Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-058
Nixon, Woods & Sanchez on Supreme Court nominations and Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 8:03 PM–8:18 PM ET · White House Telephone · 15 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and his personal secretary Rose Mary Woods discussed the positive reception of the President's televised speech regarding his nominations of Lewis F. Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist to the Supreme Court. Woods relayed congratulatory feedback from key administration figures and allies, including John Connally, George Romney, and John Mitchell, who particularly praised the President's historical context regarding the Court. Although Woods relayed a request from Secretary James D. Hodgson for the President to call labor leader George Meany regarding Wage and Price Board issues, Nixon firmly declined to initiate the call.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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you
Do you want me to tell you in a hurry who else called?
Well, if there's anybody worth calling.
Manolo.
Manolo.
Connolly called.
And he said it came through exceedingly well down there, and that, you know, that he didn't know these men.
He knew Powell slightly, but they sound very good.
He thought your delivery, everything was excellent.
Good.
And Trish thought it was terrific, and it was a real surprise to her.
Hodgson said he's over at Blair House, and so is Rogers, and I don't know who else.
Hodgson said that he was sitting next to Meany while they were listening.
And Meany was commenting about every other phrase on who was going to be the nomination.
And he is very happy.
One, because he was afraid Friday was going to get him, and he was terribly against him.
Two, he was glad it was not a woman.
And three, instead of Rehnquist, he said anyone who served with Jackson had to be a good name.
Then he was hoping you could make a call to Meany sometime, because apparently they called up Wade Price's board in a hurry, and meeting for tomorrow, and he's annoyed that they called him about more notice or something.
But I just don't think you can...
I won't do it.
Yeah, that's my feeling, too.
But...
And Hodgson says, you want to talk with him?
And Bill Rogers called, but that call went to Alex.
Alex just needed to call him back later.
Sam thought you really fooled him, and he's getting a big kick out of the commentators trying to figure out whether, you know, whether they'd been cleared or whether you'd had these all the time, you know, that sort of thing.
Romney thought it was superb.
He's disarmed your critics.
The statement you made about the reason for their appointment would be accepted as valid and found by anyone who does.
He just thought it was very excellent, always.
Ray Richardson thought it was, he was very impressed by the speech.
He thought it was a very fine statement.
He thought that it was particularly good that you gave people what they really need, a little bit of a
the background and the support of the court as an institution.
He thought it was superb.
Mitchell thought it was, he thought it was, you know, it was just great delivery and everything, wonderful presentation.
And the important thing was that you gave the country a bit of history, you know, a history lesson, which they need about the court, which they haven't been given.
And Roger Morton called Alex, and said, great delivery, especially wise for Kevin to explain the court and the duties of the justices.
Put them, I think, in the proper perspective of the American people.
And he thought the collections were excellently done.
So, look.
Yeah, go ahead.
Okay, so that's all.
I've been on the phone since that ended.
And Alex just gave me another note just saying that Rogers and Hodson and all of them and playing against groups is what it is.
All saw the group applauded the performance and the selection.
But I know very well that this was a goddamn good speech.
Oh, it was an excellent one.
It was excellent.
It just couldn't have been better.
And everyone, I mean, this is, I've taken a lot of calls everywhere, but this is very, it's spontaneous.
And they were almost all on the line at one time.
They had to, you know, to wait.
Connolly called in from Texas.
John Mitchell waited in his office and called.
He said he'd be home if you wanted to talk to him.
I'll have to talk to him, right.
And, um,
uh as i say romney and all the people roger johnson called he thought you just did a superb superb job and see louise was against a woman anyway it's not you might give louise a call
BEEP
NARA Description
On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Manolo Sanchez talked on the telephone from 8:03 pm to 8:18 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-058 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 012-058
Date: October 21, 1971
Time: 8:03 pm- 8:18 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Rose Mary Woods.
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/15/2017.
Segment cleared for release.]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w001]
[Duration: 1m 54s]
Supreme Court nomination
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
-Potential female nominees
-Florida
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Congress
-Good commentary
-Cabinet
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
-Reaction
-Promise to women voters
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Congress
-Efforts
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-Tricia Nixon Cox
******************************************************************************
Telephone calls to the President
The President conferred with Manolo Sanchez at an unknown time between 8:03 pm and 8:18
pm.
