Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 587 › Conversation 587-005

Nixon, Reid & Burch on Swearing-in ceremony and Presidential appointments

Friday, October 8, 1971 · 10:47 AM–10:55 AM ET · Oval Office · 8 min

ParticipantsBull, Stephen B.; Reid, Charlotte T.; Thompson, Edward C. (Mrs.); Reid, Edward T.; Reid, Susan; Lindner, George; Barker, H. A.; Barker, H. A. (Mrs.); Oschsenschlager, Lambert; Oschsenschlager, Lambert (Mrs.); Burch, Dean; Rumsfeld, Donald H.; Malek, Frederic V.; Nebeker, Frank; White House photographer; Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation587-005 on Tape 587 (tape position 00:57:55–01:06:00)StartFriday, October 8, 1971 at 10:47 AMEndFriday, October 8, 1971 at 10:55 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 587-005 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417179143 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Charlotte T. Reid and her family, along with several officials including Donald Rumsfeld and Dean Burch, to conduct a swearing-in ceremony for Reid. During the proceedings, the President offered formal congratulations and presented gifts to commemorate the occasion. Nixon also took the opportunity to explain his rationale for Reid's appointment, emphasizing that it was based on merit and capability rather than gender.

Audio

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NARA Description

On October 8, 1971, Stephen B. Bull, Charlotte T. Reid, Mrs. Edward C. Thompson, Edward T. Reid, Susan Reid, George Lindner, H. A. Barker, Mrs. H. A. Barker, Lambert Oschsenschlager, Mrs. Lambert Oschsenschlager, Dean Burch, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Frederic V. Malek, Frank Nebeker, White House photographer, and President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:47 am to 10:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 587-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 587-5

Date: October 8, 1971
Time: 10:47 am - 10:55 am
Location: Oval Office

Stephen B. Bull met with Charlotte T. Reid, Mrs. Edward C. Thompson, Edward T. Reid, Susan
Reid, George Lindner, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Barker, Patrick McMahon, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert
Ochsenschlager, Dean Burch, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Frederic V. Malek, and Frank Nebeker; the
White House photographer was present at the beginning of this meeting.

      Positioning

The President entered at an unknown time after 10:47 am.

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:47 am.

      Charlotte Reid
           -Swearing-in ceremony
                 -Oath of Office
           -Vocation

      Introductions

      Remarks of congratulations

      Presidential gifts

      The President's explanation of rationale for appointment

Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:47 am.

      The President's schedule

Bull, Reid, et al. left at 10:55 am.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 5 minutes of this recording (about 63% 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.

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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I'll take it right over here.
Right over this side.
Now you stand please.
Thank you.
I'll get you the Bible.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You may not be in that chair today, but I hope to see you later.
May God be with you.
May God be with you.
May God be with you.
May God be with you.
May God be with you.
You're not a lawyer, are you?
You're a lawyer.
you're back to go
Well, it's your choice, you know.
We can have anything we want, right?
Yes, ma'am.
This is my family.
Sorry, ma'am.
This is my mother.
Yes, ma'am.
This is my mother.
This is my husband.
This is my daughter.
This is my husband.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
This is my nephew.
Oh, right, right.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Now we've got some bad pictures.
Just, uh, if you want to sit here, you know, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't,
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and uh there they are thank you ladies these are the same thing the seal of the boat
One, two, three, four, five.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, wow.
Oh, yeah.
Well, that's great.
That's great.
I do appreciate it so much, uh, being able to be someone here.
It's great.
Let me say what you know me.
I, you know, usually swear at you, but, uh,
We did this not because you're a woman, too.
It's because you like it.
Thank you very much.
If you're opposed, we're good.
Thank you.
Just be sure that you've got somebody succeeding this.
This is as strong as you are, okay?
Yes.
That's your job.
You know, it's my parents that I just want.
Oh, you're redistricting.
Because we have been redistricted, and last May...
Yes, here it is.
Right now, it's a park.
But if you love him now, or if he's old, part of his old, he has to be redistricted.
My name is Mr. O. I wish you well.
This is the main thing.
You've got me strong.
You mean it, huh?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
I'm sorry.

Also recorded on October 8, 1971

  • 587-001 9:45 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:45 am to 9:46 am.
  • 587-002 9:46 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:46 am to 10:04 am.
  • 587-003 10:04 AM · 43 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, John D. Ehrlichman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:04 am to 10:47 am.
  • 587-006 10:55 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 10:58 am.
  • 587-007 10:58 AM · 1 hr 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Richard M. Helms, Stephen B. Bull, David M. Kennedy, Henry A. Kissinger, Peter G. Peterson, Ronald L. Ziegler, unknown person(s), and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:58 am to 12:12 pm.
  • 587-008 12:12 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:12 pm and 12:17 pm.
  • 587-009 12:18 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Wayne Woodrow ("Woody") Hays, Sherman Lloyd, Rene Chazelle, Jacqueline Thome-Patentore, Jean Boinvilliers, Pierre-Bernard Couste, Isadore Renouard, Pierre Billotte, Madame Solange Troisier, Manuel Lujan, Jr., Robert Moinet, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Richard K. Cook, and Charles E. Lucet met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:18 pm to 12:28 pm.
  • 587-010 12:28 PM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:28 pm to 12:30 pm.

All 10 conversations from October 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 587-005, October 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417179143). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/587-005 (accessed November 2, 2026).