Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 32 › Conversation 032-101
Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Foreign Policy
Tuesday, October 31, 1972 · 7:03 PM–7:13 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Charles W. Colson discussed final 1972 re-election campaign strategies, focusing on leveraging public support to strengthen the President's hand in upcoming international negotiations with Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and China. Nixon emphasized the necessity of framing the election as a crucial vote of confidence that would be closely monitored by global powers. Additionally, they evaluated recent media successes regarding legislation for senior citizens and coordinated plans for saturating radio broadcasts to maintain electoral momentum.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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Hello?
Yes, sir, Mr. President.
He can say that the president needs a vote of confidence as he continues to negotiate for an honorable peace in Vietnam and not peace with surrender.
Right.
He needs a vote of confidence as he continues to deal with the Russians and the Chinese.
I mean, let's give our president a big vote of confidence.
It goes really beyond just the present state of negotiations.
That's right.
Because in the next four years, let's be sure that we know that the Russians and the Chinese, the line that I would use, that I may be using even myself, but others can use it more effectively.
The whole world is going to be watching this election.
The men in Hanoi will be watching it.
The men in Moscow will be watching it.
The men in Peking.
And if we give the president a big vote, he will be more effective.
You can strengthen his hand in negotiating a generation of peace.
See my point?
Strengthen his hand.
Strengthen his hand.
But the world is going to be watching.
The men in Moscow will be watching.
The men in Peking.
The men in Hanoi.
That's a great line.
How about that?
Great line.
Now get that in a commercial.
You see, today, too, I had the picture taken in the office of signing the last bill.
Yep.
So that's done, see?
And tomorrow I do radio.
And that kind of, see, we're sort of positioned.
Yes, it's moved beautifully, Mr. President.
The play we got yesterday with the old folks, I'm still shaking my head in disbelief.
We got such a hell of a good ride out of signing H.R.
1 and led the New York Times this morning, and it was page one all over the place.
Right.
Damn good TV, damn good radio here.
Your radio speech on the aging yesterday was excellent.
Just right.
And the stories that have flowed out of that have been good.
Tell Haldeman I told him, I want that run in the morning by morning radio time.
Let's saturate that radio.
Any good radio talk we've got, run in the morning.
We can buy that time.
That doesn't cost us much, don't you agree?
You mean rerun the radio?
Rerun it?
Sure.
Rerun it?
Hell yes.
The radio stuff is awfully good.
Really is.
Yeah.
Damn defective technique that I don't think the other... Well, they've gotten on to it with their spots, but they haven't gotten on to using it the way you've used it.
NARA Description
On October 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 7:03 pm to 7:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 032-101 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 032-101
Date: October 31, 1972
Time: 7:03 pm - 7:13 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Charles W. Colson.
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/23/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[032-101-w001]
[Duration: 52s]
1972 campaign
-Polls
-Albert Sindlinger data
-Distribution at political meeting
-Clark MacGregor
-Robert Dole
-H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-John B. Connally
-Publicity
-Necessity
-Connally’s role in campaign
******************************************************************************
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
Foreign policy themes
-Vote of confidence in the President
-Vietnam
-The President's goals
-Relations with Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Importance
-Impact of vote on negotiations with Soviet Union and PRC
-Use in advertisement
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/23/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[032-101-w003]
[Duration: 2m 10s]
The President's campaign strategy
-Clark MacGregor
-Negative Ads
-Colson’s call to H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Local schedules
-Funding
-Momentum
-Slippage
-The President’s conversation with Ronald Ziegler
-Six-state visit finale
-Radio spots
-Television spots
-Comparison to George S. McGovern's visits
-Ronald Ziegler
-Timing
-Latest poll
******************************************************************************
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
The President's schedule
-Picture-taking ceremony
-House Resolution 1 signing
-Publicity
-Senior citizens
-New York Times
-Networks
-Radio speech on aging, October 30, 1972
-Publicity
-Radio talks
-Reruns
-Instructions for H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Value
-Effectiveness
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/23/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[032-101-w004]
[Duration: 4m 26s]
Polls
-Lou Harris
-Calls from political reporters
-Election victory
-Point spread
-Richard Scammon
-Chicago Sun-Times straw poll
-Consistency
-Scope
-Results in Illinois
-Significance
-National total
-Illinois results
-Significance
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-California
-Massachusetts
-Michigan
-Pennsylvania
-NBC survey
-Douglas Kiker
-In favor of President
-I.W. Abel's neutrality
-Western Pennsylvania
-Nixon Country
-Eastern part of state
-Mayor Frank Rizzo's support
-Philadelphia
-Low registration
-Blacks
-Sindlinger's prediction
-Black voters
-Predicted turnout
-Possibly lower
-Apathy
-McGovern
-Reaction to Harris poll
-NBC ABC coverage
-Accuracy of information
-Polls
-Harris's reaction
Return call to the President
-CBS coverage
******************************************************************************Also recorded on November 1, 1972
- 032-100 7:02 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:02 pm and 7:03 pm.
- 032-102 7:13 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:13 pm and 7:18 pm.
- 032-103 7:18 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 7:18 pm to 7:19 pm.
- 032-104 7:19 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 7:19 pm to 7:20 pm.
- 379-001 8:26 AM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:26 am to 8:27 am.
- 032-105 8:55 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:55 am to 8:56 am.
- 379-002 8:55 AM · 1 min — Raymond K. Price, Jr. and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:55 am to 8:56 am.
- 032-106 9:00 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:00 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 032-101, November 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/032-101 (accessed October 12, 2026).