Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 820 › Conversation 820-006

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on 1972 election and Whittier, California

Tuesday, December 12, 1972 · 10:21 AM–10:39 AM ET · Oval Office · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation820-006 on Tape 820StartTuesday, December 12, 1972 at 10:21 AMEndTuesday, December 12, 1972 at 10:39 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 820-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictated a formal letter of appreciation to Blake Sanborn, Mayor of Whittier, and Donald Kemp, President of the Whittier Chamber of Commerce. The correspondence acknowledges a congratulatory scroll signed by 5,000 residents of his hometown following his 1972 election victory. Nixon expressed that the overwhelming support from his community over the past 25 years remained a source of deep personal gratitude, noting that the scroll would be preserved for his future presidential library.

Audio

Download MP3 · 9.0 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 15% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Set up the letter in the proper way so it reads, the Honorable Blake Sandler, Mayor Kemp, Mr. Donald Kemp,
And dear friends, of the thousands of letters and messages, letters and other messages I have received since the election victory of November 7th,
The one which meant the most of all was the... scroll, signed by 5,000.
Friends and neighbors from my home town of Whittier.
The fact that Whittier gave our kid one of the highest
Majorities of any city in the country.
Of course, there's a...
I'm not sure what that was in itself.
one of the most gratifying results of the election period.
But even more, mankind, the leaders of my own county,
The President of the Chamber of Commerce.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce.
The Local Federation.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce.
The Federation of Republican Women.
Took all the time and trouble to...
Send.
To get the signature signed.
this following week.
will be something that I shall always, will be a memory that I shall always cherish in the years ahead, as I think back to my last election campaign, very fair.
The scroll from what you're talking about in place of me makes my very language complete.
It's great.
But even more, the people we put here, where we know who has supported us in all of our campaigns,
for the past 25 years.
We'll always have a special place in our hearts.
Sincerity.
End of letter A.

NARA Description

On December 12, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:21 am and 10:39 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 820-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 820-6

Date: December 12, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:21 am and 10:39 am
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a letter to Blake Sanborn and Donald Kemp.

       Addresses
            -Sanborn, Mayor of Whittier, California
            -Kemp, President of Whittier Chamber of Commerce

       1972 election
            -Congratulatory messages
                   -The President’s appreciation for scroll
                        -Signatures of Whittier friends and neighbors
            -Results
                   -Whittier
            -Congratulatory telegram (scroll) to the President
                   -Whittier leaders
                        -Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Republican Women
                        -The President’s appreciation
            -Scroll
                   -Nixon Library
            -Whittier’s people

End of dictation.

Also recorded on December 12, 1972

  • 820-001 9:50 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:50 am and 9:57 am.
  • 820-002 9:50 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:50 am and 9:57 am.
  • 820-003 9:50 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:50 am and 9:57 am.
  • 034-051 9:57 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:57 am.
  • 820-004 9:57 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:57 am.
  • 820-005 9:57 AM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:57 am to 10:21 am.
  • 820-007 10:39 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:39 am to 10:49 am.
  • 820-008 10:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:50 am to 10:53 am.

All 33 conversations from December 12, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 820-006, December 12, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/820-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).