 56.5 MB

NARA Description

On January 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 4:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 398-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 397-25/398-1

Date: January 19, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:07 pm and 4:10 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Raymond K. Price, Jr.; the recording began at an unknown time while
the meeting was in progress.

[An unknown portion of the conversation was not recorded at this time while the tape was
changed.]

       President's Inaugural speech
             -Content and wording
                    -Revisions
                    -Last paragraph
                    -Sense of responsibility
                           -Public understanding
                           -Omitted lines [?]
                           -President’s suggestions
                           -Overlong sentence
                    -Government's role
                    -Quotability
                    -First paragraph
                    -Conclusion
                           -1969 Inaugural speech
                                 -Text
                                 -Reading copies
                           -Price’s suggestions
                           -Revisions
                           -Hallowing references
                                 -Previous presidents
                           -Reliance references
                                 -Appeal to deity
                                 -Appeal to American people
                    -Future of US
             -Typing of draft
             -Length
                                                -2-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                      Conversation No. 397-25/398-1 (cont’d)

                    -John F. Kennedy
              -Central theme
                    -Sense of responsibility
                           -President’s views [?]
              -Revisions
                    -Length
              -Final draft
                    -Delivery
                    -Ronald L. Ziegler
              -Hugh Scott

Price left at 4:10 pm.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 14 minutes of this recording (about 33% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

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

And whether those two sentences, or the two sentences, or whether it is a broad version of the whole sentence, or whether it is a long version of the whole sentence, or whether it is, I suppose it is necessary that they actually, or as you say,
It's a way to say it.
It's a way to say it.
I just wanted to do it.
I wanted to do it again, I'll talk to you about the next step.
I don't want to say all that, but that's true.
That's what I mean, please.
I mean, it's a little, uh, a little bit of going on.
I mean, it's, uh, it's the, uh, it's, uh, it's, yeah, it's very honest with you.
Yeah, so, so therefore, you're thinking about, of course, God.
I think you do, too.
Uh, the last, I heard that, uh, person.
I wonder if we need this issue in the future.
It's a personal matter.
I think we could do that.
It's something I've never heard of.
I've never heard of it.
I've heard of it.
I've heard of it.
I've heard of it.
I've heard of it.
I've heard of it.
I've heard of it.
I've heard of it.
The other, on the other hand, I agree with that.
We will take responsibility for our places.
I wonder if that's true.
No, of course not.
It is.
I don't know if that's true.
Well, I
Does that allow us to?
Does that allow you to say it?
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you.
I've got what I want here.
I'm going to make that healthy.
I'm going to make that healthy.
I'm going to make that healthy.
I'm going to make that healthy.
We'll just go to the bottom card and we'll go to the stack and we'll go down to the top, and so on and so forth.
And it kind of depends on how varied the funds are going to be in these kinds of changes.
That's what we're going to look for.
That's what we're going to look for.
Because it's, it's just, it's basically up and down in terms of who will go where and who won't go where.
I think we should leave that one.
Paragraphs 11.

— 1 min 36 s with no transcribed speech —

I know that you left out one line.
I thought it was pretty good before.
I'm afraid to say it, but I'm going to tell it in life.
I'm going to tell it in life.
I'm going to tell it in life.
I'm going to tell it in life.
If we wanted to do something.

