{"conversationCode":"278-011","tapeNumber":278,"conversationNumber":11,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-278-011","startDateTime":"1971-09-09T17:58:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-09-09T18:03:00.000Z","startDate":"9-Sep-1971","startTime":"1:58 PM","endDate":"9-Sep-1971","endTime":"2:03 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.;","description":"On September 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and 2:03 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 278-011 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. 278-11\n\nDate: September 9, 1971\nTime: Unknown between 1:58 pm and 2:03 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Charles W. Colson.\n\n[See Conversation No. 8-70]","filename":["278-011.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:14:43","tapeEnd":"00:17:04","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Colson, Charles W."],"prevCode":"278-010","nextCode":"278-012","transcript":[{"start":9,"end":9.84,"text":"Oh, yeah, of course."},{"start":10.08,"end":15.88,"text":"That's right."},{"start":15.98,"end":19.69,"text":"Bob gave a little rundown, so I pretty much heard it."},{"start":19.71,"end":23.03,"text":"You said Hatfield went a lot."},{"start":23.05,"end":29.18,"text":"So it's the greatest speech I've made."},{"start":29.22,"end":34.22,"text":"My conclusion?"},{"start":34.24,"end":34.3,"text":"Yes."},{"start":47.73,"end":53.75,"text":"I think it's better not to."},{"start":54.07,"end":61.94,"text":"I think just waiting for a fall is a terrible thing."},{"start":61.98,"end":63.78,"text":"I was a two-edged sword."},{"start":63.8,"end":71.58,"text":"I said, look, we've got to take care of America's interests, but let's not withdraw and spill the water on ourselves."},{"start":71.64,"end":72.62,"text":"They may not have got that."},{"start":79.42,"end":84.68,"text":"We have to do it."},{"start":105.96,"end":109.33,"text":"Also, I also rely on where we are still going to get our freedom."},{"start":109.35,"end":111.55,"text":"You know, relax that."},{"start":111.63,"end":118.89,"text":"Maybe I'll just jump on the balance and do it."},{"start":118.91,"end":122.21,"text":"First the office, then the office."},{"start":122.23,"end":122.53,"text":"See you there."},{"start":122.99,"end":123.35,"text":"I'm sorry."},{"start":125.75,"end":127.33,"text":"Yeah, I'm sure you can come."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss the political fallout and public reception of a recent, significant speech delivered by the President. Nixon reflects on the balancing act of promoting American interests while managing foreign policy expectations, specifically regarding potential troop withdrawals. The brief exchange concludes with an agreement to coordinate further on these messaging strategies from the Oval Office.","topics":["Public relations","Foreign policy","Speeches","Political strategy","Vietnam War"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T12:55:56.408Z"},"topicSlugs":["public-relations","foreign-policy","speeches","political-strategy","vietnam-war"],"audioDurationSec":133,"audioFiles":[{"file":"278-011.mp3","bytes":5327726,"durationSec":133.07,"bitrate":320301,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:38.329Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/278-011.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/278-011","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/278/conversation-278-011","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}