Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 668 › Conversation 668-005

Nixon & Erleborn on John N. Erlenborn and Birthday

Wednesday, February 9, 1972 · 8:31 AM–8:32 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Erleborn, John N.Conversation668-005 on Tape 668 (tape position 00:31:49–00:34:24)StartWednesday, February 9, 1972 at 8:31 AMEndWednesday, February 9, 1972 at 8:32 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 668-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held a brief, informal morning meeting with Congressman John N. Erlenborn to offer well-wishes on the occasion of the representative's birthday. The two men engaged in lighthearted conversation regarding shared names among Republican colleagues and the Congressman's long-term political prospects. No substantive policy matters or administrative decisions were addressed during this exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 100.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 7.1 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 00:31:49 into the tape and ends around 00:34:24.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
31:34I can go about where I want to go.
32:00I just checked in with my friends, people, friends and so on.
32:06I find out that you just had a birthday today.
32:10And it's very interesting, you know, coincidence.
32:13I don't know if you know it, but you shared a birthday with two other Republicans.
32:18They're both named John.
32:22And John's wife.
32:24Yeah, so your mother's all just had sort of that celebrity, and they said, well, John's a good name, huh?
32:31Well, anyway, congratulations, and I'm glad you're in good shape and young enough to be around for 20 more years.
32:41Right?
32:43Yeah, you got seniority, and I'm sure you're going to make good luck.
34:37Hi, John.
34:38I just thought you should know that I know from my congressional people that you had a birthday yesterday.
34:45And I just can't believe you would be 45 years today.
34:52I thought you didn't think about it.
34:53It gives you about 25, 30 more years in the Congress for that kind of a motion.
34:56Thank you, Speaker.

NARA Description

On February 9, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Erleborn met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:31 am to 8:32 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 668-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 668-5

Date: February 9, 1972
Time: 8:31 am - 8:32 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with John N. Erlenborn.

[See Conversation No. 20-76]

Also recorded on February 9, 1972

  • 668-004 8:28 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:28 am to 8:31 am.
  • 020-076 8:31 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and John N. Erleborn talked on the telephone from 8:31 am to 8:32 am.
  • 020-077 8:34 AM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John T. Myers talked on the telephone from 8:34 am to 8:35 am.
  • 668-006 8:34 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John T. Myers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:34 am to 8:35 am.
  • 020-078 8:39 AM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John M. Zwach talked on the telephone from 8:39 am to 8:40 am.
  • 668-007 8:39 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John M. Zwach met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:39 am to 8:40 am.
  • 020-079 8:40 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:40 am and 8:44 am.
  • 668-008 8:40 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:40 am and 8:44 am.

All 53 conversations from February 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 668-005, February 9, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/668-005 (accessed October 2, 2026).