Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 214 › Conversation 214-001

Nixon phone call with Colson on Polling data and Public perception

Saturday, September 30, 1972 · 1:35 PM–2:05 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation214-001 on Tape 214StartSaturday, September 30, 1972 at 1:35 PMEndSaturday, September 30, 1972 at 2:05 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 214-001 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 651228580 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discussed polling data and public perception of candidates, specifically comparing voter reactions to Barry Goldwater and George McGovern, and also touched upon media coverage of the Eagleton affair and potential negative perceptions of McGovern's wife.

Audio

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This clip of the conversation was cut from the tape by the National Archives (catalog record ↗).

NARA Description

On September 30, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:35 pm to 2:05 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 214-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 214-1

Date: September 30, 1972
Time: 1:35 pm - 2:05 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[This recording began while the conversation was in progress.]

[See Conversation No. 145-1; one item has been withdrawn from the conversation]

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was made by an AI model listening to the recording (gemini-3.8-flash) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Speaker names are the model's inference from the voices and the participant list. Words and names can still be wrong — verify against the audio and the finding aid before citing.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

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Unknown[unintelligible]
NixonHow come this uh how come this first October 1 poll, so [unintelligible]
ColsonAfter two, an angry attitude. Nobody was told in the poll.
NixonWell, this won't be either with that one [unintelligible]
ColsonYeah.
NixonYeah.
ColsonCertainly [unintelligible] be up.
NixonBuild build them [unintelligible]
NixonThe kooky part and that frankly, the uh getting they don't like also it's a lot
NixonA lot of people thought Gold- Goldwater was a little kooky, but every but every but they were a band of people who did like Goldwater. Do you know what the Do you now, you hear people that hate McGovern, and of course hungness to beat me. But, my point is I very seldom thought anybody that hated Goldwater. Did you?
ColsonAttractive guy. Attractive. Attractive.
ColsonAttractive.
NixonYeah, that's a part that we want to get across [unintelligible] the extent that our people can. What did he say again about that [unintelligible]
NixonWell, I think they also indicate six archbishops, is that right? That's what he did.
NixonSo the next so next time he's talking, hold that against him.
NixonTry. Try.
ColsonProbably better than the White House.
ColsonThe thing that the uh that I saw Frank Church was uh now stewed about the media claiming that uh [laughter] that they that they that they had been so cruel about Eagleton. What the hell did they expect the press to do? I mean, the first time they ever dropped a vice presidential candidate in history, the press the press had to write that.
NixonYeah.
NixonYeah.
NixonYeah.
NixonTake for her when What the hell is she doing?
ColsonProbably found that she was a liability, and check her, lock her up. Because I think they her mannishness, Chuck, do you know, it's probably turned off men and women or either.
Nixon[laughter] That's right.
NixonTelly, I think a lot of people are like me. They will say they A lot more will not say that they think of that. But when they hear when they hear whatever, and they think of sex. Because, you know, the Liberace thing, and also the strike or actual thing, doesn't it?
NixonHe's a queer to you.
ColsonYeah, there- there're just too
ColsonThere are the people that get screwed on, can.
NixonHey, this will have some fun. We might uh, we might uh, get Scammon to call it, but don't do it yet, and uh of course, he's probably, ok.

Also recorded on September 30, 1972

  • 180-001 1:05 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 1:05 pm on September 30, 1972 and 9:22 am on October 3, 1972.
  • 180-002 1:05 PM · 11 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 1:05 pm on September 30, 1972 and 9:22 am on October 3, 1972.
  • 180-003 1:05 PM · 22 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Nelson Pierce talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 1:05 pm on September 30, 1972 and 9:22 am on October 3, 1972.
  • 180-004 1:05 PM · 7 min — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 1:05 pm on September 30, 1972 and 9:22 am on October 3, 1972.
  • 145-001 1:35 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:35 pm and 2:05 pm.
  • 145-002 2:05 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:05 pm and 2:32 pm.
  • 214-002 2:05 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:05 pm and 2:32 pm.
  • 145-003 2:32 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 2:32 pm to 2:36 pm.

All 31 conversations from September 30, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 214-001, September 30, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 651228580). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/214-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).