Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 273 › Conversation 273-010

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Busing and George C. Wallace

Thursday, August 12, 1971 · 4:51 PM–5:05 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation273-010 on Tape 273 (tape position 01:47:45–01:51:31)StartThursday, August 12, 1971 at 4:51 PMEndThursday, August 12, 1971 at 5:05 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 273-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met to discuss domestic policy concerns, focusing primarily on the political implications of court-ordered busing and the recent public statements made by Alabama Governor George C. Wallace. The pair also addressed the progress of revenue-sharing initiatives and discussed the distribution of Arthur A. Shenfield’s speech regarding American discontent. The meeting served to align the administration's stance on these contentious social and economic issues.

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.4 MB

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

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 01:47:45 – 01:51:31

part A, 1:47:48

273a.mp3
273b.mp3
273c.mp3

NARA Description

On August 12, 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 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 273-10

Date: August 12, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     Busing
          -George C. Wallace statement
               -Alabama case

                    -Court order
                -Unknown girl
                -Amendment

     Unknown person

     Revenue-sharing

     Arthur A. Shenfield
          -Speech [ The Roots of American Discontent ]
                -Rockford College
                -Copies

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Wallace has made a very clever statement, hasn't he?
Well, it's inevitable, you know, it's a confrontation.
And we, of course, have no choice.
I mean, when I say we have no choice, is that bad or good?
Is that bad or good?
Exactly.
According to other companies, it's not bad or good.
I should have showed you though, it's too ridiculous to make you fuss about it, but if you notice the case of a girl with a job, 20 miles instead of four miles, she's a music student, they've got no music to teach, what the hell.
That makes a lot of sense, but I don't know.
It's just what I said, it's an odd one, I agree with you.
But I do wish that we could still do what we've done, which is have a choice in which to vote in this country.
I have a question.
I hear you say that we're going to try to re-elect, but I don't think we can actually do that.
We're trying to do our own thing, but I don't think we're going to be able to do that.
He's smart, quick, and he also sees all the curves and anticipates the running.
He also speaks and shrinks well.
He's got the same voice as me.
That's how he is.
That's how he is.
We're coming into it.
He said, well, it's part of our plan.
Well, part of our plan, we're going to have to go into some equity.
One of the things is the postponement of that.
And frankly, we're on the practical ground.
And we're probably going to postpone it to the end of the year.
or would they make it retroactive?
You're speaking now of their plan for administering the new program or how they're administering the present program.
I see.
Now, I just read an English speech of a conservative British gentleman who shouts, you know, in front of the college.
I'm going to have to copy and paste it.

Also recorded on August 12, 1971

  • 273-009 4:49 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:49 pm to 4:51 pm.
  • 273-011 4:51 PM · 2 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 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 273-012 4:51 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 273-013 4:51 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 273-014 5:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:05 pm to 5:07 pm.
  • 273-015 5:07 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:16 pm.
  • 273-016 5:07 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:16 pm.
  • 273-017 5:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:16 pm to 5:20 pm.

All 33 conversations from August 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 273-010, August 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-010 (accessed November 2, 2026).