Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 366 › Conversation 366-003
Nixon, Colson & Acker on 1972 presidential campaign and George McGovern
Tuesday, October 10, 1972 · 2:40 PM–3:37 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 23 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Charles Colson met to discuss campaign strategy for the 1972 election, focusing heavily on methods to discredit Democratic opponent George McGovern. They evaluated the political impact of Vietnam War peace settlement prospects, economic concerns like inflation, and social issues such as amnesty and abortion to appeal to specific voting blocs, including Catholics and labor unions. Furthermore, the discussion covered the administration's defensive stance regarding early reports of Watergate-related campaign sabotage and the need for a more aggressive posture in press relations.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On October 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, Marjorie P. Acker, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:40 pm to 3:37 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 366-003 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 366-3
Date: October 10, 1972
Time: 2:40 pm - 3:37 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Charles W. Colson.
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 8m 17s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************
1972 campaign
-Vietnam War
-George S. McGovern’s forthcoming speech
-Settlement prospects
-Effect on McGovern's campaign
-Response to McGovern
-Congress
-William P. Rogers
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew’s recent speech
-McGovern speech
-Press coverage
-Illinois
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 22s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
*****************************************************************
1972 campaign
-Robert J. Dole's recommendations
-Economic issues
-Upcoming speeches from surrogates
-High prices, inflation, tax increases, increased spending
-Vietnam
-McGovern's position characterized
-Debate
-The President’s recent breakfast meeting
-John D. Ehrlichman, Clark MacGregor
-Surrogates
-Wisconsin
-Rhode Island
-Ehrlichman
-Brooklyn, Queens
-Philadelphia
-Cuyahoga County
-Cleveland
-Ethnics, labor unions
-Bridgeport, Connecticut
-Illinois
-Pittsburgh
-Amnesty
-Permissiveness
-Abortion
-Catholics
-Rhode Island
-McGovern
-William F. (“Billy”) Graham
-View of the Momon Church
-Catholic issue
-Permissiveness
-Promiscuity
-Venereal disease
-Conservatives
-Colson’s view
-The President’s view
-Position of doctors characterized
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 50s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
1972 campaign
-Amnesty, welfare
-Unions
-Permissiveness
-Lifestyle of McGovern supporters
-Photographs
-George Meany
-Gay liberation group
-Handouts
-Roman S. Hruska comment
-Strategy on use of issues
-Hugh Scott
-McGovern’s issue advertisements
-Responses
-Veterans
-Vietnam
Marjorie P. Acker [?] entered at an unknown time after 2:40 pm.
Tennis
-Shelley A. (Scarney) Buchanan
-Patrick J. Buchanan
Acker left at an unknown time before 3:37 pm.
1972 campaign
-Economy
-Herbert K. Stein’s forthcoming appearance at New York
Society of Security Analysts
-Attack on McGovern
-McGovern’s recent appearance
-Inflation
-Prices
-Wage and price controls
-Duration
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Prices
-Wage and price controls
-McGovern’s program
-Effect
-Taxes
-Media and press relations
-News summary
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Lyndon K. (“Mort”) Allin
-Establishment
-Time, News Week
-Buchanan
-Name calling
-News magazines focus
-Welfare
-Garment workers
-Anti-semitism
-Louis P. Harris
-Italians, Poles, Russians
-Foreign policy issues
-McGovern campaign
-Harris’s view
-Incompetence
-Soviet Union
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Harris poll
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 21m 16s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
*****************************************************************
1972 campaign
-Tone
-Attack mode
-The President’s recent breakfast meeting
-Attack mode
-MacGregor
-Cabinet and White House staff
-Honesty
-Response to corruption charges
Press relations
-Watergate
-Washington Post
-Story, October 12, 1972
-Sabotage of Edmund S. Muskie campaign
-John B. Connally
-Committee to Re-Elect the President [CRP]
Issues
-1972 campaign
-Miami Herald
-McGovern
-Vietnam
1972 campaign
-McGovern's schedule
-Chicago
-Aldermen
-Detroit
-[Roman S. Gribbs]
-Democrats for Nixon
-Mrs. Gribbs
-Italian parade
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 2:40 pm.
Connally
Colson and the unknown person left at 3:37 pm.Also recorded on October 10, 1972
- 795-015 1:20 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 1:35 pm.
- 795-016 1:35 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:35 pm to 1:37 pm.
- 795-017 1:37 PM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:37 pm to 2:30 pm.
- 366-001 2:30 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:40 pm.
- 366-002 2:30 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:40 pm.
- 795-018 3:43 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:43 pm to 3:49 pm.
- 795-019 3:49 PM · 18 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:49 pm and 3:59 pm.
- 795-020 3:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:59 pm and 4:02 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 366-003, October 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/366-003 (accessed October 1, 2026).