Nixon phone call with Colson on Watergate accusations and Media strategy

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NixonHello.

ColsonGood afternoon, Mr. President.

NixonAre you having a quiet Sunday?

ColsonYes, sir. Just sitting out in the sun and swimming in the pool.

NixonYeah. You have a pool in your backyard, huh?

ColsonYes, sir.

NixonThat's good.

ColsonIt's a lifesaver on—

NixonWhere do you live?

ColsonIt's in McLean, Mr. President.

NixonHow longs How longs it take to get out there?

ColsonAbout 15 minutes.

NixonIs that all?

ColsonYes, sir.

NixonWell, that must be It's a freeway, that's right.

ColsonAnd it's just over the bridge, but it's close to the district, but it's—

NixonThat must be a be a good choice. Well, it's lovely and so much better than living in that miserable Georgetown.

ColsonOh, I hate that. [crosstalk] with all those rats and—

ColsonI don't even like to drive through Georgetown. I—

NixonOh, God, yeah. No, I'm You know, I think Secret Service is afraid to go through there.

Colson[Laughter] I don't blame them. I I Yeah. It's a crummy place, it's it's—

NixonYeah.

ColsonYeah.

ColsonReminds me of Harvard Square in Massachusetts, which I also dislike.

NixonYeah. Yeah.

NixonWell, how's the how's the uh uh stuff play today uh?

ColsonWell, I think very good, Mr. President. I I was pleased that uh neither the Star nor the Post played the McGovern charge on the Watergate as page one. The Times did. Uh, I understand that around the country, it was not a page one story. And it—

NixonWas almost a predictable thing, I guess uh.

ColsonWhat he said?

NixonYeah.

ColsonWas exactly what I [crosstalk] whitewash and so forth, but uh—

NixonI think somebody ought to slap said, "Now, look, either put up or shut up."

ColsonWell, one of the It's an interesting thing. One of the reporters said to him, "What evidence do you have of that?" And uh he's he he finally backed down and said, "Well, I have no evidence, but it's obvious they haven't answered all the questions, and I'm going to keep pounding them through this campaign until they do."

ColsonI talked to uh Clawson and Dick Moore and others about it today. We, of course, we got the Justice Department to put a response out immediately. Right.

NixonThat's good. Petersen, I saw that.

ColsonRight. I think what My own judgment on it, and the others [cough] feel the same way about this, is that we should let him play this out for a couple of days and uh or even a week. And if he continues to pound it, then pick the right person to to go forward and say, now, maybe even Kleindienst, go forward and say, "Now, wait a minute.

ColsonThis has just gone far enough. Uh, this is uh the the worst kind of innuendo and smear, and either either put up or shut up. I mean, you This is—"

NixonRight.

ColsonI I almost think he uh uh we almost ought to let him overplay his hand, and uh—

NixonI think I'd let it go a week. I think maybe you're right. I uh uh rather than two one or two days, because uh he's liked it.

ColsonYeah.

NixonThat uh It's uh people may just, you never know, people may tire of it a bit.

ColsonWell, he I think that'll I I think that's quite a likely possibility. Plus the fact, I think, Mr. President, that he sounds desperate as hell. I I saw him on TV last night.

NixonYou did, huh?

ColsonOn the evening news, yes, sir. And he looked desperate. He looked [cough] angered. He looked uh mean.

NixonHmm.

ColsonAnd uh we know from the polls that that that doesn't help him when he does that. In other words, he—

NixonYeah.

ColsonThe only thing he had that was going for him was this uh Mr. Clean, nice guy, honest, open fellow. And uh when he gets in there and gets vicious, and uh remember what that Harris poll found, that only 11% of the American people thought you had anything to do with Watergate. And uh when he charges that and charges it in the mean way that he did yesterday,

ColsonI don't know, I I I kind of have more uh confidence in the in the good good judgment of the American people. I don't think they buy that. Plus the fact they no institution in government at least has a has a higher reputation than the FBI,

Colsonand we made the point over and over that they conducted a thorough investigation.

ColsonPeople think uh grand juries uh you know, they don't really think that a grand jury can be rigged. They consider a jury something independent, part of the court system.

NixonThat's right.

ColsonAnd uh he was directly asked, was he accusing us of fixing the grand jury? And he said, "Well, I wouldn't go that far."

