Conversation 373-001

TapeTape 373StartTuesday, October 24, 1972 at 12:57 PMEndTuesday, October 24, 1972 at 1:24 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Colson, Charles W.;  Sanchez, Manolo;  [Unknown person(s)]Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building

On October 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:57 pm to 1:24 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 373-001 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 373-1

Date: October 24, 1972
Time: 12:57 pm - 1:24 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Charles W. Colson and Manolo Sanchez.

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 1:24 pm.

        Veterans
            -Bill signing ceremony, October 24, 1972
                 -The President's commitment to peace and honor
                      -The American Legion's auxiliary publication
                          -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
                 -Veterans benefits bill
                      -Education

        Foreign affairs

        Campaign issues
           -The President’s surrogates
               -Elliot L. Richardson
               -Donald H. Rumsfeld
                    -Chicago
               -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew’s speech, October 23, 1972
                    -Draft dodgers, amnesty
                    -Military spending cuts
                         -World War II
               -George S. McGovern's vacillation
           -McGovern’s campaign practices
               -1968
               -Response to McGovern's forthcoming speech about
                morality
                    -Questions
                         -Demonstrations

An unknown person entered and left at an unknown time after 12:57 pm.

                 -Demonstrations

                                     (rev. Nov-03)

                   -Double standard
                   -Charges against republican party
                   -McGovern supporters
                        -Public opinion
               -Public opinion
                   -Watergate

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 32s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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       Campaign issues
          -McGovern’s proposals
              -Colson’s recent memorandum to surrogates
                   -Vietnam War
                       -US surrender
                       -Abandonment of prisoners of war [POWs]
                   -Welfare
                   -Busing
                   -Tax increases
                   -Confidence issue
              -Forthcoming release of financial analysis
                   -Total cost of proposals
                       -Albert E. Sindlinger
              -Defense cuts
                   -Wilbur H. Mills’s statement
                   -Clairborne Pell
                       -New York Times
                       -Rhode Island
                            -John J. Rhodes
                   -Agnew's statement
                       -Utica, New York
                       -Griffith’s Air Force Base

                                     (rev. Nov-03)

                  -Agnew’s schedule
                        -Texas
                        -New York
                        -Arkansas
                            -Mills
               -McGovern’s proposals
               -Morality issue
                  -Effectiveness
               -Watergate
                  -Awareness by Wisconsin farmers
                        -News summary

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 6m 1s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

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       Vietnam War
           -Timing of possible settlement
               -1972 Election
                   -Public relations
                   -McGovern, R. Sargent Shriver's reaction to peace
                    Prospects
                        -McGovern’s previous statement
                            -Nguyen Van Thieu
                            -1972 peace plan compared with 1969 peace plan

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 9s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4

                                    (rev. Nov-03)

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       Campaign practices
          -Demonstrators
              -The President’s view

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 24s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5

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       Veterans Day message, October 25, 1972
           -Wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery
               -News coverage
                   -Today show
                   -Radio
               -Donald E. Johnson
               -Frank L. Rizzo
               -The President’s words
                   -Amnesty
               -Public reaction to Vietnam War, McGovern

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 33s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6

                                        (rev. Nov-03)

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Colson left at 1:24 pm.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

