Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 466 › Conversation 466-016

Nixon & Butterfield on Photography and White House administration

Thursday, March 11, 1971 · 6:17 PM–6:20 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation466-016 onTape 466 (tape position 05:42:44–05:45:03)StartThursday, March 11, 1971 at 6:17 PMEndThursday, March 11, 1971 at 6:20 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 466-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office to review administrative matters, specifically focusing on the President's upcoming schedule and the selection of official photographs. The discussion centered on technical details regarding the composition of these photographs, including facial expressions, camera angles, and focus. No significant policy decisions were made during this brief administrative session.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Thank you.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
You see, he doesn't have to smile, he can go straight away.
I just hit the one with the other guy, so you see, he hasn't got a smile on his face.
Of course, he hasn't got a face down.
You see his face is on that side.
Well, we're going to try, so... Now, this is our officer, he's got some damn patience.
Listen, the eyes are out there.
See, I have my eyes off you.

NARA Description

On March 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:17 pm to 6:20 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 466-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 466-16

Date: March 11, 1971
Time: 6:17 pm - 6:20 pm

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield

     [Unintelligible]

     Photographs to sign

     President’s schedule
          -Ronald L. Ziegler

     [Unintelligible]

     Photograph
          -Frances Lewine
          -Angle
          -Focus

     Another photograph
         -Faces
         -[Forename unknown] Percy
         -Eyes

Butterfield left at 6:20 pm

Also recorded on March 11, 1971

  • 466-017 6:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:20 pm to 6:25 pm.
  • 466-018 6:25 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:25 pm and 6:35 pm.
  • 466-019 6:25 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:25 pm and 6:35 pm.
  • 466-020 6:35 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 6:35 pm.
  • 466-021 6:35 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 6:35 pm.
  • 466-022 6:35 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:35 pm to 6:36 pm.
  • 466-023 6:41 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:41 pm and 6:44 pm.
  • 466-024 6:44 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:44 pm and 6:48 pm.

All 25 conversations from March 11, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 466-016, March 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/466-016 (accessed September 18, 2026).