— 1 min 47 s with no transcribed speech —

Let me suggest, incidentally, that the purpose is a little bit shorter than that.
I mean, I'm shortening it down to a little bit shorter.
But on the bottom of page 5, we all state that last two sentences are the ones that are in the name.
I understand the recursion of the original is wrong.
It's just wrong.
It's wrong.
It's wrong.
It's wrong.
It's wrong.
It's wrong.
It's wrong.
I think it's better when the sentence gets so wrong.
The line they will all understand is that let's measure what we will do for others and what we will do for themselves.
I'll just say, let us measure what we will do for others and what we will do for ourselves.
Let us measure what we will do for others and what we will do for ourselves.
Now let's come back to the other thing.
Now talk a lot.
Maybe take your time.
So it has to not, it must not be stated as a goal.
and say, that is wrong.
That is my government.
You should pay less for me.
But if you want to do more for yourself, you say that again.
And it doesn't matter that I'm right after this.
I don't know if it makes sense.
I don't know if that makes sense to you.
That is why, that is what makes good much better.
That is what accompanies it.
That is what accompanies it.
And I think it should come after the second one.
Maybe after the first one.
I would say that as well.
That as well, that as well, that as well.
Actually, no.
He's wonderful.
He's cool.
That's fine.
He's got a good voice.
He's got a good voice.
He's got a good voice.
He's got a good voice.
He's got a good voice.
He's got a good voice.
Or, or, or, or, or, or, or
Let's come to the last now.
I like the idea of sending a suggestion to my fellow students.
It's great.
It's going to work for them.
It's a great way to get in that relationship with other people.
I was thinking of flimsy as to whether we could get a more visual word back.
I don't mean a word like temperament.
I mean more of a script.
A little fragile.
It's fragile, though.
But you've got to be fragile.
And fragile is something to create.
So that's really the kind.
Okay?
Now, can we go to page last?
I'll do a little more thinking about that last two.
I wonder if it isn't .
You see what I'm getting at is not just how little my history, because that isn't what it is.
It's the fact that people are still there in the office.
I'm so held by the memory of those, you know, who saved and prayed for me.
I'm so glad to be here tonight.
I'm so glad to be here tonight.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
So hallowed be thy name.
Maybe you want to, it might be that you want to go a little bit more, try to go a little bit more personal and say,

— 1 min 20 s with no transcribed speech —

So how would one of them do those?
How would they do it?
By the way, as I stand here, I can think of those.
Obviously, one of their brains is going on.

— 1 min 15 s with no transcribed speech —

and how they, and how Misha,
I hope you can get my advice from the book.
far beyond what I'm getting at is still and then I would rather make you ask today what if I don't help you
Thank you.
home beyond its own.
I like your, I think your, I like what you said when I asked for your prayers.
I am God's own.
Yeah.
And I think that's...
So let's pray together.
So let's pray together.
So let's pray together.
When you're asking for God's direction, you're praying.
So you've got someone.
Now let's come back to how we get into that thing.
Let's get into that.

— 3 min 11 s with no transcribed speech —

What do we have?
What do we have?
I recognize there can be people far beyond themselves in order to make a difference in this country.
And it's not that I can't do it, but it's far beyond myself.
I'm just in the feeling of country and theater at the same time.
It's what I really want to do.
Now, we want to tighten that off and bring it back.
So, I'll tell you what to do.
One of the conditions around that is to take the company to the front of the left.
So, imagine that you're going to be at the bottom.
And you can, why don't you have a girl around the first one?
You know, so.
It's a little longer than we thought.
Shall we try?
Shall we try?
Actually, we do have a central need.
We have to do a lot of work.
We have to do a lot of work.
We have to do a lot of work.
We have to do a lot of work.
We have to do a lot of work.
We have to do a lot of work.
... ... ... ... ...
It's hard.
It's hard.
It's hard.
It's hard.
It's hard.
It's hard.
It's hard.
He must know of your life.
He must not think of you.
But he must say something to assure you.
... ... ... ... ... ...
You'll work out with Ron.
Well, I'll call and work it out, too.
If you get the draft done, bring it back by 5 o'clock.
.
.
.
.
.

Also recorded on January 19, 1973

  • 397-025 3:07 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 4:10 pm.
  • 036-007 4:12 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:12 pm.
  • 036-010 4:12 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
  • 036-011 4:12 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
  • 036-012 4:12 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
  • 036-013 4:12 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
  • 398-002 4:12 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:12 pm.
  • 398-003 4:12 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:12 pm to 4:29 pm.

All 55 conversations from January 19, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 398-001, January 19, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/398-001 (accessed November 8, 2026).