ColsonNow that's That's pretty rough stuff. I [cough] I think we ought to see how it plays out. I think he he may try to uh keep this issue alive and it could backfire on him. Uh,

Colsonit could make him look more desperate and that might uh give us an opportunity to really step on him hard.

NixonYeah. Yeah.

ColsonIf he if he does do this uh, and frankly I'd a hell of a lot rather hit him right now on the uh on the error that he made on the wage and price uh controls and—

NixonYeah.

ColsonAnd food prices. I just—

NixonAnd stay off of this.

ColsonAnd stay off of this, sure.

NixonThat's right. And And also uh next week, too, I understand, or rather the following week, to start hitting him again on defense. He's laying He's laying off the big issue.

ColsonThat's right. Ehrlichman and I met about met on this for some length yesterday and, and really, Mel Laird is on Meet the Press next Sunday. Doesn't get much viewership, of course, but it's a good news event, good platform for him.

ColsonAnd now Laird's tough. And then if we can use the Vice President, Connolly, however you want it done, but use our big guns that following week—

NixonYeah.

ColsonI think there's a real advantage to having all of our people stick on one subject for a week. I think we'll get under this guy's skin and the hell of a—

NixonYeah. Have a good time, sweetie. All right, darling.

NixonOkay, then. You get You get down and have a good good good. Okay. You'll see you tomorrow night. Right.

NixonWell, I think that I think if everybody hits him for a week,

Nixonwell, first, the press is bound to start to have to cover some of it, too.

ColsonYes, they will cover it.

ColsonAnd it'll get to him, Mr. President. If you've noticed the way he has reacted very sharply when the surrogates have attacked him,

Colsonuh, I think the fellow's got a short fuse. And I think that he'll uh—

NixonAnd we've got it uh and if they attack him in a coordinated way, it may then find find you getting him talking about that subject. We might even needle him and say, "Why is he being so quiet about that subject?" That might be a way to get him out of it.

ColsonUh-huh.

NixonBecause it's really true, he's he's not talking much about that. The wage price thing, though, I'd clobber the hell out of him on that. That is—

Colson[Laughter] I think we'll just hit We'll have somebody hit him every day this week on that one. He he really stepped into it. If you notice, even his uh even his relative, Rowan, took him over the coals today in the Post on that one.

NixonHe did, huh?

ColsonYes, sir. Uh, maybe because Ehrlichman stuck it to him earlier this week, and he's decided he better do an anti-McGovern column, but uh—

NixonYeah.

ColsonUh, I think we'll find I think, editorially, he will be creamed for this one. I think we can get Arthur Burns uh, as you suggested, uh.

ColsonGeorge Shultz is preparing to do it tomorrow.

NixonRight.

ColsonComes out of his session with you.

NixonJust get everybody uh—

ColsonWe'll get everybody every day, just—

NixonGet some guys up in the Congress. But just uh I'd just just message to all the surrogates, hit him on the wage price thing this week and just crack the hell out of him.

ColsonWe we got some good stuff out on it, and uh yes, damn it, because he he's very, very vulnerable on that. And uh, God, I'd just love to see that Gallup poll coming,

Colsonjuxtaposition of it today.

NixonYeah.

ColsonYou know, one day after after his is in the news, uh comes the Gallup poll showing that people two to one want them stronger.

NixonYeah.

ColsonWe got quite a good play on the utility workers. I was very pleased that uh—

NixonGood. I'm glad to hear that.

ColsonBoth nets last night, and uh

Colsonuh both CBS and NBC covered—

NixonRight.

Colsonpicked it up. They they had film.

NixonThat's good.

ColsonAnd uh papers carried it today. That's going to help us a little bit because it'll Teddy Gleason is preparing to go on Wednesday, and uh then we have John Griner this week.

ColsonAnd uh we have this fellow, Tonelli, so that uh we're going to start we're going to start now some some uh AFL-CIO unions.

ColsonAnd uh maybe break a building trade or two.

NixonMhm.

ColsonThis week, we hope. We've We've given them until Friday, Shultz and I have, so.

NixonYeah.

ColsonKind of told them they've got to get in or else, but we may we may have a week of of some more union endorsements, which—

NixonYeah. Well, if the building trades don't, we know they aren't going to hurt us, they're going to—

ColsonOh, hell. Oh, they're all they're They're primarily with us, they just uh—

Nixonfor us.

