{"conversationCode":"796-003","tapeNumber":796,"conversationNumber":3,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-796-003","startDateTime":"1972-10-12T13:45:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-10-12T13:52:00.000Z","startDate":"12-Oct-1972","startTime":"9:45 AM","endDate":"12-Oct-1972","endTime":"9:52 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.;","description":"On October 12, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:45 am to 9:52 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 796-003 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":4,"chronRelease":"Fourth Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"10-Dec-2003","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 796-3\n\nDate: October 12, 1972\nTime: 9:45 am - 9:52 am\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.\n\n         Instruction\n              -Materials for H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman\n\n         The President's schedule\n             -Meeting with Claire (Hodgson) Ruth, October 13, 1972\n                 -Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca\n                 -Lou Gehrig\n             -Drug Abuse Prevention Week\n                 -Egil (“Bud”) Krogh, Jr., Dr. Jerome Jaffe’s and Myles J.\n                  Ambrose’s briefing, October 17, 1972\n                       -National Advisory Council for Drug Abuse Prevention 1972\n                           -Cabinet Room\n                           -Camp David\n                               -Campaign speeches\n             -Possible meeting\n                 -Masayoshi Ohira\n                       -Kakuei Tanaka\n                           -The President’s previous meeting\n             -Politics\n             -[Ohira]\n\nButterfield left at 9:52 am.","filename":["796-003.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Butterfield, Alexander P."],"prevCode":"796-002","nextCode":"796-004","transcript":[{"start":0.6,"end":2.98,"text":"You get these for us, we all."},{"start":3.44,"end":4.79,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":4.87,"end":12.87,"text":"It's the best thing you can make that you don't want to see."},{"start":12.93,"end":13.83,"text":"Okay, we'll do it."},{"start":13.91,"end":14.79,"text":"Seriously."},{"start":50.02,"end":74.9,"text":"Okay, Monday, it's, uh, whatever news you were mentioning, the week, whatever you wanted, that Bud Krug and Jaffee and Pam were speaking to the, uh, the, uh, council, the council, the council, the cabinet, when you got by the cabinet, it was about this, about this, and it's, I, what is that, like, I'm going to take it, Monday's the campaign, we're going to speak to the campaign, okay, so I won't be here, I, you know, I can't do it."},{"start":80.37,"end":88.26,"text":"We'll be up there Monday all day."},{"start":88.28,"end":92.9,"text":"The only other thing is Foreign Minister O'Hara."},{"start":93.16,"end":95.6,"text":"Japan is in here to greet some of our people."},{"start":95.72,"end":95.97,"text":"Tanaka's..."},{"start":95.98,"end":98.23,"text":"I don't see him, is it?"},{"start":98.25,"end":100.79,"text":"I don't see him."},{"start":101.61,"end":102.73,"text":"I just saw him."},{"start":103.21,"end":104.99,"text":"Yeah, you saw him on the line."},{"start":105.01,"end":106.99,"text":"That's just terrible."},{"start":107.01,"end":107.89,"text":"I should be"},{"start":111.1,"end":111.72,"text":"Do you understand?"},{"start":111.83,"end":112.5,"text":"Yes, I understand."},{"start":112.55,"end":115.39,"text":"It's just that we have to for Japanese-American relations."},{"start":115.49,"end":116.83,"text":"I'll do it."},{"start":116.85,"end":117.05,"text":"Seriously?"},{"start":117.29,"end":117.63,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":118.01,"end":119.81,"text":"That could be Tuesday, you mean?"},{"start":119.83,"end":122.07,"text":"No, that would be toward the end of the week, Thursday."},{"start":122.17,"end":122.55,"text":"Oh, right."},{"start":122.57,"end":123.47,"text":"Just Thursday."},{"start":123.97,"end":124.27,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":124.45,"end":124.59,"text":"Right."},{"start":124.63,"end":126.19,"text":"He leaves in the Senate."},{"start":126.31,"end":128.26,"text":"Well, it can't be Friday."},{"start":128.34,"end":131.72,"text":"Nothing on Wednesday or Thursday."},{"start":131.84,"end":136.84,"text":"I've got to beat all politics next week, and I want to be moderate in this crowd."},{"start":136.94,"end":137.18,"text":"Okay."},{"start":137.44,"end":138.82,"text":"So Tuesday I'll do a little stuff."},{"start":139.33,"end":140.95,"text":"Nothing Wednesday, nothing Thursday."},{"start":141.85,"end":143.73,"text":"Wednesday, I think there's one little guy."},{"start":143.75,"end":145.05,"text":"Yeah, I'll read it."},{"start":145.21,"end":147.19,"text":"I don't see it this night."},{"start":147.25,"end":147.57,"text":"Nothing here."},{"start":147.63,"end":151.63,"text":"But Wednesday and Thursday, I'll be tied up."},{"start":151.67,"end":151.99,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":152.47,"end":154.37,"text":"Thursday afternoon, I could do something around 4 o'clock."},{"start":154.99,"end":157.83,"text":"That's about the way it adds up."},{"start":157.89,"end":158.61,"text":"All right."},{"start":158.63,"end":160.46,"text":"In other words, if they feel it's urgent,"},{"start":161,"end":161.3,"text":"Urgent."},{"start":161.4,"end":162.38,"text":"Put it off until Friday."},{"start":162.8,"end":164.44,"text":"Put it off until just before his departure."},{"start":164.46,"end":166.83,"text":"I think he departs Friday night, now that I look at this."},{"start":166.91,"end":167.19,"text":"Sure."},{"start":167.33,"end":168.93,"text":"Well, he'd worth late Thursday afternoon."},{"start":170.21,"end":170.51,"text":"Or Friday."},{"start":170.53,"end":170.65,"text":"Right."},{"start":170.67,"end":171.11,"text":"Or Tuesday."},{"start":171.13,"end":171.25,"text":"Right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Alexander Butterfield met to coordinate the President's upcoming schedule, specifically focusing on balancing campaign obligations with official administrative duties. They discussed arrangements for Drug Abuse Prevention Week events and logistical preparations for a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira to support bilateral relations. Nixon instructed Butterfield to minimize his calendar commitments during the week to prioritize political activities while delegating the coordination of these conflicting priorities.","topics":["Presidential Scheduling","Drug Abuse Prevention","Japanese-American Relations","Campaign Politics","White House Administration"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T23:54:10.949Z"},"topicSlugs":["presidential-scheduling","drug-abuse-prevention","japanese-american-relations","campaign-politics","white-house-administration"],"audioDurationSec":185,"audioFiles":[{"file":"796-003.mp3","bytes":4435590,"durationSec":184.76,"bitrate":192058,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:58.477Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:34.908Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/796-003.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/796-003","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/796/conversation-796-003","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}