Request
[End of conferral]
Telephone calls to the President
-Supreme Court nominations
-John B. Connally
-Speech
-Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
-Tricia Nixon Cox
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-James D. Hodgson, William P. Rogers
-George Meany
-Herschel H. Friday
-Woman
-William H. Rehnquist
-Robert H. Jackson
-Possible telephone call by the President to Meany
-Wage and Price Board
-Unintelligible
-Rogers
-Alexander P. Butterfield
-Maurice H. Stans
-George W. Romney
-Elliot L. Richardson
-John N. Mitchell
-Rogers C.B. Morton
The President conferred with Manolo Sanchez.
Request
[End of conferral]
Rose Mary Woods’ schedule
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/15/2017. 1m
36s segment cleared for release. 24s remain closed as 012-058-w002.]
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w002]
[Duration: 1m 36s]
Rose Mary Woods’ schedule
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Supreme Court nomination
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Mildred L. Lillie
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Women’s vote
-Statement to women voters
-The President’s response
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w002]
[Duration: 24s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
******************************************************************************
Supreme Court nomination
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
-Response of women voters
-The President’s knowledge
******************************************************************************
Butterfield
-Rogers, Hodgson, Peter M. Flanigan
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/15/2017. 1m
46s segment cleared for release. 11s remain closed as 012-058-w003.]
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w003]
[Duration: 1m 46s]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
Rose Mary Woods’s schedule
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-Tricia Nixon Cox
Supreme Court nomination
-Mildred L. Lillie
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Senate
-Potential of female Supreme Court justice
-Responsibility
-John N. Mitchell
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-The President’s attempt
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
-Statements
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w003]
[Duration: 11s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
******************************************************************************
Supreme Court nomination
-Florida, Camp David
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-Mildred L. Lillie
-American Bar Association [ABA]
******************************************************************************
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
The President's assessment of his speech, October 21, 1971
Congratulatory telephone calls to the President
-Connally
-Texas
-Mitchell
-Romney
-Roger E. Johnson
-Louise Johnson
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/15/2017. 2m
52s segment cleared for release with five segments of 57s, 12s, 15s, 17s, and 28s remaining closed
as 012-058-w004, 012-058-w005, 012-058-w006, 012-058-w007, 012-058-w008 respectively.]
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w004]
[Duration: 2m 52s]
Congratulatory telephone calls to the President
-Roger E. Johnson
-Louise Johnson
-Phone call to Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon’s schedule
-National Federation of Republican Women event
-Philadelphia
Supreme Court nominees
-Other qualified women
-Mildred L. Lillie
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w004]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
[Duration: 57s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
******************************************************************************
Supreme Court nomination
-Mildred L. Lillie
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Congress
-Rose Mary Woods’s opinion
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-The President’s suggestion
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w005]
[Duration: 12s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
******************************************************************************
Supreme Court nomination
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s opinion
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal Returnable]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
[012-058-w006]
[Duration: 15s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
******************************************************************************
Supreme Court nomination
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon’s statement
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 7
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w007]
[Duration: 17s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 7
******************************************************************************
Supreme Court nomination
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Impact on women
-Impact on the administration
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 8
[Personal Returnable]
[012-058-w008]
[Duration: 28s]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 8
******************************************************************************Also recorded on October 22, 1971
- 012-059 8:19 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward R. F. Cox talked on the telephone from 8:19 pm to 8:25 pm.
- 012-060 8:32 PM · 31 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 8:32 pm to 8:39 pm.
- 012-061 8:40 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:40 pm.
- 012-062 8:40 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 8:40 pm to 8:47 pm.
- 012-063 8:48 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:48 pm.
- 012-064 8:48 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Manolo Sanchez talked on the telephone from 8:48 pm to 8:56 pm.
- 012-065 8:56 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:56 pm and 9:00 pm.
- 012-066 8:56 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:56 pm and 9:00 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 012-058, October 22, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-058 (accessed October 12, 2026).