ColsonYou know, they're afraid to go to their boards and make an issue of it.

NixonRight.

ColsonThey shouldn't be, but uh—

NixonI know. I understand. But if they'll just keep—

ColsonWe'll keep the heat on them uh because I'd I'd kind of like to get them uh. Well, we got some other good ones now, but uh—

NixonWhat do you think Shriver is going to do about his uh uh his financial state? You think he's going to cover his wife as well as himself?

ColsonI think he's got a hell of a problem. Uh—

NixonI hope everybody's s- s- getting set to do that, aren't they? And also, as Ehrlichman said, they ought to call on uh McGovern to update his.

ColsonOh, yes, plus uh talk about a little bit about his Well, we got to be a little careful on his trust, because the Vice President has one that uh—

NixonYeah, well, don't do that then. Don't do anything that's opening one of ours up.

ColsonYeah, we we can't. We've uh Well, we can ask him to update it uh—

NixonI just I think he should update it, though.

ColsonYep, but he can't disclose We can't hit him on disclosing the trust.

NixonThat's right.

ColsonWanted to. Uh,

Colsonwell, as far as I know that, MacGregor has a statement, which uh he put out this afternoon, which will be out for tomorrow morning's newspapers, uh

Colsonasking Shriver to do it. Shriver, as you may have noticed in the uh press today, said that he planned to do it this week. But, of course, he won't I'm sure he will not include Eunice.

ColsonUh—

NixonAnd MacGregor said to include himself and wife?

ColsonThat's right.

NixonOr did he?

ColsonOh, yes. Hit it flatly, see?

NixonIf you don't hit it flatly, they aren't going to get the point.

ColsonOh, no. He He's got it very very straight out. Uh,

Colsonof course, the Kennedy kids all have trusts, so I suspect that uh it'll just it'll show as a large sum of money, but it'll probably show in the form of a trust.

ColsonWell, that's all right. We'll get the—

NixonYeah.

ColsonGet that Kennedy money out there.

NixonYeah.

ColsonI don't know whether you noticed Shriver Shriver, I just think, is having uh an incredibly bad time. I don't know whether you noticed the uh Well, the news summary picked up part of it, but uh where he where he walked up to a fellow, and he uh uh assembly

Colsonline and the Ted- Ted Groves, who's an auto player, UAW worker, walked up and said, "Who are you for?" and Groves said, "I'm for Nixon." and

NixonYeah.

Colsonand then Shriver said, "Why?" and he said, "Because he's getting us out of Vietnam." And then they had this long colloquy and Groves said, "McGovern's the last man I'd vote for." And then the next day, we- some of these people, this I think in Milwaukee, was a VFW fellow who walked up and

Colsonsaid to Shriver, "You should be in Hanoi. That's where you and McGovern belong." [Laughter] which was picked up on the on the wires, yeah, immediately after that.

NixonYeah.

ColsonHe's really- I think he's having a hell of a time as he goes around. He is not- he sure isn't getting the positive response, and he's running into these kind of things, but

NixonSure. They're going to learn that this business of running up and trying to have their little conversations with everybody when the press is standing there is just as- it's just as dangerous as hell.

ColsonWell, you're inviting disaster, because if the if the United Auto Workers, I mean if that laboring fellow had said, "I'm for you," so what? But if he- when he engages him in a debate like that and says, "I'm for Nixon," and then it gets on TV, I mean, that's a story. When- when somebody like that will take him on.

NixonYeah.

ColsonSo, they're crazy to do it. But it's a- I think it's more of an amateurish operation. I hate to say that, because that- that begins to make us get a little bit less, and you know, we relax a little bit. But, God, I think they're amateurish.

NixonWell, we aren't going to be amateurish. We're just- we just continue to- to run our shop as if we're just tight as hell. That's what we want to do and not give an inch.

ColsonThat's right. Oh, hell.

NixonUh, apparently this uh, program of going around and you know, uh, canvassing, it got quite a good play, didn't it?

ColsonGot a splendid play on TV last night, I- I, and- and good in the newspapers today. Uh, it was- That's-

NixonThat's- that's a good thing to show activity on our part.

