{"conversationCode":"272-004","tapeNumber":272,"conversationNumber":4,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-272-004","startDateTime":"1971-08-09T17:48:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-08-09T17:58:00.000Z","startDate":"9-Aug-1971","startTime":"1:48 PM","endDate":"9-Aug-1971","endTime":"1:58 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Shultz, George P.; [Unknown person(s)];","description":"On August 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:48 pm to 1:58 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 272-004 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":2,"chronRelease":"Second Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"26-Oct-2000","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 272-004\nDate: August 9, 1971\nTime: 1:48 pm - 1:58 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\nThe President talked with George P. Shultz.\nPresident's schedule\n-Forthcoming meeting\nAn unknown person entered at an unknown time between 1:48 pm and 1:58 pm.\nUnknown activity\nThe unknown person left at an unknown time between 1:48 pm and 1:58 pm.\nPage | 2\nWhite House Tapes of the Nixon Administration, 1971-1973\nRichard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\nInternational monetary situation\n-Status\n-John B. Connally\n-Texas\n-Pressure for action\n-Perception of crisis\n-Paul A. Volcker\nPending legislation\n-Possible vetoes\n-Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]\n-Sustaining vote in Congress\n-Chance\n-Unknown person\n-Political support\n-Forthcoming meeting\nNational economy\n-Retail sales\n-President's schedule","filename":["272-004.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:10:33","tapeEnd":"00:20:15","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Shultz, George P.","[Unknown person(s)]"],"prevCode":"272-003","nextCode":"272-005","transcript":[{"start":3.98,"end":7.08,"text":"Hello."},{"start":7.1,"end":14.33,"text":"We've got our meeting tomorrow, all right?"},{"start":14.35,"end":14.65,"text":"OK. Fine, fine."},{"start":14.67,"end":24.29,"text":"OK. That's good."},{"start":24.31,"end":25.23,"text":"Incidentally, is there anything I know of some"},{"start":37.16,"end":46.33,"text":"I see."},{"start":50.49,"end":56.16,"text":"Is there anything particularly new in the international front that we can do?"},{"start":56.18,"end":65.18,"text":"I know Collin did rule that it would go out in Texas."},{"start":65.2,"end":65.3,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":65.52,"end":65.62,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":65.64,"end":66.76,"text":"I don't know if there will be a crisis, particularly,"},{"start":67.78,"end":92.28,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":92.3,"end":92.46,"text":"I, uh..."},{"start":92.84,"end":117.11,"text":"I don't want to do exactly what you're going to do."},{"start":117.13,"end":119.76,"text":"I don't want to do some of the sort of training for you, or the training for you, or the training for you, or the training for you."},{"start":119.78,"end":120.52,"text":"I think they would have to be joined."},{"start":120.54,"end":120.96,"text":"You know what I mean?"},{"start":120.98,"end":121.52,"text":"They'd have it in a crisis."},{"start":121.54,"end":121.84,"text":"It's never bad."},{"start":122.46,"end":148.65,"text":"They say, I mean, it is a continuing downward trend."},{"start":148.67,"end":149.61,"text":"But it's not the crisis that I'm talking about."},{"start":149.63,"end":150.85,"text":"I don't think that the voter shock would be a compulsion to ."},{"start":150.87,"end":151.34,"text":"What's your next story?"},{"start":159.85,"end":178.92,"text":"Yeah, on the internet."},{"start":178.94,"end":179.38,"text":"There's nothing to do."},{"start":179.4,"end":181.65,"text":"We know it's dangerous, but ."},{"start":181.67,"end":184.09,"text":"Yeah, and there are ."},{"start":201.77,"end":223.96,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":223.98,"end":225.71,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":225.72,"end":226.33,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":226.59,"end":226.69,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":226.71,"end":226.81,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":226.83,"end":226.97,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":226.99,"end":227.09,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":280.04,"end":290.2,"text":"Well, I think that that's the problem."},{"start":291.38,"end":295.31,"text":"Just beyond what we were recommending."},{"start":295.37,"end":296.63,"text":"What is it with education?"},{"start":325.11,"end":325.69,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":380.19,"end":390.91,"text":"What about the chance of, uh, what about the chance of sustaining that?"},{"start":390.93,"end":401.91,"text":"But, uh, when do we have to, uh, consider that?"},{"start":401.93,"end":402.03,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":402.72,"end":427.5,"text":"Well, I'd like to know the chances."},{"start":427.52,"end":428.64,"text":"I'd like to know what the chances are of getting a vote."},{"start":428.66,"end":429.67,"text":"Either way, if there's a chance of getting a vote."},{"start":429.82,"end":429.93,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":433.28,"end":436.36,"text":"Oh, there's no waiting in here."},{"start":436.38,"end":436.66,"text":"We have to go."},{"start":487.03,"end":502.44,"text":"You're watching me."},{"start":502.46,"end":502.98,"text":"We're gonna have that fun."},{"start":503,"end":503.38,"text":"All right, come on."},{"start":503.4,"end":503.74,"text":"Come on, come on."},{"start":503.76,"end":503.86,"text":"Okay."},{"start":503.88,"end":504.2,"text":"Wait, I forgot."},{"start":507.07,"end":509.75,"text":"I see."},{"start":509.77,"end":511.19,"text":"He, uh... Young."},{"start":511.21,"end":511.33,"text":"He is."},{"start":511.35,"end":511.67,"text":"Why wouldn't he?"},{"start":511.95,"end":512.61,"text":"He looks like a boy to me."},{"start":519.16,"end":520.95,"text":"I will speak on this very shortly."},{"start":560.11,"end":565.36,"text":"We'll look at the arguments tomorrow."},{"start":565.66,"end":567.93,"text":"We'll get the retail sales figures in."},{"start":571.57,"end":571.77,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":571.79,"end":574.56,"text":"Yeah, well, we'll have to look at it tomorrow."},{"start":574.58,"end":579.59,"text":"We should have put it in."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and George P. Shultz met to discuss preparations for a forthcoming meeting, focusing on the current international monetary situation and the potential for a perceived economic crisis. The participants also addressed pending HEW legislation, specifically evaluating the political feasibility of sustaining a potential presidential veto in Congress. Additionally, the President requested a review of retail sales figures to better gauge the national economic outlook before their next high-level consultation.","topics":["International monetary policy","Economic crisis","Presidential veto","HEW legislation","Retail sales"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T12:36:18.297Z"},"topicSlugs":["international-monetary-policy","economic-crisis","presidential-veto","hew-legislation","retail-sales"],"audioDurationSec":583,"audioFiles":[{"file":"272-004.mp3","bytes":23338632,"durationSec":583.33,"bitrate":320071,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:38.008Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/272-004.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/272-004","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/272/conversation-272-004","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}