Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 786 › Conversation 786-001

Nixon & Woods on Ronald Ziegler and 1972 Presidential Campaign

Monday, September 25, 1972 · 9:08 AM–9:14 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation786-001 on Tape 786StartMonday, September 25, 1972 at 9:08 AMEndMonday, September 25, 1972 at 9:14 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 786-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, discussed personnel management and the public perception of the President's recent work at Camp David. The conversation centered on the job performance of press secretary Ronald Ziegler and the necessity of maintaining a disciplined, composed public image during the 1972 election campaign. Nixon expressed high regard for Ziegler's “cool” demeanor and effectiveness in handling press interactions, while Woods emphasized the importance of public messaging regarding the President’s focus on economic policy and speech preparation.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.6 MB

NARA Description

On September 25, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:08 am to 9:14 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 786-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 786-1

Date: September 25, 1972
Time: 9:08 am - 9:14 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 33s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

*****************************************************************

             White House staff
                -Constance M. (Cornell) (“Connie”) Stuart
                    -Ronald L. Ziegler
                -Ziegler
                    -Job performance
                -The President's work at Camp David
                    -Press coverage
                         -1972 election
                              -Timing
                -Speeches, economic policy
                -Public opinion

Woods left at 9:14 am.

                                                 Conversation no. 786-2

Date: September 25, 1972
Time: 9:24 am - 9:39 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.

            Kissinger’s schedule

            Prisoners of war [POWs]
                -Release of three Americans
                     -George S. McGovern’s accusation

Show the rest of the log (113 more lines)

                         -Telegram from peace groups
                              -Civilian airplanes
                         -Hanoi
                              -Propaganda
                         -Melvin R. Laird’s reply
                              -Hanoi
                                  -Propaganda
                     -Telegram
                         -Civilian airplanes
                         -Administration reply
                              -Telegram
                                  -Defense Department
                     -Fate upon return
                     -Administration telegram
                         -Tone
                         -US officials
                         -Defense Depratment
                     -Ronald L. Ziegler’s possible statement
                     -McGovern
                     -Return to families
                     -Propaganda
                     -McGovern
                         -Ziegler
                              -Presentation of facts, Administration policy

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 36s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

*****************************************************************

            Vietnam negotiations
                -Recent release of three American POWs
                -Bombing
                     -Public opinion
                -Kissinger’s considered action
                -Air war policy
                     -Laird
                     -Adm. Thomas H. Moorer
                         -Report
                              -Timing
                     -Post 1972 election policy coordination of air war
                         -Gen. John W. Vogt, Jr.
                     -[Hanoi]
                -Conduct of Kissinger
                     -Le Duc Tho
                         -Views of the President on POW release
                              -Ultimatum
                                   -Advisability
                         -Violation of agreement
                         -The President’s warnings
                              -Offensive
                              -POWs
                         -Future negotiations
                              -POWs
                                   -Hanoi
                -Use of POWs
                     -Speeches

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]

[Duration: 2m 24s    ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4

*****************************************************************

                McGovern’s family
                   -[Terry McGovern]
                       -Marijuana use
                   -[Susan McGovern]
                       -James Rowen
                            -Hobart Rowen
                            -New Mexico

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 37s        ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6

*****************************************************************

            Kissinger's schedule
                -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

            The President's schedule
                -California

            Kissinger’s schedule
                -Forthcoming telephone call to the President

            Vietnam negotiations
                -Rationality of North Vietnamese
                -1972 election

                      -Ultimatum
                           -Bombing
                  -Haig
                      -Nguyen Van Thieu
                      -Post-1972 election military plans

Kissinger left at 9:39 am.

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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

What the hell does Conley do?

She's awful, but she's just too smart, you know.

And it doesn't, he has to be alone.

He has to be alone.

Or Dronson has to be alone.

And he has to be tough with it.

Dronson.

The main thing about him is that he is so terribly cool.

He's good for me, you know.

He never comes in all the time.

He always does it.

He's got guts.

I say, I don't want to do this.

But he's cool.

He's smart.

And he goes out in front of those people.

And if I tell him, Brown, you can't say that.

You've got to just say that.

He doesn't try or slip off of it.

No.

Boy, he is great.

He is amazing.

He is absolutely wonderful.

I think it was a terribly tough job.

But I'll keep working on the other one.

Well, we have to tell all of our people that, right?

No, you only get six long weeks that you know you've given him.

That's what they say anyway.

You know, like, you go on a campaign with several of them, you know?

What did you say?

You don't get six long weeks to even be concerned with whether they say that you can't make it or not.

Yeah, I know.

I understand.

And I think most people still don't have anything to come out of it.

You've worked on hard speeches, the economic policy and all that.

I think most people think you work for your head up.

So there's no doubt.

Also recorded on September 25, 1972

786-002 9:24 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:24 am to 9:39 am.
786-003 9:39 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:39 am and 9:56 am.
786-004 9:39 AM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:39 am and 9:56 am.
786-005 9:56 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:56 am to 10:10 am.
786-006 10:10 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:27 am.
786-007 10:10 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:27 am.
786-008 10:10 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:27 am.
786-009 10:27 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:27 am to 10:44 am.

All 40 conversations from September 25, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Finch on Political strategy and Camp David June 7, 1972 · 26 min
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on White House reorganization and Ron Ziegler November 17, 1972 · 4 min
Nixon & Bull on Brent Scowcroft and Ronald Ziegler February 15, 1973 · 1 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on Economic Policy and Bureau of Labor Statistics September 22, 1971 · 18 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on Unemployment statistics December 2, 1971 · 9 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on Henry Kissinger and Economic policy December 30, 1972 · 2 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 786-001, September 25, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/786-001 (accessed November 5, 2026).