Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 215 › Conversation 215-006

Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Social policy

Wednesday, October 4, 1972 · 6:23 PM–6:45 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 11 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation215-006 on Tape 215StartWednesday, October 4, 1972 at 6:23 PMEndWednesday, October 4, 1972 at 6:45 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 215-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss campaign strategy, specifically focusing on messaging against their political opponents and defining the administration's stance on key social issues like welfare, busing, and amnesty. They review positive polling data from Southern California and strategize on how to manage media narratives regarding the Vietnam peace plan and potential legislative vetoes. The conversation concludes with a directive to mobilize letter-writing campaigns to solidify public support for the administration's aggressive political rhetoric.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Don't worry about that.
Yeah.
What the hell did that not hit you?
That's what it is.
Yeah.
But then they loaded down the Stevenson thing.
Oh, yes.
I told her.
That's what I told her.
I said, for Christ's sake.
But he knows that.
He wanted to go.
We talked about this morning.
We give an inch on welfare.
We're dead.
People are against what we've already offered.
That's why we don't talk about it much.
So...
that and try to hang those other titles to the Korean floor.
Well, or maybe just have this, I don't know, I don't know.
Well, the whole thing will be tangled up with Congress.
Unless they want to give us a tough one to veto.
Well, we're going to veto the Social Security crap on the basis of increased payroll taxes.
Before, didn't Roosevelt do it?
Huh?
Did anybody, did any of the press feel about that?
The procedure.
Right.
That's great, that's great.
Well, of course, as you know, this is purely a...
and so you've got to take a big risk but the whole point is they say hiding and not hiding about some disgusting issues I say now which one do you want on my position he says I'm against amnesty I'm against marijuana I'm against abortion I'm against busing I mean my position is very clear I said what is it do you have any questions about I'm against interactions I'm for government reorganizations I'm for my health bill I've said it all out in 1970 not just what particular one the
But you think that's the answer?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Of course, we're going to have some additional.
But, yeah.
I particularly think they're turned off with the rally.
I think the rally with the shouting and the hoopla and the screaming and everything just turns people off.
Paul?
Probably.
Anyway.
Is that right?
I don't know.
But we didn't lose just two on that question.
Christy flew us 26.
It would have been a hell of a loss on that.
He might have been against it.
Well, it's not that important.
The point is, he's a goddamn permissive bastard.
And, uh, don't you agree?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Uh,
We've had a very interesting check in the Southern California area.
And believe me, I mean, that's one of these things that's rolling in Orange County, Los Angeles today.
It's just rolling like hell out there for us.
I mean, this guy is not, I mean, they talk about California.
Don't worry about it.
But when it's going like that in Orange and Los Angeles counties, when you go big there, you can't lose.
You're going to win the state easily.
Yeah, I'm here.
But, you know, that's very interesting.
And this whole business of the hiding and so forth, they're pressing.
But I agree.
It's going to just come up.
I'm going to do this little silly office conference tomorrow.
It doesn't mean a goddamn thing.
I mean, they don't need to, you know, I go in there and try.
Wasn't that too bad once and once in a while?
Yeah.
A few points.
Watergate and the grain deal and all that bullshit.
His new, his peace plan for Vietnam, what in the name of God it could lead, I don't know.
But let him go.
I just hope to God he gets something so that we can say he would impose a communist government and we'll murder him.
With all force.
Don't you agree?
That great, great liberal?
Really?
What's he saying?
Why is he doing that?
The mood is different, John.
Isn't that great?
Great, great.
We lost him, Mr. Bolts, truly.
that incidentally, you don't know the Californians, but the Comstock Club is a group of Sacramento lobbyists, business people, and the rest, where basically a gubernatorial candidate has got to have some work.
You know, they're a bunch of whores.
It's like going to the burning tree or something, and they've got to be, you know, and when he had that question,
to all the surrogates.
Well, it's good enough to be us.
I just... Also, gutter politics.
That's right.
Now the thing to do is...
I don't know if anybody's editorialized about the corrupt.
Anybody said it was too far?
Yeah.
That's right.
That's right.
Get the letter writers to all write it and say, great, go ahead, pour it to us.
You do that, get about 30, 40 letters.
All right.
I got a good advice.
You've got to pour it on this son of a bitch.
Okay.
Right.
Right.
Sure.
Best thing we've done.
If you do have a couple of wires, three or four or something,
to do it.
Well, anyway, I'll read your memorandum and we'll take this and on.
Okay.

NARA Description

On October 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 6:23 pm to 6:45 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 215-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 215-6

Date: October 4, 1972
Time: 6:23 pm - 6:45 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 146-4; two items have been withdrawn]

Also recorded on October 4, 1972

  • 146-003 5:55 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:23 pm.
  • 215-005 5:55 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:23 pm.
  • 146-004 6:23 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 6:23 pm to 6:45 pm.
  • 146-005 6:45 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:27 pm.
  • 215-007 6:45 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:27 pm.
  • 215-008 6:45 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:27 pm.
  • 215-009 6:45 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:27 pm.
  • 146-006 7:27 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 7:27 pm to 7:28 pm.

All 13 conversations from October 4, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 215-006, October 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/215-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).