Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 217 › Conversation 217-026

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Campaign Strategy and Radio Broadcasting

Saturday, October 7, 1972 · 1:03 PM–1:10 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation217-026 on Tape 217StartSaturday, October 7, 1972 at 1:03 PMEndSaturday, October 7, 1972 at 1:10 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 217-026 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss campaign strategy, focusing on utilizing radio speeches as a direct, substantive, and cost-effective method to reach voters and counter criticisms that the administration lacks a policy agenda. Nixon directs Haldeman to prepare specific radio addresses on farm exports, private school funding, and welfare to address targeted interest groups and provide a necessary, aggressive edge to his platform. Additionally, they coordinate on television advertising plans, emphasizing the need for hard-hitting commercials regarding Vietnam and amnesty to drive home key issues during the final weeks of the campaign.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 9% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Well, the radio is an easy way to do it.
I was saying to Alex and Chuck, we might do a few more, the point being that
It's a very easy way.
It's a way to cover substance.
All these assholes are saying we're not talking about anything.
We're all negative.
Just put it out.
Who can squeal?
It's hard for a little bit better coordination and preparation so I don't get four drafts, but it's all right.
It worked out.
But the whole thing is a...
If you do it in a quiet way, you can make the points and be in the papers.
Well, there were things wrong, but that's why I worked on it all day.
We changed it.
That's early.
That's very good.
Excellent.
Think about it incidentally.
Get them busy immediately on a good farm speech with a particular emphasis on farm exports.
That's the way to do it.
And I should do that in Chicago if not there, if not earlier.
See?
Because the farm speech
The way to handle these special interest groups is to make speeches on radio.
They make a difference whether, you know, you can make a farm speech or you can make one of the two-eyed chimpanzees and nobody gets to death.
You know, one should be, I think, on, I think we ought to also hit the age of private schools in a radio speech.
What do you do with that?
Just hit it.
That would be an enormous impact on the people that you need.
And, uh,
But you see, I know that the, and I agree with, I agree with you should to an extent that race, oh, failing is mainly the sort of the high level, our goals for the future, our dreams for America and all that.
That's fine.
One, maybe at most two on that.
But as far as votes, that's good for the, for the intellectuals.
As far as votes, it's the thing that hits them.
That's why I wrote in this stuff on welfare on the 16th.
Make the will for a point of count.
Huh?
And that's why I wrote in the thing about their $100 billion budget.
People have forgotten that.
So, yeah, there's an argument.
I'm just simply stating the fact.
Now they'll answer.
Otherwise, it would have been too bland, Bob, that's my point.
For me just to go on radio and talk about a $250 million season when the survey collection is too bland.
We had to have a couple of needles in there to make it, you know, to raise it to the level where it's newsworthy.
And no, at no, I mean, you know, the four-year commitment, you know, taxes, that commitment to the property taxes, that's all, we've said it all before, we repeat it.
But anyway, I think that the idea of they get the speech team there,
Get hunting.
You can do one up here, you know.
That would drive them right up the wall, too, to just ease out trying to make these speeches to audiences.
So I just radio the goddamn thing.
Mm-hmm.
The beauty of this thing is that we can get the substance and radio is not an instrument.
Nobody can say we aren't discussing the issues.
But I'd crack one again before we go to a wedding.
If we could get Ray going on one, I don't want to go on an actual offense because, well, maybe we should because that's going to be the big issue when I'm trying to get closer to the rest of it.
He told, he said that you, that the, that the, the VR guys can't get a Vietnam ad ready, you know, or anything on Amnesty or anything, despite their, their approach to that.
I guess that you may well find that the way campaigns go is a big issue for the next two weeks, maybe Vietnam.
And there really ought to be an ad about he wants to turn Vietnam over to the communists.
There ought to be one on Amnesty.
But if we can't get it, we can't do it.
Thank you.
Yeah.
And also, if he talks about this subject, he's going to find it's damn hard to talk about it.
They're just the main thing they'll screw about what we did in the war in four years.
Then our people can come back hard and bash and everything he's done wrong.
Are those the news yet?
run them heavily heavily heavily this week must do it I think it's very important because if they're going to have a program that deals with this you know that it's going to be healed and cured by as many as we think our commercials could go in there don't you think so?
because those are positive so good good that's good okay good

NARA Description

On October 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:03 pm to 1:10 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 217-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 217-26

Date: October 7, 1972
Time: 1:03 pm - 1:10 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with H.R. ("Bob") Haldeman.

[See Conversation No. 147-11]

Also recorded on October 7, 1972

  • 147-009 12:33 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:33 pm to 1:00 pm.
  • 147-010 1:01 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at Camp David from 1:01 pm to 1:02 pm.
  • 217-025 1:01 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:01 pm to 1:02 pm.
  • 147-011 1:03 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 1:03 pm to 1:10 pm.
  • 217-027 1:10 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:10 pm and 1:13 pm.
  • 147-012 1:13 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at Camp David from 1:13 pm to 1:19 pm.
  • 217-028 1:13 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:13 pm to 1:19 pm.
  • 217-029 1:19 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:19 pm and 2:40 pm.

All 41 conversations from October 7, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 217-026, October 7, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/217-026 (accessed October 11, 2026).