ColsonOh, yeah, and they had a CBS again last night, did the same thing they did Wednesday night, they had a map with the, with little lights turning on showing where all of our principal surrogates were yesterday, and uh, it just- it just covered the whole country. And it was- it was very impressive. It was- it was a good show, and uh, well done. And uh, that is the kind of thing we need to kind of,

Colsonwell, to stimulate our troops and the phone calls, Mrs. Nixon's, and uh,

NixonI suppose that they, do you think they're putting that trying to build that surrogate thing into an issue?

ColsonI hope so.

NixonHuh?

ColsonI hope so.

NixonDoesn't bother me a bit.

ColsonNo, I think it helps us, Mr. President. What it says is, there are a hell of a lot of people that are out campaigning for you, and that means that there's a lot of people that, you know, that are supporting you, and there's a lot of uh, support for you, and I think it's uh-

NixonSure.

ColsonNo, I don't think- The only negative to it is the possibility of the underdog empathy reaction you get from McGovern, but this guy doesn't engender that. He doesn't-

NixonHe isn't getting that. He's not yet. Do you think?

ColsonNo, and I don't think he's going to, Mr. President.

NixonYeah. You can't do it when you snarl, uh, you know. You've got to be sort of a good guy to be an underdog.

ColsonWell, you've got to be put-upon. You can't-

NixonYeah, he can't be whining all the time, and he's sort of complaining and petulant. An underdog, that isn't the way an underdog, an underdog has sort of sort of got to be sort of uh, you know, good.

ColsonWell, or he's got to have Or he's got to have some very human qualities, like uh,

NixonYeah. Like Hubert.

Colsonlike Harry Truman was just uh, you know, another guy out there fighting.

NixonYeah, but he didn't snarl. He fought.

ColsonHe fought, but he fought honestly, and uh-

NixonAnd uh, but, and- and- and uh, Hubert Humphrey just went out and said, you know, he smiled and laughed, and said, "Well, gee whiz."

ColsonHe laughed at himself. This fellow isn't laughing at himself at all.

NixonNo, not a bit. Not a bit.

ColsonDid you notice, I don't know whether you had a chance to go through the Times today, but did you notice that piece by Apple in the Times on uh, Massachusetts?

NixonNo, I didn't. No, I didn't.

ColsonOh, my god, it's uh, it really is- it's- it's devastating, coming from Apple. What he says is he's- he's writes it from Boston, and he's done a- you know, one of these walking the streets uh, survey kind of things, and uh, then interviews with local politicians. And he said, "Right now, the

ColsonCommonwealth of Massachusetts would vote for Nixon. Uh, Nixon would win the state," the Democratic politicians acknowledge this. Uh,

Colsonand then they- they start quoting Mike Harrington, who's a way left-wing liberal, and uh, but he- he just tears McGovern up. He says that the people aren't gaining any confidence in him, because his campaign has been so confused, uh, people can't find one reason to vote for him. They're looking for it, but they can't get it.

ColsonUh, the candidate has done a very bad job of dispelling people's fears. And uh,

Colsonand then it- then apparently, Apple did a survey in- in an Irish section of Dorchester where, where uh, McGovern had done quite well in the primary, and found that out of uh, let's see, it turns out six out of 15 McGovern voters,

Colsonsix out of 15 people who had voted for McGovern in the primary, said they now were going to vote for the President in the general election.

NixonI'll be damned.

ColsonAnd then he goes out into Braintree-

NixonAnd voted for him in the primary. And voted for him in the primary, and are now voting for you.

ColsonI mean, that's a- that's That's- that's a real- that's a real switch.

ColsonOh, that's just an enormous turnaround. But uh, and then it- it talks about various parts of the state, which I know uh, pretty strongly.

NixonI wonder why Apple's reporting it.

ColsonI don't know. It's uh- It's the damnedest thing I've ever seen, because I would have thought he He was a really hot for McGovern, you know.

NixonOh God, he was uh-

ColsonWell, I suspect, Mr. President, that he was sent up there by the New York Times to do a story on Massachusetts, that hoping to get-

NixonHoping to get a story that would be a plus for McGovern and just couldn't find it. And uh,

ColsonPossibly.

Colsonand uh, that's the same thing I'm told. Our people up there,

Colsonour frontline up there tell me that they just, they can't find any McGovern support, except in Harvard Square and among the, you know, the university faculties. But out among the folks, uh, particularly in the blue-collar areas, Lynn and, Some of the, Salem and the, towns like that, there just isn't, there is no McGovern support.

