Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 494 › Conversation 494-006

Nixon & Butterfield on Public opinion polls and Vietnam War

Saturday, May 8, 1971 · 1:35 PM–1:40 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation494-006 on Tape 494 (tape position 02:56:22–03:00:20)StartSaturday, May 8, 1971 at 1:35 PMEndSaturday, May 8, 1971 at 1:40 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 494-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met to review routine administrative paperwork and discuss recent public opinion polling regarding the Vietnam War. They analyzed shifts in approval ratings and the significance of undecided voters in the context of recent war demonstrations. The discussion concluded with a brief review of documents requiring the President’s signature.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 106.9 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:56:22 into the tape and ends around 03:00:20.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
2:56:22It's a little better before the press spread.
2:56:25It's the three points left.
2:56:28Both the support end on end.
2:56:29All right.
2:56:32Disapproved.
2:56:35I am inclined to think that, in the same approval of the war, it was 48-41 after the press conference, which was a seven-point spread.
2:56:40Now it's 46-38, which is an eight-point spread now.
2:56:43And once that you've gained them.
2:56:44But that's because the war demonstrators haven't gone.
2:56:49Yeah, let me say that I think the, I think the little thing proved the disapproval of that.
2:56:54That high number of undecided, you would not have that high of an undecided in a commercial poll, do you think so?
2:57:05Yeah, I've stopped that once in a while, you know, too.
2:57:08Very often.
2:57:10And we don't usually, we usually go, you know, there's about 14, you know, just as long as I've decided to move in our direction.
2:57:18I think so.
2:57:19Now that he, he's been deposited.
2:57:22And when I met, yeah, they're all, so he said, even if I had decided to be pushed, they would move more in our direction than the other direction.
2:57:40See how much weight he had gained.
2:58:37There I am.
2:59:25Well, it says Dr. Lee or something.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:35 pm and 1:40 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 494-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 494-6

Date: May 8, 1971
Time: 1:35 pm - unknown before 1:40 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     Papers for signature

     Rose Mary Woods

     [Unintelligible]

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 1:40 pm.

Also recorded on May 8, 1971

  • 494-004 10:33 AM · 2 hr 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:33 am to 1:12 pm.
  • 002-124 11:45 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:45 am and 11:49 am.
  • 002-125 11:49 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 11:49 am to 11:51 am.
  • 494-005 1:12 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:35 pm.
  • 494-007 1:50 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 1:55 pm.
  • 494-008 1:55 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 2:40 pm.
  • 494-009 1:55 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 2:40 pm.
  • 002-126 2:40 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:40 pm and 6:50 pm.

All 13 conversations from May 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 494-006, May 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/494-006 (accessed October 3, 2026).