Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-059
Nixon phone call with Butterfield on Speechwriting and Public Relations
Wednesday, September 8, 1971 · 11:01 PM–11:02 PM ET · White House Telephone · 45 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield coordinated the logistics for the President's upcoming address to Congress. They arranged for the delivery of a speech draft prepared by Nellie L. Yates to be left for the President, and they discussed the necessity of professional makeup services for the event. Nixon ultimately decided against using makeup for the appearance.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On September 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 11:01 pm to 11:02 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-059 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 8-59
Date: September 8, 1971
Time: 11:01 pm - 11:02 pm
Location: White House Telephone
Alexander P. Butterfield talked with the President.
The President's forthcoming speech to Congress
-Draft page
-Nellie L. Yates
-Delivery
-Manolo Sanchez
-Presentation
-Make-upAlso recorded on September 9, 1971
- 008-058 8:33 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 8:33 pm to 8:34 pm.
- 008-060 9:04 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:04 am and 10:11 am.
- 008-061 10:11 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 10:11 am to 10:20 am.
- 008-062 10:20 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 11:01 am.
- 008-063 11:01 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 11:01 am to 11:13 am.
- 008-064 11:13 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:13 am and 11:18 am.
- 008-065 11:18 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 11:18 am to 11:23 am.
- 568-001 1:18 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:22 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 008-059, September 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-059 (accessed October 12, 2026).