Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 217 › Conversation 217-015

Nixon phone call with Woods on Federal spending and Taxation

Saturday, October 7, 1972 · 10:28 AM–11:55 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 12 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation217-015 on Tape 217StartSaturday, October 7, 1972 at 10:28 AMEndSaturday, October 7, 1972 at 11:55 AMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 217-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, collaborated on the drafting and revision of a radio speech regarding federal spending and taxation. The discussion focused on refining the rhetoric to avoid partisan blame, highlighting instead the shared fiscal concerns between the administration and key congressional committees. Nixon provided specific instructions for manual edits and retyping to emphasize his commitment to preventing tax increases while criticizing the structural flaws in Congress regarding fiscal responsibility.

Audio

Download MP3 · 16.9 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 5 minutes of this recording (about 44% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Okay, and this is .
Well.
Okay, that's right.
All right.
Bye.
I do not...
I do not point the finger of blame on Congress.
on the members of Congress as individuals or on the Congress as an institution.
I do not point the finger of blame on the members of Congress as individuals.
Insert that on page four and call it day of the day.
Thank you for the strategy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Page 614.
Smalls.
I do not place what they may in a statement.
I do not place parts that I...
I...
In making this statement, it is not my intention to...
I do not make this.
I think this statement can end with the intention of playing partisan politics.
Both.
Both parties.
Both of our major parties.
Both of our major parties have their share of big spenders.
And there are responsible Democrats as well as responsible Republicans serving on the appropriations committees of the Congress.
The Ways and Means Committee of the House and the Commands Committee of the Senate were as deeply concerned as I am about the trend toward higher spending and higher taxes.
The difference is that the problem is that only the President has the final responsibility to lead the fight in this battle against higher prices and higher taxes.
When I said toward higher spending, what did I say?
Committee of Senate who are as deeply concerned as I am about the trend toward higher spending and higher taxes.
The problem is the inherent weakness in the present structure of the Congress.
This has been confirmed by the house waiting each day.
Please, that has been confirmed.
From now on, carry on.
I don't want to copy it, it doesn't need to be 1, 2, 3, and 4, and so forth.
I just want you to put it in.
Alright.
Alright, that's alright.
We'll put the expand on.
We want to do it at 1 and 2.
Okay.
Thank you.
...further here at the bottom of page 8, but further to enable me to keep that promise.
I shall make no promises in this campaign which would require any increase in taxes.
Do you want to back up a few pages at a time?
Bring it back a few pages at a time.
All right.

NARA Description

On October 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 217-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 217-15

Date: October 7, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:28 am and 11:55 am
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

        Draft of radio speech on Federal spending, October 7, 1972
            -Typewriters
            -Members of Congress
                 -Insert into speech draft

        [Pause]

                 -Bipartisan nature of problem
                 -Democrats, Republicans
                      -Appropriations Committee, Ways and Means Committee of House of
                      Representatives, Finance Committee of Senate
                          -Concern for higher spending and taxes
                              -The President
             -Retyping
             -Typeface for speech script
             -Campaign promises
                 -Taxes
             -Re-typing

Woods left at an unknown time before 11:55 am.

Also recorded on October 7, 1972

  • 147-006 10:16 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at Camp David from 10:16 am to 10:28 am.
  • 217-014 10:16 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 10:16 am to 10:28 am.
  • 217-016 10:28 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am.
  • 217-017 10:28 AM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am.
  • 217-018 10:28 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am.
  • 217-019 10:28 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am.
  • 217-020 10:28 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am.
  • 217-021 10:28 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 11:55 am.

All 41 conversations from October 7, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 217-015, October 7, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/217-015 (accessed October 11, 2026).