Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 596 › Conversation 596-020
Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Howard Baker
Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 1:37 PM–1:39 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon consulted with the White House operator regarding the potential public perception of Senator Howard Baker. The President engaged in an informal assessment of Baker’s character and reputation, specifically questioning whether he would be viewed as a distinguished figure. No formal policy decisions or specific action items were recorded during this brief evaluative exchange.
- Howard Baker
- Political assessment
- Public image
- Personnel evaluation
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 124.8 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 03:18:49 into the tape and ends around 03:19:12.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On October 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:37 pm and 1:39 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 596-020 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 596-20 Date: October 19, 1971 Time: Unknown between 1:37 pm and 1:39 pm Location: Oval Office The President talked with the White House operator. [See Conversation No. 11-134]
Also recorded on October 19, 1971
- 011-134 1:37 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:37 pm and 1:39 pm.
- 596-019 1:37 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:37 pm and 1:39 pm.
- 011-135 1:39 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld talked on the telephone from 1:39 pm to 1:44 pm.
- 596-021 1:39 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:39 pm to 1:44 pm.
- 011-136 1:44 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:44 pm and 3:00 pm.
- 011-137 1:44 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:44 pm and 3:00 pm.
- 292-001 1:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.
- 292-002 1:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 596-020, October 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/596-020 (accessed September 28, 2026).