{"conversationCode":"273-005","tapeNumber":273,"conversationNumber":5,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-273-005","startDateTime":"1971-08-12T18:31:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-08-12T18:38:00.000Z","startDate":"12-Aug-1971","startTime":"2:31 PM","endDate":"12-Aug-1971","endTime":"2:38 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.;","description":"On August 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:31 pm to 2:38 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-005 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. 273-5\n\nDate: August 12, 1971\nTime: 2:31 pm - 2:38 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nCharles W. Colson talked with the President.\n\n     John D. Ehrlichman\n          -Press conference\n\n     Vietnam\n          -US policy\n               -Elections\n\n     Michael J. Mansfield\n         -Investigation\n\n     Unknown man\n\n     National economy\n          -Unknown man's possible statement\n                -Democrats\n                    -Prosperity\n                          -Lyndon B. Johnson's administration\n                                -War\n                          -John F. Kennedy's administration\n                                -Unemployment rate\n\n     President's schedule\n          -George P. Shultz","filename":["273-005-splice.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:09:21","tapeEnd":"00:16:22","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Colson, Charles W."],"prevCode":"273-004","nextCode":"273-006","tapeTranscriptFile":"273a.mp3,273b.mp3,273c.mp3","transcript":[{"start":566.44,"end":566.68,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":568.9,"end":570.45,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":570.47,"end":571.69,"text":"I think Erlichman did a very good job."},{"start":571.71,"end":579.75,"text":"I didn't read the wire, but I gave him the bottom line."},{"start":580.11,"end":584.01,"text":"They're out of town."},{"start":584.03,"end":585.19,"text":"They want to promise you everything."},{"start":587.56,"end":592.32,"text":"And then on your side, ."},{"start":619.64,"end":630.49,"text":"And the questions will be ready so that when they come up, the questions are as intelligent as possible to be asked."},{"start":630.51,"end":631.33,"text":"That's the important thing."},{"start":631.35,"end":633.43,"text":"Today, I think he's coming in."},{"start":633.63,"end":642.82,"text":"Tomorrow, we'll be trying to get him to come in."},{"start":642.84,"end":645.04,"text":"I think that man's failed not to have the best patience."},{"start":649.03,"end":652.39,"text":"Right."},{"start":653.65,"end":658.16,"text":"Okay."},{"start":658.24,"end":660.48,"text":"Good."},{"start":660.54,"end":671.03,"text":"Good, that's good."},{"start":673.53,"end":675.75,"text":"Right."},{"start":682.05,"end":699,"text":"He seems to be pretty healthy."},{"start":708.2,"end":726.34,"text":"Well, that, after all, too, that can reflect his, uh, because we had his analysis, how he waits, how many moves, good, uh, just fair, and so forth, you know what I mean?"},{"start":726.36,"end":727.25,"text":"The dandy, I mean, he is doing better."},{"start":727.26,"end":731.41,"text":"I mean, Pastor, I was glad you brought him in that night."},{"start":731.43,"end":734.71,"text":"He was all, uh, all right, a guy like he, but I can tell he's a man of principle, that's all."},{"start":736.46,"end":737.24,"text":"I said that to you."},{"start":737.28,"end":737.98,"text":"He's so mean."},{"start":738.5,"end":745.12,"text":"I wondered about it, but I... From what you said, he just stands up there and bats a bat."},{"start":748.4,"end":748.76,"text":"Good."},{"start":749.16,"end":749.51,"text":"Good."},{"start":749.55,"end":757.51,"text":"Good."},{"start":765.17,"end":777.94,"text":"Well, I think he ought to answer and says, let's not go back to the Democratic, quote, prosperity."},{"start":778.7,"end":786.54,"text":"Prosperity built on war or Johnson years or 6% unemployment in the Kennedy years."},{"start":790.88,"end":791.18,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":792.18,"end":793.54,"text":"Why don't you get it?"},{"start":793.58,"end":794.76,"text":"Why don't you get it?"},{"start":794.92,"end":800.19,"text":"Just making that simple point, crack them hell, that their prosperity is war prosperity."},{"start":800.21,"end":803.51,"text":"The only prosperity the Democrats have ever made will be war prosperity."},{"start":804.17,"end":809.25,"text":"This administration, thank God, has a digital peace prosperity, and we're going to reach that."},{"start":809.81,"end":810.87,"text":"We're going to reach it."},{"start":818.38,"end":819.46,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":819.48,"end":819.76,"text":"That's right."},{"start":819.78,"end":822.44,"text":"He should be, and it's another just average, the three Kennedy years, 61, 62, 63."},{"start":822.46,"end":823.14,"text":"Yes, sir?"},{"start":823.16,"end":824.44,"text":"All right."},{"start":826.85,"end":827.23,"text":"That's right."},{"start":827.25,"end":827.35,"text":"Okay."},{"start":830.53,"end":830.75,"text":"Fine."},{"start":831.65,"end":840.99,"text":"I need you to come up where we talk a few minutes before George gets there."},{"start":841.01,"end":842.98,"text":"I hope I don't have to do that all the time."}],"transcriptBoundary":{"start":560,"end":985,"startMethod":"llm-alignment","endMethod":"llm-alignment"},"transcriptConfidence":"high","transcriptSource":"bigtape","originalFilename":["273a.mp3","273b.mp3","273c.mp3"],"spliceSource":{"spliceType":"bigtape","sourceFiles":["273a.mp3"],"cutStart":558.5,"cutEnd":986.5,"adjustedStart":558.5,"adjustedEnd":986.5,"boundaryMethod":"llm-alignment","confidence":"high","splicedAt":"2026-09-18T14:10:28.956Z"},"aiSummary":{"text":"President Richard Nixon and Charles Colson discuss communication strategy, focusing on how to frame economic performance in contrast to the Democratic administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. They emphasize criticizing the historical link between Democratic policies, wartime spending, and unemployment. The conversation concludes with an agreement to push a narrative that attributes economic stability to the current administration while framing past prosperity under Democrats as tied to the Vietnam War.","topics":["Economic policy","Political strategy","Vietnam War","Democratic Party","Public relations","John F. Kennedy administration","Lyndon B. Johnson administration"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T12:38:01.621Z"},"topicSlugs":["economic-policy","political-strategy","vietnam-war","democratic-party","public-relations","john-f-kennedy-administration","lyndon-b-johnson-administration"],"audioDurationSec":428,"audioFiles":[{"file":"273-005-splice.mp3","bytes":6848305,"durationSec":427.99,"bitrate":128008,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T14:10:28.956Z","transcriptPrev":{"segments":40,"replacedAt":"2026-09-18T14:11:59.187Z"},"audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/273-005-splice.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-005","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/273/conversation-273-005","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}