Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-128
Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Amnesty
Wednesday, October 18, 1972 · 7:05 PM–7:14 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss campaign strategy in the final weeks before the 1972 election, emphasizing the need to focus on emotional, cultural issues like amnesty, abortion, and welfare rather than abstract policy such as revenue sharing. They contrast their view of national character with George McGovern’s platform, agreeing that the campaign should aggressively exploit McGovern's vulnerabilities on Vietnam and taxation. Nixon also reviews his upcoming travel and media schedule, prioritizing television appearances that highlight labor and veterans' support to solidify his political narrative.
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Mr. Colson.
I just got the call from Margaret and Mike.
You know, the call he got from Meany was very significant.
He sees the real issue.
Schultz got it.
Schultz got it, right?
Where Meany said.
It's an amnesty.
That's right.
The point is that these are the things that our White House staff doesn't understand.
That's right.
The gut issue, it's amnesty.
It's abortion.
It's percolate.
It's get to these people.
I mean, they aren't appealed to by revenue sharing.
Everybody wants me to go make a big goddamn speech about revenue sharing.
Nobody gives a goddamn.
They really don't, Mr. President.
You have to take issues that
the person individually.
First of all, the country's safe.
That's the first thing people think of.
The next thing, the job is safe and things are pretty good in the economy.
Then they begin to get to the issues like, God damn, I don't want to be working hard paying all this money to have these welfare pumps.
Another thing is that
served, more than half a million of our kids served, and these bright intellectuals sent their kids off to Canada.
To hell with them.
That's right.
Oh, I know.
And then with some of the Catholic groups that we're winning, you get the proculate, you get the abortion.
That's right.
They're meaningful.
Basically because, you know what it all gets down to?
It gets down to character, a national character.
McGovern is for softening the character, and I am for turning it up.
And that's a big issue with this campaign.
And that's why all of the analyses that are now being written—I don't know whether you saw the news summary today—Arnett— Oh, yes.
He's a real left-winger.
Oh, he said, I disagreed with what I did and hope it got made.
But it was right.
But it helped.
But it was good politically, you said.
Well, but he also made another point I thought that was very interesting.
He said that McGovern is running against the tide that's moving in the country.
And Arnett is basically a—
That's right.
He's been with us for years.
He's the first guy in that left-wing group that has admitted that it's the issue.
And that's just something else.
Right.
And that you had the guts to do what had to be done.
Some of that will start coming out.
Yeah, if it comes out from a guy like that, it's...
But I wouldn't be too concerned.
We've all got our...
all stirred up about McGovern's Vietnam speech before, and we were going to, you know, on either side the rest.
So he didn't lose.
It was like a tax speech.
I would be ready to hit him.
I'd crack him all the rest.
Speech is going to be a loser.
Because he cannot make a tax speech because his spending is so big.
That's exactly right.
And I'd be ready for it, but I would get all disturbed about it.
Oh, hell no.
I'm not disturbed in the slightest.
I look at it as an opportunity.
That's right.
It steps up, and we're able to club him from about six different sides.
Club the hell out of him.
Only two weeks left.
That's right.
That's right.
This week is damn near done because basically we'll be in New York.
I mean, in Philadelphia.
Friday.
It'll be a good story, even though we don't think it's important.
It's good for the nation.
It'll be good national television.
They can't overlook the Independence Square and all that crap.
No, that's where I would agree with Ehrlichman, that you dominate a piece of the networks, and that's important.
That's right.
And what I say doesn't matter.
It's just the picture.
We do that, and then all of a sudden after that,
York on Monday.
Boy, that'll be campaigning.
And that's all right.
One day if it's fine.
Then we go to Kentucky at night when nobody's looking.
And then Ohio on that beautiful area.
At the end of the weekend, you've got good radio next weekend.
Oh, we're loaded with it.
And a couple of good news.
I gave Bob some ideas.
Yeah, we're going to do that.
We're going to do it better.
I'm not sure they'll use that.
Did they use the Young Labor Group?
No, it was marvelous footage.
But if they'll use the Young Veterans, we'll do it.
I'm sure we'll get them and we're going to do it.
There's a shot at it.
I mean, there's a good chance at it.
You can't be assured of anything.
The OWI, who knew what they would use.
That's right.
As a matter of fact.
Now, the Young Labor Group, I remember that night, it was a Saturday, so we only got the two networks.
Shut up.
Jeez, it was marvelous footage because they showed the pictures of the people.
See, that's what was... That's what I want.
Young Italians, and they were working people, a few hardheads.
So that almost tells as much about the campaign as anything.
I've been bargaining and negotiating for more than 37 years for the Teamsters.
Never did I negotiate away what is not necessary.
That's what my government is doing with Vietnam.
He's giving away to the communists.
So we'll just keep kicking the hell out of them.
We'll knock them into the dust.
Okay.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
NARA Description
On October 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 7:05 pm to 7:14 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-128 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 31-128
Date: October 18, 1972
Time: 7:05 pm - 7:14 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Charles W. Colson.
[See Conversation No. 369-19]
Congressional adjournment
-The President's previous call from Margaret Chase Smith and Michael J.
Mansfield
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 33s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************
Campaign issues
-Amnesty
-George Meany's call to George P. Shultz
-Understanding of White house staff
-Abortion, aid to parochial schools
-Revenue sharing
-The President’s view
-Issues with individual impact
-National defense
-Economy
-Welfare abuse
-Draft dodgers
-Parochial aid
-Abortion
-National character
-The President compared with George S. McGovern
-Analysis
-Peter Arnett
-Article cited in news summary
-The President's Vietnam War action
-May 8, 1972 decision to bomb Hanoi and mine
Haiphong harbor
-McGovern's stance compared with tide of country
-The President’s view
-Vietnam
-McGovern's speech
-Taxes
-McGovern's spending proposals
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 49s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
*****************************************************************
The President's schedule
-Philadelphia appearance on revenue sharing
-New York
-Kentucky
-Ohio
-Use of radio
-Bill signing
-Young veterans group
-Young labor group
-Possible television coverage
-The President's meeting with prisoners of war [POWs] families
-Young labor group
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 32s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
Campaign issues
-Vietnam War
-Frank E. Fitzsimmons's view of McGovern's proposalsAlso recorded on October 18, 1972
- 031-126 7:00 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Margaret Chase Smith, and Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield talked on the telephone from 7:00 pm to 7:03 pm.
- 369-016 7:00 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Margaret Chase Smith, and Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:00 pm to 7:03 pm.
- 031-127 7:03 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:03 pm and 7:05 pm.
- 369-017 7:03 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:03 pm and 7:05 pm.
- 369-018 7:03 PM · 7 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 7:03 pm and 7:05 pm.
- 369-019 7:05 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:05 pm to 7:14 pm.
- 031-129 7:15 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Goldthwaite H. Dorr talked on the telephone from 7:15 pm to 7:16 pm.
- 369-020 7:15 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Goldthwaite H. Dorr met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:15 pm to 7:16 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 031-128, October 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-128 (accessed October 10, 2026).