Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 10 › Conversation 010-136

Nixon phone call with Safire on Phase II economic policy and speechwriting

Thursday, October 7, 1971 · 3:25 PM–3:32 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Safire, William L.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Safire, William L.Conversation010-136 on Tape 10 (tape position 04:20:06–04:24:23)StartThursday, October 7, 1971 at 3:25 PMEndThursday, October 7, 1971 at 3:32 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 010-136 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and speechwriter William Safire reviewed final revisions for a major upcoming address concerning the administration's Phase II economic policies. The discussion focused on refining specific phrasing regarding wholesale prices and business cost-savings to ensure the message was clear and firm for the public. Nixon emphasized that the policy must apply equitably across all sectors and expressed indifference toward potential short-term volatility in the stock market, which he characterized as neurotic.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Mr. President, Mr. Sapphire.
All right.
Yeah.
Mr. President, I have a couple of minor changes that might be helpful.
All right.
On page two, where you say three and a half years, that's now seven years.
Just a second.
Page two.
Are you reading, Captain?
Yeah.
Wholesale prices in September posted the what?
The biggest price of industrial commodities has declined for the first time.
Well, you say in three and a half years.
Yeah.
It's in seven years.
All right.
We'll get that because seasonally adjusted, it's seven years.
Yeah.
But you don't have to say seasonally adjusted.
Oh, I don't need to say that.
Page nine.
Just a second.
Yeah.
On page nine, at the very end...
business should pass along a fair share of its cost savings to the consumer.
I think it makes the point a lot firmer if you add in the form of lower prices.
By cutting prices, is that better?
By cutting prices, I seem direct to you.
Yeah, where are we?
Page?
Page nine, the very end of the page.
Well, I must be looking at it.
Do you have, what, my copy or another?
I have, I think it's your copy.
Well, no, no, I have a different situation because I changed a few things.
I mean, I've broken up the pages.
All right, I'll find it in a minute.
This is on the profit thing.
Right if you say win-for-profits or another matter.
Yeah.
That business should pass along a fair share of its cost savings to the consumer.
By cutting prices?
By cutting prices.
I think by cutting prices is better than, say, in the form of lower prices, don't you think so?
By cutting is tougher, right.
But somehow, when I read it again...
Hold, hold.
Yeah.
I think folks understand cutting prices.
By cutting prices.
Okay, that's all I have.
Is there anything you want me to do?
No, I think I've got everything I need.
I'm just going over the final pages now to get some up in my head.
Okay, I'll be here.
I think it reads fine.
15 minutes, it's all it's going to take, 15 minutes, which is good.
It's about 1780 words, isn't it?
Maybe 19.
Yes, I had 1750 last year.
Well, it's fine.
It's not too long.
It's too long.
Although some take a little longer to read because you know those letters and things.
I don't want to rush them.
You've got to let people sort of sink in on those.
15 minutes is a pretty short speech for a major speech.
Anything over two minutes is too long.
People get so bored.
But if you go past two minutes, then I think people are ready for a meat and potatoes meal, you know, on your speech.
Yeah.
Well, actually, I think we've got a good thing here.
We just don't know how people are going to take the business community.
They've been squealing for all this thing.
When they see a little of it hurting them on the profit thing, they're likely to go right up the goddamn wall.
and the interest and so forth.
But that's fine.
I mean, if this is going to work, you've got to let it apply to everybody.
And everybody's going to, if everybody screams equally, then it'll play well.
That's right.
Except the business guys take it out to you by their market and so forth.
But I don't care.
I think we're doing the right thing.
I don't think this is going to hurt the market.
Well, if it does, I don't care because it's only temporary.
What's going to count in the market is what happens.
And if the inflation is down and
Jobs go up gradually, and the market's going to go up.
That's what's going to happen.
The market is basically, as George Shultz says, neurotic.
Okay, I'm here if you need me.
Thank you.
Right there.

NARA Description

On October 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 3:25 pm to 3:32 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 010-136 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 10-136

Date: October 7, 1971
Time: 3:25 pm - 3:32 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Request for a call from William L. Safire

Safire talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 285-39]

     Phase II speech, October 7, 1971
          -Text of draft
                -Changes
                      -Wholesale prices
                      -Cost savings
                           -Prices
                -Length
                      -Reading of letters
          -Effect of speech
                -Business
                -George P. Shultz

Also recorded on October 7, 1971

  • 285-037 3:05 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:05 pm and 3:25 pm.
  • 285-038 3:05 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:05 pm and 3:25 pm.
  • 285-039 3:25 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:25 pm to 3:32 pm.
  • 010-137 3:32 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:32 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 285-040 3:32 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:32 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 285-041 3:32 PM · 7 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 3:32 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 010-138 3:43 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 3:43 pm to 3:48 pm.
  • 285-042 3:43 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:43 pm to 3:48 pm.

All 106 conversations from October 7, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 010-136, 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/010-136 (accessed October 6, 2026).