Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 598 › Conversation 598-001

Nixon & Haldeman on Diplomatic protocols and Time management

Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 11:42 AM–11:45 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation598-001 on Tape 598 (tape position 00:00:35–00:01:39)StartThursday, October 21, 1971 at 11:42 AMEndThursday, October 21, 1971 at 11:45 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 598-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed the efficiency and logistics of scheduling diplomatic credential presentations. Nixon expressed frustration regarding the excessive time currently allocated to these meetings, which included extended conversations with the diplomats. He instructed Haldeman to streamline future sessions by limiting them strictly to photo opportunities to conserve his official schedule.

Audio

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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 00:00:35 into the tape and ends around 00:01:39.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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0:54Mae'n rhaid i mi wneud rhywfaint o wahanol beth yma.
0:57Mae'n dweud wrthym mai dyma'r dyn sy'n mynd i'r sefyllfa, ac mae'n rhaid i mi gael cyfarfod 15 munud gyda'r bobl hyn, sy'n eistedd nawr ac yn siarad â nhw.
1:04Yn dda iawn?
1:05Roeddwn i'n meddwl bod hynny'n ymddygiad, ond yn y dyfodol, dim ond ymddygiad.
1:14Mae'n rhaid i chi gael y sefyllfa i siarad â nhw.
1:18Byddai'n cymryd 30 munud, os ydynt yn barod i'w gael.
1:23Ond yn y cyfnod rydyn ni'n ei gael, rydyn ni'n mynd yn ôl i'r ffotograffau.
1:27Felly yn y dyfodol, dim ond ffotograffau.
1:30Ond mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n... Mae'n...

NARA Description

On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:42 am and 11:45 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 598-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 598-1

Date: October 21, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:42 am and 11:45 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     The President's schedule
          -Presentation of diplomatic credentials
               -Length
               -Photographs

Also recorded on October 21, 1971

  • 012-034 10:52 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 10:52 am to 11:04 am.
  • 012-035 10:52 AM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 am and 11:04 am.
  • 281-026 10:55 AM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, John B. Connally, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:55 am to 11:40 am.
  • 012-036 11:04 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:04 am to 11:14 am.
  • 012-037 11:14 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:14 am and 12:39 pm.
  • 598-002 11:42 AM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:42 am and 11:45 am.
  • 598-003 11:45 AM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ruth Voss, Edwin D. Etherington, James W. McLane, Stanley S. Scott, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:45 am to 12:06 pm.
  • 598-004 12:06 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:06 pm and 7:28 pm.

All 107 conversations from October 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 598-001, October 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/598-001 (accessed September 28, 2026).