Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-006

Nixon, Connally & Colson on Press relations and Economic policy

Monday, August 16, 1971 · 1:20 PM–1:23 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.; Colson, Charles W.; Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation008-006 on Tape 8 (tape position 00:01:31–00:04:45)StartMonday, August 16, 1971 at 1:20 PMEndMonday, August 16, 1971 at 1:23 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Charles Colson, and Ron Ziegler contacted Secretary John Connally to commend his performance during a recent televised press conference. The participants praised Connally's effective confrontation with the press and his ability to clarify and augment the President's economic initiatives announced the previous evening. Colson specifically highlighted the enthusiastic praise received from CBS President Frank Stanton regarding the broadcast's impact.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
I have Secretary Conley for the... Oh, okay.
Oh, yes, sir.
John, I got some very good reaction to your thing, but let me have Chuck Colson tell you what.
He just had a call from Frank Stanton.
Would you like to hear it?
Yes, sir.
Come here, Chuck.
Yeah.
Hello.
Hi, Chuck.
I just got a call from Frank Stanton that was...
He was about as turned on as any guy I've ever heard.
He said he watched the entire hour.
that it was one of the most exciting hours on television that he had ever seen, that he was just thrilled that they had the opportunity to carry it.
They're going to go on 10 to 11 tonight on a special at which he said, I've instructed my people to use very large amounts of Connelly's press conference.
And he said, the only thing I, he said, I would hate to be the editor because I wouldn't know where to cut any portion of that.
He said that was just the most sensational thing he'd ever seen.
Well, that's great.
It's wonderful, Chuck.
And the...
He really was very, I thought it was one of the best things I've ever seen.
I tell you, the gift you have for cutting those fellows down when they're out of line and giving them a good smile and turning the questions against them, I just think it was absolutely brilliantly done.
Well, you might have caught.
That's the first time I think I've ever seen a one-hour press conference that I was sorry to see end.
By God, I wasn't.
Well, I bet you're tired.
Jesus, I was exhausted.
Oh, well, that's a hell of an ordeal.
Yeah, it really is for me.
But it was just superb.
Absolutely beautiful.
When you can take an old, hard-bitten pro like Frank Stanton and turn him on to the point where he's just calling, he said, I don't know why I called you, Chuck, but I just had to tell somebody.
I was so excited over it.
Well, that's wonderful.
Hang on just a minute.
Thank you, Chuck.
Just a second, sir.
Thank you.
Mr. Secretary?
Yes, sir.
Hi, this is Ron Ziegler.
Hi, Ron.
Say, I thought that was a good confrontation.
Good.
And I think you handled it very well.
I particularly enjoyed the way you responded to that $5 question.
With a student?
Yeah.
That might be worth $6?
Yeah.
Well, you know...
And I also liked your moldable choice thing with Dan Shore.
It was the first time you had a moldable choice since you were in college.
No, I thought it was, you know, hell, I just figured you've got to be yourself with these things, and that's all I can do.
No, I think the other effect it had, too, it clarified a lot of things and, you know,
The people out there watching understand exactly the scope of what happened and the meaning of what happened.
Well, I hope it helped them to understand it because I think I was able to say a few things that
maybe to augment and implement what the president said last night.
The other thing, too, I think, where you made it clear that the president would not move to take individual steps, that he wanted to make the comprehensive approach and the comprehensive package, I think, shot him down on particularly their reference to your June statements and the fact that reality changes from day to day.
Well, I thought it was very effective.
Congratulations, sir.
You're kind to say so.
Here's the president.
Thank you.
Okay, take off five minutes.
Yeah, all right.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.

NARA Description

On August 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, Charles W. Colson, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 1:23 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 8-6

Date: August 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:20 pm and 1:23 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John B. Connally.

[See Conversation No. 564-4/565-1Q]

     Connally's press conference
         -Reaction
                -Charles W. Colson
                      -Call from Frank Stanton

Colson talked with Connally.

                -Colson's talk with Stanton
                     -Stanton’s comments
                            -Television special
                                 -Connally’s press conference
                -Colson's reaction
                -Stanton’s reaction

Ronald L. Ziegler talked with Connally.

                -Ziegler's comments
                      -Students' question
                      -Multiple choice question
                            -Daniel L. Schorr
          -Clarification of the President's speech, August 15, 1971
          -The President's actions
                -Comprehensive action
          -Connally's June statements

The President talked with Connally.

          -Final comments

Also recorded on August 16, 1971

  • 008-001 1:08 PM · 37 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:18 pm.
  • 008-002 1:08 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:18 pm.
  • 565-001 1:08 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Rose Mary Woods, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, Charles W. Colson, John B. Connally, and Bernard J. ("Bunny") Lasker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:40 pm.
  • 008-003 1:18 PM · 5 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 008-004 1:18 PM · 7 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 008-005 1:18 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 008-007 1:23 PM · 3 min — Bernard J. ("Bunny") Lasker and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:23 pm and 1:40 pm.
  • 274-001 1:40 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:40 pm and 2:40 pm.

All 88 conversations from August 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 008-006, August 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-006 (accessed October 22, 2026).