Nixon White House TapesTape 766 › Conversation 766-004

Butterfield on Leadership and Political assessment

Thursday, August 10, 1972 · 5:07 PM–6:29 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsButterfield, Alexander P.;  [Unknown person(s)]Conversation766-004 onTape 766StartThursday, August 10, 1972 at 5:07 PMEndThursday, August 10, 1972 at 6:29 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 766-004 ↗

Alexander P. Butterfield met with unidentified individuals in the Oval Office to discuss organizational or political leadership qualities. The exchange was brief and focused on the characterization of a specific figure as a leader. No substantive policy decisions or administrative actions were recorded during this segment of the tape.

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Thank you.
Thank you.
He's a leader.
Thank you.

On August 10, 1972, Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 6:29 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 766-004 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 766-4

Date: August 10, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:07 pm and 6:29 pm
Location: Oval Office

Alexander P. Butterfield met with an unknown person.

       The President’s location

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 6:29 pm.
  • 139-006 1:12 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 1:12 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 200-024 1:12 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:12 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 139-007 4:10 PM · 23 sec — Unknown person(s) and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 4:10 pm on August 10, 1972 and 2:03 pm on August 11, 1972.
  • 766-001 4:44 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:44 pm and 4:46 pm.
  • 766-002 4:46 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, John D. Ehrlichman, Jim Brown, John L. Wilkes, Stanley S. Scott, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:46 pm to 5:07 pm.
  • 107-002 5:07 PM · 1 hr 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the Cost of Living Council, including George P. Shultz, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Hebert Stein, Peter G. Peterson, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Gen. George A. Lincoln, Virginia H. Knauer, Arthur F. Burns, James T. Lynn, Laurence H. Silberman, J. Philip Campbell, James W. McLane, C. Robert Lane, Marvin H. Kosters, William I. ("Bill") Greener, Jr., Joseph Mullaney, Richard B. Cheney, I. David Wheat, Jr., Marina con Neumann Whitman, William Walker, Ronald L. Ziegler, and the White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 766-003 6:29 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:29 pm and 6:33 pm.
  • 766-005 6:33 PM · 8 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:33 pm and 7:10 pm.

Conversation 766-004, August 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/766-004 (accessed September 18, 2026).