Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 315 › Conversation 315-016

Nixon & Connally on State of the Union and Political Strategy

Monday, January 17, 1972 · 2:29 PM–2:34 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 8 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.Conversation315-016 on Tape 315 (tape position 01:06:44–01:14:36)StartMonday, January 17, 1972 at 2:29 PMEndMonday, January 17, 1972 at 2:34 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 315-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John B. Connally discuss the final draft of the upcoming State of the Union address, which H.R. Haldeman is delivering to Connally for review. Nixon seeks Connally's feedback on the speech's tone and strategy, particularly regarding its defense against political attacks from Democrats and the inclusion of specific economic and policy points. The conversation also briefly touches on political optics related to the oil industry and the status of potential political rivals.

Audio

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Position in tape: 01:06:44 – 01:14:36

part A, 1:06:42

315a.mp3
315b.mp3

NARA Description

On January 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:29 pm to 2:34 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 315-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 315-16

Date: January 19, 1972
Time: 2:29 pm - 2:34 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John B. Connally.

[See Conversation No. 19-10]

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hi, John.
I don't want to bother you, but I know you've got a lot of attention.
The Haldeman is bringing over a copy of what I call my final copy of the State of the Union.
And after you finish with them, and you, I don't know if you've finished with them, you can take time to read through.
to give you a ring.
I have tried, in fact, we talked at my meeting in Korea today, and I have gone over it, and I just may feel a little too mild, but I just thought, in view of the rather vicious attacks that the likes of Kennedy and Harris and others have made, that I ought to, frankly, to a certain extent, try to get it achieved.
Well, I've got it.
And, you know, putting out a 15,000 word list, and this, I mentioned in the back of the 390 legislative proposal that I've already presented, and the only two groups I can start are
The one which we sort of say that maybe later in the year we may have something on the tax matter.
And the other good thing, of course, is the totally non-controversial technological stuff, you know, which is very, very common.
But my main interest in what I'd like to do is to read it from home.
style.
We do not get it this way in the press, but I would like to see the way that I have it typed for me.
I think when I write a speech, I do it myself, and I also like to make an outline current, so I've got this outline current, but I don't think it will bother me.
But when you see one,
or something like that.
I don't say that.
The purpose is to get my own brilliance and cadence, which you might have a rather interesting idea of how one other guy does it.
But it is deliberately, as I said, a very conservative story, but it lays it out there for... Well, when you and I talked, we were talking the other day, I was talking on the home stretch,
Right.
Yeah, well, you may have noticed.
And this was as a result of Colson's operation on the freighter.
We did have some pretty good answers.
Scott, if that was all right.
Scott Ford took them on real hard.
And Dole got in a couple of lengths.
I think we got a hit right back every time the Navy launched this.
Let me ask you just one question.
I was quite pleased with it.
I hate to have other people elevate him and all, but what do you think?
I mean, what do you think?
Yeah.
Oh, they ought to, yeah.
That's right.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, the thing about that is that I'm taking the oil thing.
Hell, you know we made a lot of oil people mad by what we've done, and by the same token.
Frankly, I do not want to go out and say that, I want our people to go out and say that I'm not a friend of the oil people, because basically, John, I am.
That's what I believe.
And I can, I can't do that comparison.
I can just maybe let some of those other people come over and try to tell you that their enemies are our enemies.
What do you think?
I don't know what the reaction would be, but let me know if you, on that score, if you feel that somebody's up here, come on, I'll set one, I'll set your water on it or something.
Is that it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, some of which he can grow on a mustache.
Well, that's finished.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, he's finished anyway.
He's not running.
He gave up running for president.
He can't be re-elected.
and his own party, and how he's finding a way.
But anyway, I'll be here.
I'm just marking this up, you know, for liberty and for all the things we've been doing and the way that we do a change of order.
The board policy review, I think you will agree, is quite still vibrant and we're very careful with that.
Again, it will be followed by October 8th with the nature board policy report.
We always have a board policy on such board reference very clearly.
Okay, five.

Also recorded on January 17, 1972

  • 315-015 2:15 PM · 37 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 2:15 pm and 2:29 pm.
  • 315-017 2:34 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 315-018 2:34 PM · 38 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 2:34 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 315-019 2:34 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Roger Staubach met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 018-089 2:39 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 2:39 pm to 2:43 pm.
  • 315-004 2:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:39 pm to 2:43 pm.
  • 018-090 2:43 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:43 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 315-005 2:43 PM · 18 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 2:43 pm and 2:47 pm.

All 42 conversations from January 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 315-016, January 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/315-016 (accessed November 13, 2026).