Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-070

Nixon phone call with Colson on Economic policy and Congressional relations

Thursday, September 9, 1971 · 1:58 PM–2:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation008-070 on Tape 8 (tape position 02:33:48–02:39:18)StartThursday, September 9, 1971 at 1:58 PMEndThursday, September 9, 1971 at 2:03 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-070 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss the overwhelmingly positive initial reactions to the President's recent address to Congress. The conversation highlights favorable feedback from congressional members, business leaders, and the public, particularly regarding the administration's new focus on American interests, the work ethic, and economic policy. Colson and Nixon review the speech's reception, noting the effective delivery and the strategic decision to frame national economic policy around freedom and an eventual end to the wage-price freeze.

Audio

Download MP3 · 7.5 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Hello.
Mr. President, Mr. Colson calling you, Pfizer.
Mr. President?
Yeah.
I've been getting some reactions.
It's been a little hard to get them out of the Congress because they're still with the astronauts.
Oh, yeah, of course.
That's right.
And happily, I must say that Dolan Griffin we couldn't reach because they're in the TV studio filming reactions.
That's a good place to have them because they're very... Bob gave me a little rundown on it, so I pretty much covered it, I think.
He said Hatfield went all out, to my great surprise.
It was the greatest speech I've made.
Well, Les Ahrens said one of the best speeches any president's ever made.
The president threw down a real challenge to the people.
Interesting thread of comment coming through all of the, as a result of our phone calls to business leaders and academicians.
Several of them have said statesman-like struck a
the sense of destiny, three or four of them mentioned the conclusion, the sense of destiny.
Dan Rostenkoski, Dave Bradshaw was here with me, and he knows Danny, who's, of course, a leader of the Democratic delegation on the Ways and Means.
He said he thought it was a terrific speech, and he was just giving a statement to the press that he supported it, thought the investment tax credit was needed, particularly like the new sense of nationalism, which you had given to the country.
and thought you'd get an excellent response, that people would be...
Very important, and that's daily.
That's right.
And people were tired of being pushed around in the world and being big brother, and that this, just as you and I talked about before, this is a very, very solid reaction we will get from the people.
Clark McGregor said he thought the attitude of the Congress was very, very strong, and
Of course, Clark said he thought it was the greatest speech he's heard you give.
Dick Moore was very bullish about it.
Scali put it up on a scale of 8 compared to China, which he considered a 10.
So that's John's way.
Interesting, the wires are carrying a line that I think is good.
I'll read you from one of them.
From the applause he got, the lawmakers liked what Nixon said.
especially the part where he promised fresh attention toward putting America's interests first.
His 25-minute speech was interrupted only 25 times.
25 minutes, they called it.
Yes, sir.
Boy, I cut that son of a bitch down.
Well, you did.
Then it says it undoubtedly reflected the fact that time after time the president raced through lines that should have been surefire applause-getters, which, you know, that was obvious on TV that you were not,
Trying to look for it.
I think it's better not to, don't you?
I do, too.
I think this waiting for applause is a terrible thing.
Yes, because it always looks like you're doing that.
It's always pretty obvious.
And I think cutting in on it the way you did, I think that's strong and forceful.
But the general threat of the reactions, the sense of destiny, the people are tired of giving things away in the world, and it's a good thing to look at.
But yet they're willing to compete.
See, I was a two-edged sword.
I said, look, we've got to take care of America's interests, but let's not withdraw and build a wall around ourselves.
They may not have got that.
Well, you made the point beautifully, but the one that I think is going to get to the public is... Let's take care of ourselves.
Take care of ourselves.
That's right.
People want to do that.
It really is the mood, and you've caught it.
But I think from oral...
They all like the work ethic, don't they?
They all go for that.
Strong.
I still think the line about go to work rather than go to welfare, go on welfare, going on welfare rather than going to work.
God, that's a powerful line.
That's right.
And as Rustin Kelsky said, people across the country are tired of being big brother.
That's whether it's around the world or taking care of people who are unwilling to work for themselves.
so i i i think you're going to find the response will be overwhelming mills made one kind of that he shouldn't announce the end of the priest well well that's technical that is but uh you had to do it yeah and the business comments are all interesting the bankers are saying delighted to hear the freeze will end in november yeah here it is another one happy to hear that freeze will not be continued to
That picks up in a good one out of every three.
And also the line that we are still going to bet on freedom.
Exactly.
So I think it has come through very, very strong.
And as I told you earlier, I think the delivery was extremely forceful.
I think the initiative is ours at the moment.
We sure as hell put the ball in the Congress' court.
thinking, oh, just jump up and down and it'll be good.
Well, I think they're doing that.
As I say, Clark tried to reach Percy off his tail.
He should be a good one.
I don't think he's back yet.
Yeah, he was there.
Oh, was he?
I saw him.
Then he came back early.
He wasn't planning to until this weekend.
We're sure he gets a call.
Well, he's one that we'll keep cranked up because he was very enthusiastic when we first talked to him about it.
Okay.
We'll keep him going.
Bye.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On September 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 1:58 pm to 2:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-070 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 8-70

Date: September 9, 1971
Time: 1:58 pm - 2:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Charles W. Colson talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 278-11]

     The President's recent speech to Congress
          -Reactions
               -Congress
                      -Apollo 15 astronauts
               -Location
                      -Television studio
                            -Robert J. Dole
                            -Robert P. Griffin
               -Robert H. Finch

           -Mark O. Hatfield
     -Leslie C. Arends
     -Telephone calls
           -Business leaders
           -Academics
                 -Statesmanlike
                 -Destiny
                 -Conclusion
     -Dan Rostenkowski
           -David E. Bradshaw
           -Illinois Democratic delegation
                 -Ways and Means
           -Press statement
           -Investment tax credit
           -Nationalism
     -Clark MacGregor
           -Congressional reaction
     -Richard A. Moore
     -John A. Scali
           -Compared to People's Republic of China [PRC] announcement
     -Wires
           -Applause
                 -Lawmakers' response
                 -US interests
                 -Interruptions
                 -Duration of speech
                 -Pace of speech
-Delivery
-Reactions
     -Destiny
     -Competition
     -Isolationism
     -US interests
     -Work ethics
           -Welfare and work
     -Rostenkowski
           - Big Brother
     -Wilbur D. Mills
           -Freeze
                 -Announcement of end
     -Freeze
           -Business response

                           -Bankers
                -Freedom
          -Delivery
          -Follow up
                -Congress
                     -MacGregor
                     -Charles H. Percy

Also recorded on September 9, 1971

  • 008-069 1:48 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 1:48 pm to 1:52 pm.
  • 278-009 1:48 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:48 pm to 1:52 pm.
  • 278-010 1:52 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:52 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 278-011 1:58 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and 2:03 pm.
  • 008-071 2:03 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:03 pm and 2:05 pm.
  • 278-012 2:03 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:03 pm and 2:05 pm.
  • 008-072 2:05 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 2:05 pm to 2:08 pm.
  • 278-013 2:05 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:05 pm to 2:08 pm.

All 58 conversations from September 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 008-070, September 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-070 (accessed October 9, 2026).