{"conversationCode":"709-005","tapeNumber":709,"conversationNumber":5,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-709-005","startDateTime":"1972-04-17T13:36:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-04-17T13:58:00.000Z","startDate":"17-Apr-1972","startTime":"8:36 AM","endDate":"17-Apr-1972","endTime":"8:58 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President);","description":"On April 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 8:58 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 709-005 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 709-5\n\nDate: April 17, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 8:36 am and 8:58 am\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President dictated notes for the file.\n\n*****************************************************************\n\n[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/04/2022.\nSegment cleared for release.]\n[Personal Returnable]\n\f[709-005-w001]\n[Duration: 1m 18s]\n\n     Organization of American States [OAS] event\n          -The President’s toast\n                -The method of delivery\n                     -Ad-lib\n                     -People’s Republic of China [PRC]\n                           -Translation\n                           -Chou En-Lai\n\n*****************************************************************","filename":["709-005.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:15:28","tapeEnd":"00:17:09","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)"],"prevCode":"709-004","nextCode":"709-006","transcript":[{"start":5.3,"end":6.68,"text":"Uh, one other minor note."},{"start":7.71,"end":9.75,"text":"I had, uh, given a suggestion."},{"start":9.77,"end":14.09,"text":"I read the OAS, uh, toast, and, uh, I was very, uh, disappointed in how it is."},{"start":15.13,"end":22.79,"text":"I mean, I had a living in it, and I was very disappointed in it."},{"start":22.81,"end":25.57,"text":"Well, it is considerably more work for me to prepare these toasts."},{"start":28.03,"end":35.48,"text":"And while they are uneven quality marine ad libitum, it is a style that I have a relationship with others who do not have mine."},{"start":35.5,"end":43.8,"text":"In the future, that's the only style I'm going to use."},{"start":44.48,"end":55.41,"text":"Unless, of course, it's in a foreign country like China where we have a translation problem."},{"start":55.43,"end":55.91,"text":"Even there, I heard the"},{"start":56.72,"end":75.26,"text":"does not show as much better than some of the others due to the fact that I was able to have literature and have to read it."},{"start":75.28,"end":75.78,"text":"At the table."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon dictated his dissatisfaction with the quality and delivery method of a recent toast prepared for an Organization of American States event. He expressed a preference for an ad-libitum style in future remarks, noting that it better reflects his personal rapport with others. Nixon acknowledged, however, that prepared texts remain necessary for events in countries like China, where translation requirements and formal protocols necessitate closer adherence to a script.","topics":["Organization of American States","Public Speaking","Presidential Toasts","Diplomatic Protocol","Translation","People's Republic of China"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T03:01:23.599Z"},"topicSlugs":["organization-of-american-states","public-speaking","presidential-toasts","diplomatic-protocol","translation","peoples-republic-of-china"],"audioDurationSec":79,"audioFiles":[{"file":"709-005.mp3","bytes":3148065,"durationSec":78.56,"bitrate":320570,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:55.376Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:20.833Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/709-005.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/709-005","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/709/conversation-709-005","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}