Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 379 › Conversation 379-010
Nixon & Brennan on 1972 election campaign and Media bias
Wednesday, November 1, 1972 · 9:26 AM–9:59 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 33 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Patrick J. Buchanan to discuss campaign strategy, press relations, and managing the political fallout from the 1972 presidential election. The two focused on countering the perceived double standards of the liberal media, which they argued were shielding George McGovern from accountability while unfairly attacking the Nixon administration. Nixon directed Buchanan to orchestrate a public counterattack, emphasizing the need to frame the election as a repudiation of radical ideologies—such as busing, welfare, and permissive social policies—rather than just a critique of the McGovern campaign's style.
- 1972 election campaign
- Media bias
- George McGovern
- Press relations
- Busing
- Vietnam War
- Political strategy
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 6 minutes of this recording (about 18% 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.
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NARA Description
On November 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:26 am to 9:59 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 379-010 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 379-10
Date: November 1, 1972
Time: 9:26 am - 9:59 am
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Patrick J. Buchanan.
1972 election campaign
-Time remaining until election
-Opposition’s actions
-Exploitation
-The President's conversation with Charles W. Colson
-Demonstrators in Boston
-1960 election
-Reason for defeat
-Texas Congressman Bruce R. Alger
-Participants
-Number
-Use of obscenities
-Boston Globe coverage
-Handling
-The President's forthcoming trip to Rhode Island
-Brown University
-Busing issue
-Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
-Democrats
-Louise Day Hicks
-Possible telephone calls
-Tricia Nixon Cox
-Wisconsin
-Julia Nixon Eisenhower
-Possible telephone calls
-Demands of McGovern
-Insults to Mrs. Nixon
-Use of obscenities against Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon
Eisenhower
-5-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-Responsibility
-Condemnation
-Violence
-San Francisco, Phoenix, Republican National Convention
-McGovern's response
-Double standard
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Repudiation
-The President’s trip to Liberty Island, New York, September 26, 1972
-The President’s appearance at Westchester-Nassau rally, October 23, 1972
-Organization
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
-First Family
-The President’s campaign
-Compared to McGovern’s
-Press relations
-Double standard
-Lack of questioning of conduct
-Free speech issue
-Violence, use of obscenities
-Repudiation
-Demands of McGovern
-Wires
-McGovern campaign
-Tone
-Possible statement from administration
-Ziegler
-John B. Connally
-Media coverage
-Boston newspapers
-Effect on McGovern
-Democrats
-Demonstrators
-McGovern supporters
-Physical appearance and behavior
-Democratic National Convention
-Smears against the President
-R. Sargent Shriver
-The President’s previous campaigns
-Focus on record
-6-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-Helen Gahagan Douglas
-Agnew statements
-1968
-“Fat Jap” comment, “Polack “remark, “Soft on communism”
charge
-Apologies
-Compared with Shriver
-McGovern
-Press relations
-Double standard
-Demonstrators
-Editorials
-Mary McGrory
-Response
-Editors
-White House
-Op-ed article
-Unknown publisher [Post-Review?]
