Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 387 › Conversation 387-002
Nixon & Brennan on Patrick J. Buchanan and 1972 presidential campaign
Tuesday, December 5, 1972 · 7:57 AM–8:10 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with aide Patrick J. Buchanan to discuss the President's health and coordinate political strategy regarding recent press coverage of the 1972 campaign. They reviewed a critical New York Times article and analyzed the internal divisions within the Democratic Party. Nixon specifically instructed Buchanan to continue emphasizing the association between George McGovern and Edward M. Kennedy to prevent the latter from distancing himself from the failed campaign.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 32% 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 December 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:57 am and 8:10 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 387-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 387-2
Date: December 5, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:57 am and 8:10 am
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Patrick J. Buchanan.
Buchanan's health
-Arthritis
-Whirlpool bath
Press relations
-New York Times article on monograph, "The Dirtiest Campaign in History Against
a President"
-Reaction
-1972 campaign
-George S. McGovern
-Frank F. Mankiewicz
-R. Sargent Shriver
*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]
Press relations
-2-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 387-2 (cont’d)
-Analysis of 1972 campaign
-Virginia [?]
-Charles W. Colson
-Herbert G. Klein
-Sidney Brookes
-Max Lemer
-Harrison Salisbury
-1972 campaign
-George S. McGovern
-Criticism
-Salisbury
-Edward M. Kennedy’s candidate
Democratic National Committee [DNC] chairman
-Robert S. Strauss
-Division in Party
-Compared to Republicans in 1964
-Dean Burch, Ray C. Bliss
-Dwight D. Eisenhower’s roll
[End segment reviewed under deed of gift
*****************************************************************
Buchanan left at an unknown time before 8:10 am.
[There is no Conversation No. 387-3.]Also recorded on December 5, 1972
- 034-016 7:57 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:57 am.
- 387-001 7:57 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 7:57 am.
- 034-017 8:10 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:10 am and 8:26 am.
- 387-004 8:10 AM · 1 hr 60 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Col. Richard T. Kennedy, White House operator, Charles W. Colson, unknown person(s), Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:10 am to 9:50 am.
- 034-018 8:26 AM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:26 am to 8:27 am.
- 034-019 8:56 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Richard T. Kennedy talked on the telephone from 8:56 am to 8:59 am.
- 034-020 9:44 AM · 56 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 9:44 am to 9:45 am.
- 034-021 10:13 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:13 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 387-002, December 5, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/387-002 (accessed September 28, 2026).