Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 475 › Conversation 475-020

Nixon, Cake & Klein on 1972 presidential campaign and Political organization

Thursday, April 8, 1971 · 1:04 PM–1:11 PM ET · Oval Office · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Cake, Ralph H.; Klein, Herbert G.; White House photographerConversation475-020 on Tape 475 (tape position 03:17:17–03:24:31)StartThursday, April 8, 1971 at 1:04 PMEndThursday, April 8, 1971 at 1:11 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 475-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Ralph H. Cake and Herbert G. Klein to discuss strategies for mobilizing public support for the 1972 presidential campaign. Cake proposed establishing state-level volunteer organizations to bolster the President's message, drawing upon his experience working on previous Eisenhower campaigns. The discussion also addressed the utility of Klein's television appearances and the necessity of recruiting optimistic organizers to engage key community groups.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello, Ralph.
How are you?
Hello, Mr. President.
Nice to see you.
You're an old man.
Thank God.
Look at that grout.
Get the grout so you can have the soup.
You can't carry this load all along.
I'm talking about getting to the people.
You can only do so much.
You've got to do it.
You've got to do it.
I had this suggestion that I made to him, Mr. President, and that was this.
Yes, sir.
How's it going?
You've been out a while, right?
I've been out an awful lot, and the worst well in the city I didn't
with Pittsburgh, Georgia, and Texas.
You had the presidential cuff, didn't you?
No, I had it out.
There they are.
That's all you get on the day for.
Well, that's where the country's always for.
That's what you get if you're not a golfer.
Don't ever tell them that.
I won't give you a golf ball.
I'll give you a golf ball anyway.
If you'd like to have one.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On April 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Ralph H. Cake, Herbert G. Klein, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:04 pm to 1:11 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 475-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 475-20

Date: April 8, 1971
Time: 1:04 pm - 1:11 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ralph H. Cake and Herbert G. Klein; the White House Photographer was
present at the beginning of the meeting

      Greetings

     Photographs

     Cake’s age

     Photographs

******************************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 07/24/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[475-020-w001]
[Duration: 1m 24s]

     Ralph H. Cake
          -Support for Dwight D. Eisenhower and the President
                -Walter Williams
          -Support for the President in 1968 elections
                -Walter Williams
          -Health
          -Friendship with the President
          -Continued support of the President
          -Help in 1972 campaign
          -Plan to organize support for the President

******************************************************************************

     Klein’s television appearances
          -Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
          -”Meet the Press”
          -”Face the Nation”

******************************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 07/24/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[475-020-w002]
[Duration: 3m 32s]

     Ralph H. Cake
          -Plan to help establish State level organizations
                -Build confidence in the people
                -The President's message to the people
                -Robert P. Burroughs and Ralph H. Cake
                      -Work in 1956 campaign for Dwight D. Eisenhower
                            -Organized 27 cities
                      -Volunteers
                      -James Michael Roche
                            -General Motors
                            -10,000 employees
                -Herbert G. Klein
                -Roger E. Johnson
                -Qualities needed
                -Organizers
                -Kiwanis, Lions, and labor
                -Need for optimists
                -Forthcoming meeting with Herbert G. Klein
          -The President's tactics

******************************************************************************

     Presentation of Presidential cufflinks
          -Golf balls
                -Signature and Seal

     President’s greetings to Walter [Surname unknown]

Cake and Klein left at 1:11 pm

Also recorded on April 8, 1971

  • 052-002 12:17 PM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 1:04 pm.
  • 052-003 12:17 PM · 49 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and Douglas MacArthur, II met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 3:56 pm.
  • 052-004 12:17 PM · 53 sec — William P. Rogers, Peter G. Peterson, and unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 4:30 pm.
  • 475-018 12:17 PM · 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Franco Mario Malfatti, Peter G. Peterson, C. Fred Bergsten, Neil A. Seidenman, David M. Kennedy, William P. Rogers, John B. Connally, Clifford M. Hardin, Maurice H. Stans, James D. Hodgson, George P. Shultz, Paul W. McCracken, Henry A. Kissinger, Carl J. Gilbert, Rocco C. Siciliano, Deane R. Hinton, Donald A. Webster, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:17 pm to 1:00 pm.
  • 475-019 1:00 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:00 pm and 1:04 pm.
  • 475-021 1:12 PM · 56 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Bryan Lewis, Jenifer Pine, James Little, Erich Hoffman, Harman Carswell, Susan Horsley, Carol Eags, Amy Gellis, White House photographer, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Gordon C. Strachan, Jack Dempsey, and Mrs. Jack Dempsey met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:12 pm to 2:00 pm.
  • 001-047 3:03 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:03 pm and 3:55 pm.
  • 475-022 3:03 PM · 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:03 pm to 3:55 pm.

All 67 conversations from April 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 475-020, April 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/475-020 (accessed October 12, 2026).