NixonMhm.

ColsonAnd then, the Times also had a piece on the uh, on the survey among the Catholics in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey area, and showing that uh, Well, this is the George Yankelovich poll. Shows the- shows you with a 24-point lead over McGovern among Roman Catholics nationally, but

Colson35 points in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. That's just extraordinary.

ColsonAnd that goes into uh, an analysis of why and uh, how your- your stand on abortion and uh, aid to parochial schools has just swung the, the Catholic vote around in the, in three states.

ColsonAnd of course, it's uh, as you well know, it's so damned important in those three states.

NixonYep.

ColsonBut that's a hell of a- It's a hell of a survey.

NixonYeah. Yeah.

ColsonYou go through the Times, I uh- It's kind of interesting this morning. I went through it trying to find something positive to McGovern. The only thing that they had for him was a, an editorial on the uh, Watergate, and uh-

NixonYeah.

Colsonand then a front-page story on the Watergate. But beyond that, you cannot find anything in the- in even in the New York Times that really would be considered pro-McGovern.

NixonWell, don't worry. We're not paying any attention to Times editorials.

ColsonOh, hell no.

NixonWashington Post editorials. Hell, they're going to bang hell out of us, and that's that. We're going to let them dig their grave deep, because uh, they're- and then they'll come

Nixonafter the election whimpering around, saying, "Well, now it's all over and let's have a new a new relationship," and

ColsonYeah, sure.

NixonI want to say, "Fine. Fine. You just go seek it elsewhere. You've already chosen your friends." And they've got their- they- they- I really think, Chuck, you know, the Times has been through this so often with so many candidates, where they kick them and then have-

ColsonIt'll be new, all right.

Nixonand then they think they're so powerful that that won't matter. They don't realize that this is a different game, now, Uh-huh. because even we treated them reasonably well after the 1968 elections. We shouldn't have, but we did.

NixonAnd they're not going to be treated that way anymore. The rotten, miserable job the Times-

ColsonNo, I bet.

ColsonThe miserable job the Times did in 1968 was just- was just beyond catastrophe, too.

NixonLook what they did on Agnew. God almighty.

ColsonI know. God almighty.

NixonThey are- they're finished now, and uh, they've had, in fact, we gave them four years to try and they're finished and they're as bad as they could be.

NixonYou know, that- as a matter of fact, I think what you will find is that the reason Chafee backed off that spend- story was that when, uh,

NixonClawson told Frankel, Frankel, of course, is basically, you know, an all-out McGovernite and uh, so Clawson- uh, Frankel went to Chafee and advised him to back off of it. That's what I hear.

ColsonMhm.

NixonYou might pass that on to Clawson.

ColsonYeah, I sure will. To be careful of Frankel. Warn him about Frankel.

NixonFrankel is a very slimy guy, you know. He's smart, and he'll play it as if he's with us, but Well, I have he got- he got to Chafee and told Chafee, "Look, this is murder," and got Chafee to back off the story.

ColsonThat's an interesting point. Uh, huh, I- I- I had reservations about talking to Frankel, and then he was- Yeah, that's my view. Clawson said, "Well, Kissinger's dealt with him and gotten away with that." So, Yeah, but not on a thing like this. Yeah, that's very true.

NixonThey all stick together.

NixonBut anyway-

ColsonI'm going over to Howard K. Smith's house for dinner tonight, and I thought I would uh, raise that- that thing, and see if I can get him interested in seeing it.

NixonYeah. Yeah.

ColsonWell, Ken Rush had a hell of a speech on it this week, and the- the damn press didn't pick it up. Didn't pick up a thing, huh?

NixonDid not pick it up.

NixonAnd how about Connally's speech? Was that picked up at all?

ColsonUh, Not really, huh? No, it wasn't. Well, it wasn't in the- in the in the Sunday papers, uh-

NixonIn the papers? Well, that's what, what we would expect.

ColsonYeah, that- but we put it out for the Sunday papers, kind of thing, that they didn't pick it up. Yeah.

NixonI forgot about that.

Colsonfinding that we can get just so much out, and that they don't take any more than that. And it it's tough.

