Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 269 › Conversation 269-036

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Political Strategy and Judicial Appointments

Tuesday, August 3, 1971 · 1:47 PM–3:40 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation269-036 on Tape 269 (tape position 06:18:53–06:23:19)StartTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 1:47 PMEndTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 3:40 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 269-036 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the political implications of upcoming judicial and administrative appointments, specifically regarding the influence of specific voting blocs and the constitutional process. They address the strategic positioning of the administration ahead of court challenges and weigh the political optics of policy stances concerning 18-year-old voters. The conversation focuses on navigating these sensitive issues to maintain electoral viability and manage public perception.

Political Strategy
Judicial Appointments
Voter Demographics
Constitutional Issues
Public Relations

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.3 MB

This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 06:18:53 – 06:23:19

part D, 18:56

269a.mp3

269b.mp3

269c.mp3

269d.mp3

NARA Description

On August 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 269-036 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 269-36

Date: August 3, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     Weekly news summary
         -Candidates
              -School of the year
         -Clark MacGregor
         -Unknown person
              -President’s regards

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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).

I don't know what you've got in the lab, but we can just do something.

You know, just what we're doing on Main Street.

You know, that's great.

That's great.

You're talking to the reason, isn't it?

You're going to start a show, though.

I'll hold it for you.

candidates for the school that the peers are, because you put in a little bit of real money.

That's great.

I'll let you go through that.

Good product.

Because basically he started out as a nice man.

He should get it, the devil is in trouble.

Also recorded on August 3, 1971

269-027 1:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-028 1:47 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-029 1:47 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-030 1:47 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-031 1:47 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-032 1:47 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-033 1:47 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
269-034 1:47 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.

All 45 conversations from August 3, 1971 →

Nixon phone call with Rollins on Republican fundraising and China policy July 21, 1971 · 3 min
Nixon & Colson on 1972 campaign and Media coverage November 2, 1972 · 17 min
Nixon, President's Panel on Nonpublic Education & Walton on Nonpublic… April 20, 1972 · 27 min
Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Supreme Court nominations September 20, 1971 · 10 min
Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Supreme Court nomination and John Volpe October 11, 1971 · 3 min
Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on 1972 presidential campaign July 22, 1972 · 2 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 269-036, August 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/269-036 (accessed November 2, 2026).