Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 281 › Conversation 281-062

Nixon alone in his EOB office on public speaking and speech rehearsal

Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 6:37 PM–6:44 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 52 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation281-062 on Tape 281 (tape position 04:53:48–04:54:37)StartThursday, October 21, 1971 at 6:37 PMEndThursday, October 21, 1971 at 6:44 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 281-062 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon utilized this time to rehearse a public address in his Old Executive Office Building suite. The practice session served as a final preparation for the speech, which was subsequently published in the 1971 Public Papers of the Presidents. The exercise allowed the President to refine his delivery prior to the formal broadcast.

Audio

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Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 04:53:48 – 04:54:37

281a.mp3
281b.mp3
281c.mp3

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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And he has a superb, an absolutely superb job.
He has shared his responsibility with such great distinction that among the thousands of able lawyers who serve in the federal government, William Reynolds rates him as the very top constitutional lawyer and as a legal scholar.
Mr. Powell, your request will add distinction and excellence to the highest degree in the Supreme Court of the United States.
I am asking the Senate to approve their nominations promptly so that the Court can move forward on the backlog that is building up because of the debate that has occurred recently.
Let me add a final word with regard to a subject that is very close to my heart because of my legal background, because of my years of study with the American system of government.

NARA Description

On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:37 pm and 6:44 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 281-062 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 281-62

Date: October 21, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:37 pm and 6:44 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President rehearsed a speech.

[A transcript of the final broadcast of this speech appears in Public Papers of the Presidents,
Richard M. Nixon, 1971, pp. 1053-1057]

Also recorded on October 21, 1971

  • 012-055 6:36 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 6:36 pm to 6:37 pm.
  • 281-061 6:36 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:36 pm to 6:37 pm.
  • 012-056 6:44 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 6:44 pm to 6:45 pm.
  • 281-063 6:44 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:44 pm to 6:45 pm.
  • 012-057 6:45 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 8:03 pm.
  • 281-064 6:45 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:05 pm.
  • 281-065 6:45 PM · 34 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 6:45 pm and 7:05 pm.
  • 281-066 6:45 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:05 pm.

All 107 conversations from October 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 281-062, October 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/281-062 (accessed September 28, 2026).