NixonMaybe the thing to do is to pick the guy that you want to get out. Well, no, no, I guess the thing to do is to just go for the best you can. But don't don't have a small story kill a big one, that's the main thing. The Connally story is so good, I want that Connally speech

Nixonreprinted and broadly circulated to make it to that, you know, be a terms of—well, he will do it. He will do it.

ColsonNo, we can That's We We will do that. It's a good It's a marvelous story. It's marvelous for Democrats. It's marvelous, too, for editorial writers, you know, who want to endorse.

ColsonOh, we can send it around. It's a In fact, I think that's that's a damn good one to do a major mailing on.

ColsonThe "McGovern Versus McGovern" finally uh beginning to play. We've had a couple of columns pick it up now, and we we didn't The cover of Monday, which is out tomorrow, is a great cartoon of McGovern debating with McGovern. And then we have the Virtually, the whole magazine is devoted to one It's a great quote.

NixonAll right. That's the thing, you see, he may he may just start picking that up himself. But I want to see, be sure to get Connally's stuff up front and center. And, oh, it will, I mean, if he's on he'll be on national television twice next week, won't he, in five minutes?

ColsonYes, sir. And I think that'll I'm positive that will get picked up. The That'll be a news story as well as a As well as a very good TV commercial.

ColsonAnd he is awfully good on television, let me tell you.

NixonYeah. Yeah.

ColsonI don't know whether you've seen those two speeches, but

NixonWell, I know they're good.

ColsonThey really are superb. And

NixonYeah.

Colsonthe spot ads are excellent, also.

NixonYeah. Yeah.

ColsonIt's an interesting It's an interesting key fundraising reports in the Star today at least on McGovern. I I called our people this morning, told them to get back to work now and study the rest of these filings, because, boy, there are some serious questions that get raised in the in the way in which those reports are filed.

NixonYeah.

ColsonAnd I was fascinated reading that uh that he has had uh contributions and income since April 8th April 7th of 11.7 million dollars.

ColsonBoy. Now you know, he's Here he is talking about uh no money in the bank,

NixonYeah.

Colsonwhich can't be true, and because he just, you know, it just doesn't add up, and we've only raised 9.3 million since April 7th. So the people that say that he doesn't have any money,

NixonHm.

Colsonpfft. But they can't find it all, as the Star points out. Some devastating stuff in here. I wish the Star were picked up by other newspapers, but it's

Colson"The McGovern operation abounds with mind-boggling conduits and minor committees that seem to multiply as fast as bacteria. The campaign set up 28 groups with local, West Coast titles last month, just to handle a single stock transfer worth $80,000 from

ColsonDr. Alejandro Zaffaroni, which Jay Lovestone tells me is an absolute left-wing, way over Communist [unintelligible] from uh Uruguay.

ColsonAnd that goes on to It's uh Said "the bookkeeping is as bedraggled in the same absence of organization that shadowed the candidate in the came pain on the campaign trail."

NixonWell, boy, this is something that now, just hope that somebody's really getting that together for us.

ColsonWell, I called this morning, and I got my I would think that was Now that Chotiner was working on that, I don't know what what, what if anything he's done. Well, I think they are, Mr. President. They've been working on it all week, but the difficulty is, it's precisely as the Star story tells it, that uh

Colsonit's been coming in in bits and pieces. He has 350 committees now that we've been able to find. He only had about a quarter of them filed. Uh and, but as they're coming in, they're beginning to to unravel a pattern here that

Colsonthat is showing some very heavy money from certain places.

NixonMhm.

ColsonAnd I think we're going to find I think before this before much longer, as he starts filing this stuff, we're going to find one hell of a lot of uh very left-wing dough in here. I've I've tracked some down, which That should be good.

ColsonI gave to Neal Freeman the middle of this week, which he's doing, uh putting some reporters to work on in Philadelphia, that is clearly a a known communist who's been raising it for him.

ColsonAnd he stopped there and visited with him when he was in Philadelphia this week.

ColsonBut this stuff that's now popping up in the Star, I just think as we start to trace this, we may find he's, A, that he's got a lot of money, a lot more than he's admitting, and B, that it's coming from, in large groups, from uh

Colsonuh

Colsonfrom very questionable sources. Of course, the guy who may take this out for us is Meany. He's uh he's giving a major speech this week in, in the West Coast to the Steelworkers, which is—

NixonGood case we could get that to him.