-The President
-Compared to Abraham Lincoln
-Agnew
*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]
-Counter attack
-Nicholos P. Thimmesch
-Public statement, mailing
-Honest spokesman
-Kevin P. Phillips
-[Unintelligible name]
-Jeffrey Hart
-Barry M. Goldwater
-1964 election
-McGovern’s troubles
-Establishment press hypocrisy
-Blaming McGovern
-Public repudiation of their ideas
-Withdrawal from Vietnam
-7-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-New lifestyles
-Marijuana
-Permissiveness
-Welfare
-Busing
-Public repudiation
[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
*****************************************************************
-New York Times
-Washington Post
-Times
-Newsweek
-Networks
Press relations
-1970 campaign
-Press assessments
-Problems
-Television
-Successes despite obstacles
-Recession
-Minority party
-Rewriting history
-The President's plans
-Suppression
-Denial of access
-New York Times
-Washington Post
-Time
-Newsweek
-Networks
-Self -defense
-Access for friends
-Garnett D. (“Jack”) Horner
-Intelligence
-Washington Star
-Jerry Greene
-8-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-New York
-Chicago Tribun
-Los Angeles Times
-“Georgetown set”
1972 campaign
-Polls
-1964 election
-Goldwater
-Gallup and Harris
*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]
-Outcome
-Percentages
-State issues
-Massachusetts
-Michigan
-Wisconsin
-Massachusetts
-New York
-Polls
-Number of votes
Press relations
-Left-wing opinion makers
-Liberal establishment
-Support for McGovern
-The President’s counterattacks
-Fear of the President
-Reasons
-Repudiation of ideas
1972 campaign
-McGovern
-Washington Post
-Canada
-Elections
-9-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-Conservative Party
-James B. (“Scotty”) Reston
-Left
-Pierre E. Trudeau
-Willy Brandt
-Trudeau
-Polls
-Press
-Regrettable statements
-Vietnam
-Charles W. Colson
-Willard Edwards
-Clark R. Mollenhoff
-Cultivation of the President’s supporters
-McGovern’s troubles
-Blaming McGovern
-Repudiation of the press’ views
-Blaming Thomas F. Eagleton
-Management, style versus views
-Liberal attacks
-Reasons
-Repudiation of views
-Vietnam withdrawal
-Busing
-Marijuana
-Permissiveness
-Welfare
-Networks
-Attacks on administration
-Columbia Broadcasting system [CBS]
-Impact on polls
-Voter turnout
-Analogy with football game
-Atlanta Falcons versus San Francisco Forty-Niners
-Empty bleachers
-Campaign excitement
-McGovern
-1964 election
-1968 election
-Goldwater, Lyndon B. Johnson
-10-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-The President, Hubert H. Humphrey
-McGovern
-“Wave of the future”
-Constituency
-Youths, Blacks
-Democratic Party
-Liberal movement
-Decline
-1968 election
-George C. Wallace
-Busing
-New York
-Canarsie
-Ethnics
-Blacks
-The President’s position
[End of segment reviewed under deed of gift]
*****************************************************************
Amnesty
-The President's policies
-Rationale
-Forgiveness
-Analogy to prison sentence
-McGovern
Vietnam War
-Settlement agreement
-Likelihood
-Ziegler's statement, October 31, 1972
-Tone
-Effect on right
-McGovern
-Diversion of attention
-1972 election
-The President’s forthcoming radio and television speech, “Look to the Future”
-1972 election
-Imposition of Communist government on South Vietnam
-11-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
-1968 settlement
-Collapse
-Tone
-Likelihood
-1972 election
-Concessions to North Vietnamese
-US public opinion
*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]
1972 campaign
-Theodore H. (“Teddy) White
-Possible conversation with Buchanan
-Conversation with the President
-Watergate
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Press Statements
-Buchanan’s role
-Eastern establishment
-Decline
-Lack of morality and honesty
-Double standard
-Attack on McGovern
-Repudiation of views
-Agnew
-Role of government
-Timing
-Busing issue
-Left issue
-Busing issue
-Agnew
-Attacks on McGovern
-Demonstrators
-Demands on McGovern
-Apology
[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
*****************************************************************
-12-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 379-10 (cont’d)
Buchanan left at 9:59 am.Also recorded on November 1, 1972
- 032-108 9:02 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:02 am to 9:03 am.
- 032-109 9:03 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:03 am and 9:09 am.
- 379-006 9:03 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:03 am and 9:09 am.
- 032-110 9:09 AM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:09 am to 9:10 am.
- 379-007 9:09 AM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:09 am to 9:10 am.
- 032-111 9:15 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Christian A. ("Sonny") Jurgenson talked on the telephone from 9:15 am to 9:17 am.
- 379-008 9:15 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Christian A. ("Sonny") Jurgenson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:15 am to 9:17 am.
- 379-009 9:17 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:17 am and 9:26 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 379-010, November 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/379-010 (accessed October 5, 2026).