Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 election and George McGovern

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Hello.

What's up?

Oh, Chuck, one thing I wanted to be sure you worked into the Laird thing is this, you mentioned it briefly, but I just want to be sure he knocks down this idea of the peasant guerrillas, you know, that's such a fraud.

Sure.

And talk about the 18 fully armed divisions with the most modern tanks and guns and so forth and so on, you know, and coming from the north, you know, the massive invasion by the communists and so forth, the naivete of this sort of thing.

And I think that's very important.

Incidentally, was he on two networks?

Well, what he did was...

If he did that, we ought to be sure Connolly gets on two next week.

I was thinking that tonight that we should try to do the same thing that he did, because what he did is terribly expensive.

He bought a network, which was CBS.

Well, he didn't even get CBS, really, because he could only...

He can't get all of the affiliates.

But he bought CBS...

the most he could cover went to 730.

Then he went into the 50 major markets and tried to buy the other independent stations or other network stations in those markets.

And, for example, here in Washington, he was on both CBS... Yeah.

Well, the point that I make is it's really irrelevant what the cost is.

Whatever we need to get the coverage we need for Connolly, we should buy it.

Don't do it on the basis of buying a network, because it's a cheaper buy.

That's bull.

just get out and uh and if this is an effective thing of buying tell all those people to get off their ass and find out how to do it yeah that's what we really should do because i want conley to get a hell of a ride when he goes you see because that's the first time we're going to have right next tuesday or so right i think we're shooting for next tuesday if we can get the time yeah tonight uh just hung up from said that he didn't think they were going to get any viewership

Yeah.

Well, viewership or not, he'll get some.

And, of course,

He may, I mean, as my, I was talking to Tricia, and she thinks it's an effective format.

He had the dinos well presented and all that sort of thing.

But we've got to expect that.

I mean, hell, they can do that.

But on the other hand, he's a pretty goddamn poor actor.

Oh, he's a terrible actor.

That's the point.

That voice is just murder.

Right.

But the point that we want to make is not to let our little boys get excited about it, but just crack the liver of Jesus out of him on the POWs, on the amnesty.

and on the imposition of a communist government, and then, of course, the total fraudulence of this idea that it's peasant guerrillas.

Oh, well, he's got, he really has four or five things in his speech.

Well, Cambodia, the fact that Cambodia was a peaceful country.

Yeah.

So we invaded it.

Jesus Christ, two sides of the island.

You know, that's...

Yeah, Laird can find out there were 50,000 North Vietnamese in Khang Biao Thien.

There were 70,000 in Laos.

This is the kind of thing the military does very well.

And just slice them up.

But I would get that, and then I would keep that hammering.

And I think, incidentally, Rogers could take that on, too.

he uh you know he doesn't need to talk about but he should do it in a speech and then he doesn't have to talk about negotiations i think we have a place on friday where we can put bill in for a speech which would enable him to make some of these points totally totally the pieces and not just doesn't talk about negotiations somebody uh left the house and senate guys say that he's trying to sabotage the peace negotiations that should be said by somebody though that they are saying and that

Dole had a good statement on it tonight.

Hugh Scott did when I talked to him.

Good.

There was a colloquy that passed in on the floor.

I don't know what kind of coverage they got, but our fellows were all using it.

Of course, Agnew had some very good lines last night, which we have to be careful of, obviously, because of what's going on.

But he still makes the point quite well.

Conley made a good statement.

Well, one thing you could do, you might write a

this instance a pretty devastating reply even by agnew i mean i'm not sure that this isn't too good isn't a pretty good one for him to go out not then talk about negotiations but talk about now let's look here what about pow what about amnesty imposing a communist government and that uh here he says that if it's a peaceful country cambodia the facts are here laos is a peaceful country the facts are here

Hell, yes.

That's why we went in.

We didn't go in there to invade it.

We went in there to save American lives.

The people were shooting at us from across the border.

That's right.

Of course, the other thing, Mr. President, that really is appalling, and I guess we have to give more credit to the American people than we do, but there was an award in that speech.

Condemnation of the communists.

Exactly.

You've got all the points, and I'd get all of those put down into a simple stuff, and I'd get it out, and I'd just knock the living Jesus out of them.

The idea that this speech, one speech disqualifies him to be President of the United States in this period, I'd fuse that term.

The inaccuracies, the naivete, and the basic support of the enemy, well, or the basic faith in me and his,

failure to condemn the enemy who have been killing Americans, right?

By the way, it ought to be a pretty good exercise.

Let's fight him a little on this issue.

We'll touch on that tomorrow.

I look at every one of these as an opportunity.

I think you can go after the fellow and demonstrate his incompetence to be president, which, when you come right down to it, is what this is.

That's what it is.

This demonstrates his incompetence to be president of the United States.

And then that should be said, his speech.

because of its fraudulent, well, I wouldn't, no name calling, I'd just say because of his inaccuracies, because of his naivete, et cetera.

The poor man just simply doesn't understand what's going on.

Oh, he knows.

I'm inclined to think that's the way we've got to handle it.

But my own view is that we have on our hands here a guy that just honestly is a total, total sellout artist.

Alien philosophy, I don't think there's any question.

That's right, that's right.

When he said that I went in World War II and did what we had to do, that was an interesting phrase.

We did what we had to do.

Well, other people went because they... Did what we ought to do.

Yeah, that's right.

And that's a big difference between the...

But on the other hand, it's a double standard, too.

You're going to fight fascism, but not communism.

That's right.

Say the other thing.

Who's going to make that moral judgment?

That's right.

And when is he going to stand up for his own country running down America?

A little of that.

Well, of course, that's where he's really going.

It counters the provision.

Well, you can't tell from sending his first reaction that he'll have to listen a little more.

He'll get a little tomorrow night and so forth.

He wasn't getting much reaction.

Not much so far.

Right.

His own reading was kind of low viewership, but he said he would give me a reading by noon tomorrow and thought he could have quite an action.

And he does.

Unless he gets the quick bounces, he doesn't necessarily get the... Get the long term, but the quick bounces are interesting to...

for us to know.

And then we, but as I say, the thing that I anticipate myself is that our own people tend, because of their Washington influence, and all sitting glued to their television sets, to think the whole nation is looking at the damn thing and is being turned on.

And it isn't.

It didn't hang on this foreign policy speech.

This they will a little more.

But on the other hand,

You want to remember that it's not prime time still.

It's 7.30.

That's right.

And the other thing, Mr. President, is that if we do it right, we can turn the tables on him.

You remember when Murdoch made that speech to us?

Yeah.

He said, oh, my God, look at these really, really good people.

Yeah, I remember.

Turn the tables on him.

That's right.

And I think that's what he said.

He's gone too far.

That's right.

He's just gone too far.

That's what this fellow said.

He's a presidential candidate.

At the time we're negotiating, he says, throw in the towel.

That's right.

tells the enemy, we throw in the towel.

That ought to be said.

Hit the head out of him.

At the time we're negotiating with the enemy, he says, I will surrender if I'm elected.

I just think it's a...

Anyway, you ought to have some fun with that tomorrow.

Good.

Bye.

Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 election and George McGovern

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on October 11, 1972

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