You over there?
Yes, sir.
Well, we do a lot of these things, but you know, sometimes these little talks are not good things to do.
They have the emotional, the low, the irritable, the low.
Yeah, well, there's a good looking bank of kids behind you.
That's great.
Right.
Can I thank you for running that event?
Maybe not.
Maybe not.
But that's all right.
It'll get out to the veterans' groups.
We're signing the veterans' legislation.
But, you know, we've been able to talk about peace.
We've been able to talk about honor.
Honor.
They owe us money for that one.
All right?
We've done it sometimes, but that's what we do.
but the effect of all the cumulative effect of all this stuff is gone.
Yeah.
I know the American Legion is putting out its exhilarating publication of all the African-American stuff.
Ah, this is nice and lovely.
I told you we were going to cry.
But all that has just been accumulating.
Well, they're, they only are people, which I'm sure you've got it.
They've got a legitimate leak that caused it to happen.
And their brother's got a coalition that they're getting.
It's a metal fracture, right?
Well, what are those two on the aircraft?
We're continuing to do a pedagogy on the actual thing.
We're part of this.
We're trying to keep the scheme up in the middle.
I used to look to which I've kept, you know, the Corvallis circuits, which is, uh, the Corvallis back in, uh, across both Chicago and Marlowe, and really urging them to handle this guy, and the words that I have now is, uh, as I have been doing, just to do that, the draft values, the amnesty, and a little bit of custody, including the World War III.
Uh, it was very, very strong, I guess.
And also on this vacillation, just ran a race back.
But we have a whole series tomorrow that we're planning.
I don't know if the media will be able to have a decent break out, but we have a whole series of charges that we're going to ask them to answer when it comes out tomorrow.
For example, why should we report any campaign contributions in 1968 to Hawaii?
And accepting money from this bill, some of the questions were posted to the establishment.
In other words, he's coming out more out of the morality film setting on a series of questions.
Why should organizations encourage hostile crime and demonstration against the president?
I think we've got a lot of questions.
I really think that
I think it shows those signs last night.
I think that's probably the way it is.
But there's no, they're just, if we do that, don't give people any justification to go back to the government.
We're just providing, we go out to the Senate, run along to the circuits, and keep the attack.
Very, very simple request.
We just tell her, surrender in the, uh, in the, uh, in the, uh, thousands and thousands of the persons for which I don't have a job.
Bust, bust the, the, the, the oil.
Uh, we have actually raised back this group up.
We've raised back this group.
We'll keep it very simple.
We'll keep the heat up.
Because you have to keep it on.
You never know.
You never know what it really is.
You just can't.
You can't trust it.
So that's, that's the bottom line is that it promises everything.
It just depends on who can sell the food and who can't sell the product.
By Sunday, we're releasing an analysis from each department of all the promises that we've made about expensive and possible .
It's a question that came up in the Senate over the weekend.
The promises that we've made about agency by agency basis.
I don't know if you saw this morning, but the Board of Governors said the figures for Arkansas were not great.
Yesterday, Bell, the New York Times, disobeyed the government.
The tax budget, because of the cuts that have been projected by the roads,
Uh, the vice president is now drafting a just a statement that requests the voters to be sent home.
He did it today.
He's drafting a statement saying that Griffith, where is Griffiths?
The airport's the place where the voters are going to go.
He sounds like he's having a hell of a while.
Uh, sure.
You know, he's had a stop-and-go tonight.
He started out, uh, well, he probably wanted to send people to Texas, but now he's just, he's in Oregon because he can't catch up with them.
A lot of times he's asking a congressman for you.
We'll get that out of you guys soon.
He knows about that man.
All right, so, what does he want?
What's the constitution for him?
Is it the morality issue?
No.
Of course it's not.
It's too late for him to pick up on the issue and stay with it.
No, I know.
He has the money on him.
But he's got enough power.
So what's that?
We, at first, had a problem, as you know, with the government, because we were not in the mercy of the people.
We were not in the mercy of the people.
We were not in the mercy of the people.
We were not in the mercy of the people.
We were not in the mercy of the people.
We were not in the mercy of the people.
No, I think the only thing we're worried about is he's got everything on top of him.
I think if it got caught, we could always make the most of it.
We would never carry the negotiations to the bottom steps.
I think most people would respect this movement.
I think most people would say no.
Okay, so then, on the other hand, if you want to keep them, definitely loosen on them.
We've got him working now.
You're not afraid to take off.
We were predicting we're going to have one.
They're peaceful with the credit card.
Right, right.
We ordered our people across the street to take all of the federal statements, actual rules and actual items, put them all in there, one, two, and then take them out on our telephone machines because they're incredible.
On the one hand, he's saying Nixon is desperately trying to save, finally save, too.
Then he's saying, actually, he's got a doubt, too.
He's got a doubt, too.
Then he said, watch, he could have gotten the same deal three years ago.
And then he said, this is exactly the same piece by another person.
And what you have is a battle in the world.
He's taking a different position every time he gets up.
He's good.
And yet, it is keeping him up.
He's a rambler.
He's a rambler.
They said after they were demonstrated, it was like a vicious fight.
They were rough.
They were really rough.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
You see, there's been a company that...
I wasn't there.
I just, I don't know.
One of the things I thought was, it was just your voice being part of it, you know, and Dan, good, good, and John Johnson came out the other day, and your voice was, was, was, was great.
I mean, I wouldn't, it scared me to do that.
I thought it was a, you know, that's the kind of thing, like Chris said, it's true.
I mean, Chris said, it's a great, it's true.
My theory, uh,
So, did they play it out there?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Played the tape, populated it?
Yes, sir.
And, you know, it's a great idea.
As I say, if I didn't ask for my opinion, I know you said it's too good, and you can't do it.
But I did it, and got away with it.
I played it on television, and it was great.
And it was the end of the season.
I just can't think of a better way to put it.
but both of them are doing that strongly.
One is that the public is absolutely turned on about this.
Just turn it on.
We've had enough of this.
We're going to get this over with.
And therefore, the more political environment