{"conversationCode":"015-121","tapeNumber":15,"conversationNumber":121,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-015-121","startDateTime":"1971-11-23T22:58:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-11-23T22:59:00.000Z","startDate":"23-Nov-1971","startTime":"5:58 PM","endDate":"23-Nov-1971","endTime":"5:59 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Connally, John B.;","description":"On November 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:58 pm to 5:59 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 015-121 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":2,"chronRelease":"Second Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"26-Oct-2000","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 15-121\n\nDate: November 23, 1971\nTime: 5:58 pm - 5:59 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with the White House operator.\n\n     John B. Connally\n\nThe President talked with Connally.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 623-24F]\n\n     Council of Economic Advisors [CEA] appointment\n         -George P. Shultz\n         -Paul W. McCracken\n         -Herbert Stein","filename":["015-121.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:43:31","tapeEnd":"03:44:29","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","White House operator","Connally, John B."],"prevCode":"015-120","nextCode":"015-122","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":1.69,"text":"Hello."},{"start":1.91,"end":2.21,"text":"Secretary."},{"start":2.23,"end":2.58,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":2.88,"end":6.14,"text":"John, I wanted to check this with you before I talk to the fellow."},{"start":6.74,"end":10.61,"text":"George, you know, I've been having him check this CEA thing."},{"start":10.83,"end":11.37,"text":"Right."},{"start":11.39,"end":19.22,"text":"I don't want the McCrackens getting out the league, but as far as you're concerned, is Stein all right with you?"},{"start":19.42,"end":19.86,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":20.1,"end":21.34,"text":"I think he's the best."},{"start":21.58,"end":24.7,"text":"You see, you get a new man and then you have..."},{"start":25.02,"end":48.5,"text":"difficulty is fine it'd have to quit that's a problem but how do you feel about him he's a strong guy he's smart he's strong he's loyal he's right he knows that he knows what's going on he knows and going into the last year here in the election year i don't know where you go to beat him well he's uh he knows everybody everybody works well with all right"},{"start":48.48,"end":51.25,"text":"It's all right with you."},{"start":51.27,"end":55.34,"text":"I'll go forward with it and announce it tomorrow then."},{"start":55.54,"end":56.42,"text":"All right."},{"start":56.48,"end":57.33,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon consulted Secretary of the Treasury John Connally regarding the appointment of a new Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) chair to succeed Paul W. McCracken. Nixon expressed his preference for Herbert Stein, emphasizing his intelligence, loyalty, and suitability for an election year. Connally validated the choice, prompting Nixon to finalize the decision and prepare for an announcement the following day.","topics":["Council of Economic Advisers","Herbert Stein","Paul W. McCracken","Economic policy","Personnel appointments"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T00:22:11.729Z"},"topicSlugs":["council-of-economic-advisers","herbert-stein","paul-w-mccracken","economic-policy","personnel-appointments"],"audioDurationSec":58,"audioFiles":[{"file":"015-121.mp3","bytes":1391176,"durationSec":57.89,"bitrate":192255,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:24.618Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/015-121.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-121","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/15/conversation-015-121","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}