Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 10 › Conversation 010-129

Nixon phone call with Safire on Phase II and Inflation

Thursday, October 7, 1971 · 12:28 PM–12:31 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Safire, William L.Conversation010-129 on Tape 10 (tape position 04:12:18–04:14:11)StartThursday, October 7, 1971 at 12:28 PMEndThursday, October 7, 1971 at 12:31 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 010-129 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard M. Nixon and speechwriter William L. Safire reviewed a draft of the President's upcoming Phase II speech concerning economic policy. They focused on refining specific phrasing regarding the anti-inflation campaign, specifically debating the phonetic clarity and rhetorical impact of the words "launched" versus "began." Ultimately, they agreed to replace "launched" with "began" to improve the delivery and flow of the opening line.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Bill, this may be a typo, but what we talk about, it says we launch this battle against inflation for the purpose of winning, and it should be launched.
Right.
That is a typo.
Yeah.
We launched.
Incidentally, is there a better word?
We started this battle, or do you think people understand launched?
I like launched.
It's, you know, like getting off the ground.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I guess people understand it with all the business of...
satellites and so forth.
All right.
We launched this battle against inflation.
We launched.
Oh, I can say it.
We launched this battle.
It isn't the best word, but we began this battle against inflation for the purpose of winning it.
And we're going to stay in it until we do win it.
What do you think about began?
Well, launched is better, isn't it?
Launched is a more vivid word.
Began has a nice alliteration with battle.
We began this battle against a pleasure.
I just worry about tripping over launched because in the... We launched this battle hot.
I say in the past sense with the E-D on the end.
It's a hard word to pronounce.
We launched this battle.
Yeah, we launched this battle.
Yeah, the D with the this.
Oh, it began, I think.
We began this battle.
I think let's make it began.
I think you got a point there.
That's pretty good, too.
We began this battle against inflation for the purpose of winning it.
and we're going to stay in it until we do win it.
Okay?
That's a powerful line.
Yeah.
Good.
I'll tell you.

NARA Description

On October 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 12:28 pm to 12:31 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 010-129 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 10-129

Date: October 7, 1971
Time: 12:28 pm - 12:31 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William L. Safire.

[See Conversation No. 285-20]

     Phase II speech, October 7, 1971
          -Text of draft
                -Inflation
                -Word change

Also recorded on October 7, 1971

  • 285-017 12:16 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:16 pm and 12:26 pm.
  • 285-018 12:16 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:16 pm to 12:27 pm.
  • 010-127 12:26 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 12:26 pm to 12:27 pm.
  • 010-128 12:28 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:28 pm.
  • 285-019 12:28 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 12:28 pm.
  • 285-020 12:28 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:28 pm to 12:31 pm.
  • 010-130 12:31 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:31 pm and 12:48 pm.
  • 285-021 12:31 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:31 pm and 12:48 pm.

All 106 conversations from October 7, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 010-129, October 7, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-129 (accessed October 6, 2026).