ColsonWell, I've of course been working with Lovestone on this, and he uh he's the one who says that this Uruguay uh Uruguay thing,

NixonThis doctor?

ColsonDoctor from Uruguay is a real uh a commie, and uh

ColsonMeany apparently is quite quite uh hot over this, and is kind of gonna hit. Uh

ColsonHe will hit the fundraising question obliquely, but he'll hit it directly if we can start getting some of it uh into his hands, and, and verifying it.

ColsonAnd, of course, he's going to hit him like hell on the uh apologist for the Communist line. He He's speaking I think he'll make some network TV out of that when he speaks to the Steelworkers this week. Hmm.

ColsonBecause his speech at the moment is a real nutcutter. Real nutcutter.

NixonAs long as it's in that venue and not ours, it's good. That's right.

ColsonOh, yeah. Well, Meany can uh He's uh taking him on, and

Nixonwe just stay right out of it. That's right.

NixonNow he's Well, we've uh I think this week we'll just keep uh

Nixonkeep it rolling, but I I'd stay on the on the wage-price thing perhaps is the best thing.

ColsonYeah. Yeah, I think that's a real opportunity uh, Mr. President, for us on that.

NixonWe don't want him to make too much progress this week. I don't see how he can make too much, I mean.

ColsonWell, I I surveyed all my uh people this morning on by telephone, just asking them what they saw, and Clawson and Moore and others uh, Ehrlichman. On balance, watching the media all week and reading the press this weekend and

Colsonjust sort of sitting back and looking at it, uh he may have picked up a little bit of enthusiasm in some of the places he went, but uh clearly did not get uh uh

Colsonclearly didn't gain any national momentum.

ColsonClawson told me that he talked to Uh-huh. Well, your polls would indicate that, too.

ColsonOh, and the polls Well, the poll the poll slightly indicates it. Indicates it's just about where it was, yeah. Yeah, that well, he's actually, you gained. You've gained every week, and he hasn't, and uh

NixonWe know that, right.

Colsonit's just been a steady uh strengthening of support for you. And Clawson said he talked to some people in Detroit after McGovern had been there, that, of course,

ColsonKen used to be a reporter there, and he said there was no pickup by the McGovern forces at all. He said they they all turned out, they had what he what was what was described to him as an anti-war rally.

NixonMhm.

ColsonLot of kids. And they all packed up their stuff and went back, and it was just as if the candidate had never been there. McGovern did not leave a There was no lasting impact. It was one day. He went in. He had a big rally, lot of shouting and screaming,

Colsonand uh left, and that was it. And uh

ColsonI just I don't detect anything, Mr. President, in the in the media, or in what we hear from around the country, or in the polls, that the fellow is uh The anti-war rallies are fine with me. I just like to see them have, particularly, the kind of people that come out to them.

ColsonWell, that was the point. That that it was, you know, that he's It'll turn off some other people.

ColsonThat's exactly right. That it just got him nothing, and uh and it was uh, well, just, just

Colsondead in that city.

NixonYeah. Mhm.

ColsonHe had his splash as he came in, and he left, and that was the ballgame. We do have some other things we're we're going to be uh taking him on on this week, uh as the Vice President starts out. He's got some pretty good lines on uh uh quotability. He's got some good stuff on the thousand dollars that uh

Colsonwe'll be hitting him again on this week. And uh Right.

Colsonwe want to hit some of the permissive stuff this week from some of our second levels. Be sure You'd like to keep that permissive stuff alive, in other words, keep reminding people of the, you know,

Nixonthe marijuana and uh and, you know, the amnesty uh soft.

ColsonAnd that's That's awfully Boy, that's really what sends them. Yeah, it's awfully important, because

NixonAnd the people around him, the people around him, that's another thing.

ColsonYeah, we want to, I mean, the fact I I think one real nutcutter should be the line, you know, that uh uh Rizzo uses that after all he's got Who are his supporters? Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman.

ColsonAbbie Hoffman.

NixonAnd Ramsey Clark, and uh you know, you know, terrible people, you know, like that. And uh uh the uh Jane Fonda, you know? They are his supporters.

Nixon phone call with Colson on Watergate accusations and Media strategy

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Also recorded on September 17, 1972

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Nixon phone call with Colson on Watergate accusations and Media strategy

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on September 17, 1972

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Cite this conversation