Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 368 › Conversation 368-005
Nixon, Colson & Sanchez on 1972 Presidential Campaign and George McGovern
Tuesday, October 17, 1972 · 2:10 PM–3:00 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 19 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Charles Colson met to discuss campaign strategy for the upcoming election, focusing heavily on undermining Democratic challenger George McGovern. They evaluated the political impact of various social and economic issues, including amnesty, taxation, and aid to parochial schools, while strategizing on how to best frame the President's policy positions and vetoes to the public. The discussion also included logistical considerations regarding the messaging of campaign surrogates and the management of regional media reports.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On October 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:10 pm to 3:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 368-005 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 368-5
Date: October 17, 1972
Time: 2:10 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Charles W. Colson.
Campaign charges
-Corruption
-Last minute smears
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 2:10 pm.
Food
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 3:00 pm.
Campaign practices
-Charges
-Time constraints
-The White House and President's role
-George S. McGovern's campaign
-Washington Post
-Benjamin C. Bradlee
-October 17, 1972 story
-White House allegations
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 6s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************
Issues
-Colson’s conversations with Paul Hall
-Corruption
-McGovern's appearance and voice
-Comparison with Adlai E. Stevenson, II
-Vietnam War
-McGovern's policies
-McGovern’s trustworthiness
-The President’s trustworthiness
-Maritime agreement
-Washington Post
-Appeal to leaders
-Attacks against Helen Gahagan Douglas
-Political tactics
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 22m 17s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
*****************************************************************
Issues
-McGovern’s proposed defense budget
-Base closures
-Utah, California
-Economic and domestic statements
-George P. Shultz
-Eliot L. Richardson
-John J. Rhodes
-Taxes, welfare
-Probable statements released
-John B. Connally
-Hall's conversation with Colson
-Amnesty
-Edwin L. Harper, Robert Teeter
-John N. Mitchell
-Youth vote
-Busing
-Unknown person
-Aid to parochial schools
-Amnesty
-Veterans groups
-The President’s view
-The President's October 16, 1972 appearance before prisoner of war [POW]
families group
-Morality
Alaska
-Airplane crash
-The President’s recent conversation with John D. Ehrlichman
-Will Rogers, Wiley Post
-[Thomas] Hale Boggs, Nicholas J. Begich
-Death proclamations
-Congressional seats
-Memorial service
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 3m 2s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
Issues
-Watergate
-Anti-trust suit
-International Business Machines Corp. [IBM]
-Announcement
-The President’s view
-Ehrlichman
-Labor
-Amnesty, marijuana, abortion, crime
-Conservatives
-Social compared to economic issues
-1970 comparison
-Taxes
-Real income
-Possibility of an increase
-Surrogates
-Meeting with the Cabinet
-Ehrlichman, Clark MacGregor
-Audio-visual clips
-Children
-Credibility
-Reporters
-Richard G. Kleindienst's call to Colson
-Timing
-Washington Post
-McGovern
-Amnesty
-Hall
-Reports from regional press
McGovern
-Campaign strategy
-Inconsistency
-Charges on corruption
-Intended speech
-Advertisements
-Vietnam
-Taxes
-Aid to parochial schools
Issues
-Taxes
-Aid to parochial schools
-Concerned Citizens for Non-Public Schools
-[Unknown people], Wellington T. Mara
-Tax credit
-Draft letter
-Robert B. Semple, Jr.
-Northeast
-New York
-H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman’s instruction
-Statements targeted to different regions
-Chicago, Detroit
-The President's veto of the water bill
-Ehrlichman
-Social Security legislation veto
-Budget cost
-Retired people
-Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW] appropriation veto
-Office of Economic Opportunity
-Water bill
-Ehrlichman
-Suburbs
-Taxes
-The President’s credibility
-Spending-ceiling
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 2:10 pm.
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 3m 1s ]
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 3:00 pm.
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
*****************************************************************
Colson left at 3:00 pm.Also recorded on October 17, 1972
- 368-001 12:52 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 12:52 pm and 2:10 pm.
- 368-002 12:52 PM · 13 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 12:52 pm and 2:10 pm.
- 368-003 12:52 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 12:52 pm and 2:10 pm.
- 368-004 12:52 PM · 8 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 12:52 pm and 2:10 pm.
- 801-022 3:00 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:02 pm.
- 801-023 3:00 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:02 pm.
- 801-024 3:02 PM · 43 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John B. Connally, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:02 pm and 4:07 pm.
- 802-001 3:02 PM · 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John B. Connally, John N. Mitchell, Clark MacGregor, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:02 pm and 6:24 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 368-005, October 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/368-005 (accessed October 10, 2026).