{"conversationCode":"472-006","tapeNumber":472,"conversationNumber":6,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-472-006","startDateTime":"1971-03-23T15:16:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-03-23T15:19:00.000Z","startDate":"23-Mar-1971","startTime":"10:16 AM","endDate":"23-Mar-1971","endTime":"10:19 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.;","description":"On March 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:16 am to 10:19 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 472-006 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 472-6\n\nDate: March 23, 1971\nTime: 10:16 am - 10:19 am\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President talked with John B. Connally\n\n[A transcript of the following portion of the conversation was initially prepared for the\nWatergate Special Prosecution Force [WSPF] and can be found in Record Group [RG] 460. The\nNixon Presidential Materials Staff has reveiwed the transcript and has made changes as\nnecessary. This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential Recordings\nand Materials Preservation Act of 1974 [PRMPA]. The National Archives does not guarantee its\naccuracy.]\n\n[End of transcript]","filename":["472-006.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:27:42","tapeEnd":"00:30:01","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Connally, John B."],"prevCode":"472-005","nextCode":"472-007","transcript":[{"start":0.98,"end":17.42,"text":"So, yeah, I thought it was very, very helpful for you to give those guys a good shot like that this morning."},{"start":17.44,"end":19.41,"text":"And I'm sure you could see I was trying to shame you a little bit because, yeah, well, I told you."},{"start":21.12,"end":32.4,"text":"It looks like we're about two boats short."},{"start":32.42,"end":34.16,"text":"But for this country, what it is, it's almost a death wish, isn't it?"},{"start":34.18,"end":35.68,"text":"It's a death wish."},{"start":36.02,"end":42.99,"text":"We're afraid to do this or that because as the country gets more and more intelligent, they get more and more fearful."},{"start":43.01,"end":43.91,"text":"And that's what happened to the Greeks."},{"start":45.26,"end":47.06,"text":"What happened to the Romans is what's happened to the British."},{"start":47.08,"end":47.8,"text":"That's what happens."},{"start":47.82,"end":48.64,"text":"Well, it's a retreat from greatness, too."},{"start":48.66,"end":49.68,"text":"It's a retreat from leadership."},{"start":50.08,"end":69.77,"text":"But anyway, we're on the side of the Angels, and I appreciate that you're picking up."},{"start":69.79,"end":70.27,"text":"That's the way to do it."},{"start":70.29,"end":70.73,"text":"Slug it right to them."},{"start":70.75,"end":70.85,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":70.87,"end":70.97,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":70.99,"end":72.31,"text":"Well, you handled it all extremely well."},{"start":73.9,"end":75.78,"text":"That's all right."},{"start":75.8,"end":76.02,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":76.04,"end":76.44,"text":"Don't worry."},{"start":76.46,"end":76.82,"text":"They'll remember."},{"start":76.84,"end":76.94,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":76.96,"end":77.06,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":77.22,"end":77.32,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":82.47,"end":87.86,"text":"You know what this year?"},{"start":93.8,"end":95.14,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":112.94,"end":125.98,"text":"Well, I'll try to get a few quotes for our next meeting tonight."},{"start":126.2,"end":126.3,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":126.32,"end":127,"text":"Meet with Chancellor Jesus."},{"start":127.02,"end":127.3,"text":"Yeah, yeah."},{"start":127.32,"end":128.8,"text":"Well, I want to be sure I don't cross the bridge today."},{"start":129.58,"end":134.53,"text":"That's what I mean."},{"start":134.55,"end":136.91,"text":"I'm glad to talk to you about it."},{"start":136.93,"end":137.21,"text":"I didn't know."},{"start":137.23,"end":137.33,"text":"Okay."},{"start":137.35,"end":137.55,"text":"All right."},{"start":137.57,"end":137.67,"text":"Okay."},{"start":137.69,"end":138.49,"text":"We'll get it again."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with Treasury Secretary John B. Connally to discuss Connally’s recent performance in a public or congressional setting, which Nixon praised as a strong and effective defense of the administration’s position. The two men reflected on the perceived decline of American leadership and global influence, likening it to the historical collapses of past empires. They concluded by briefly coordinating their strategy for an upcoming meeting with the German Chancellor.","topics":["American leadership","Political strategy","International relations","Fiscal policy","Historical decline"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T21:29:54.842Z"},"topicSlugs":["american-leadership","political-strategy","international-relations","fiscal-policy","historical-decline"],"audioDurationSec":139,"audioFiles":[{"file":"472-006.mp3","bytes":3327790,"durationSec":138.6,"bitrate":192081,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:48.988Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/472-006.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/472-006","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/472/conversation-472-006","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}