Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 394 › Conversation 394-019
Nixon, Thomas & Lewine on Aging and Public Service
Monday, January 8, 1973 · 3:29 PM–4:04 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 34 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with press members Helen Thomas and Frances Lewine, along with press secretary Ronald Ziegler and others, for an informal discussion that touched upon the President's personal reflections and observations on public service. The conversation covered a wide array of topics, including age requirements for political office and the judiciary, the physical and emotional burdens of the presidency, and the importance of maintaining interaction with younger generations. The participants also shared personal anecdotes and birthday greetings, concluding with a brief interaction regarding family photographs in the office.
- Aging
- Public Service
- Presidential Stress
- Judicial Appointments
- Political Candidacy
- Generational Differences
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 18 minutes of this recording (about 52% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.
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NARA Description
On January 8, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Helen A. Thomas, Frances Lewine, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:29 pm to 4:04 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 394-019 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 394-19
Date: January 8, 1973
Time: 3:29 pm - 4:04 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Helen Thomas, Fran Lewine, and Ronald L. Ziegler. The White House
photographer and members of the press were present at the beginning of the meeting.
Birthday greetings
Women clothing
The President's schedule
-Inaugural speech
-21-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 394-19 (cont’d)
-Lyndon B. Johnson
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 3:29 pm.
Refreshments
-Coffee
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 4:04 pm.
Birthdays
-Women’s interest
-The President’s service as Vice President
-Greetings to Congress, governors
-Changes
-Decades
-Rose Mary Woods
-Friend's 70th birthday
-The President's 60th birthday
-Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo
-Age
-William P. Rogers
Age
-The President's conversation with George H.W. Bush
-Candidates
-Congress
-Quality, organization
-House of Representatives
-Maximum age
-First candidacy
-Exceptions
-Physical requirements
-Seniority
-Chairman, Speaker of the House
-Senate
-Maximum age
-Experience
-Chairman
-Exceptions
-[Name unintelligible]
-22-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 394-19 (cont’d)
-Wife
-James J. Wadsworth
-Influence on the President
-The President's age
-Candidacies for House of Representatives and Senate
-Judges
-Earl Warren
-Vigor
-The President's appointments to Supreme Court
-Maximum age
-Value of experience
-Harry A. Blackman
-Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
-Charles S. Rhyne's comments
-William H. Rehnquist
-Powell
-Other courts
-Maximum age
-Rehnquist
-Women
-Men
-Exceptions
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-Konrad Adenauer
-Meetings with the President
-[First name unknown] Yoshito [?]
-Japan
-Meeting with the President
-Adenauer
-Gen. Charles A.J.M deGaulle
-Winston S. Churchill
-Herbert C. Hoover
-Accomplishments late in life
-The President's view
-Ages 20,30,40,50
-Importance of young people
-Older people
-Utility
-Kenneth R. Cole, Jr.
-Stephen B. Bull
-23-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 394-19 (cont’d)
-Tricia Nixon Cox
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-Importance of physical fitness
-Charles B. ("Bud") Wilkinson
-The President's exercise routine at Camp David
-Secret Service
-World leaders
-France, Britain
-Churchill, de Gaulle
-Physical, mental, and emotional demands
-Orientation to future
-Slowing down
-Doctors
-Burdens of office
-Effects
-Heart attack
-Compared to boredom
-Johnson
-Heart problems
-Relevance to office
-Gen. Douglas MacArthur
-Hoover
-Value of interaction with young people
-The President’s thoughts on decade ahead
-Compared to last decade
-1962 defeat
-California governor
-Second term
Items in office
-Photographs
-Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Birthday celebration
-Mrs. Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Woods
-Gifts
-White House staff
Ms. Thomas, Levine and Ziegler left at 4:04 pm.
-24-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUMAlso recorded on January 8, 1973
- 035-155 2:56 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:56 pm to 3:00 pm.
- 394-014 2:56 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:56 pm to 3:00 pm.
- 035-098 3:00 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:04 pm.
- 394-015 3:00 PM · 9 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 3:00 pm and 3:04 pm.
- 035-099 3:04 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 3:04 pm to 3:11 pm.
- 394-016 3:04 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:04 pm to 3:11 pm.
- 394-017 3:11 PM · 10 sec — 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 3:11 pm and 3:26 pm.
- 394-018 3:26 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:26 pm to 3:28 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 394-019, January 8, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/394-019 (accessed October 11, 2026).