Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 655 › Conversation 655-001

Nixon & Colson on Vietnam peace proposal and Richard Scammon

Tuesday, January 25, 1972 · 9:18 AM–9:19 AM ET · Oval Office · 58 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation655-001 on Tape 655 (tape position 00:00:42–00:12:49)StartTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 9:18 AMEndTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 9:19 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 655-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson briefly discussed rescheduling a meeting with political analyst Richard Scammon due to the President's upcoming television address regarding his Vietnam peace proposal. Nixon prioritized preparing for the broadcast and indicated a desire to review recent political literature, specifically referencing Scammon and Ben Wattenberg’s work, *The Real Majority*. Colson was tasked with coordinating the scheduling change to accommodate the President's agenda.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
I want to tell you that we decided to do a television thing tonight, and so I wanted to put off our meeting with Scanlon today, but he could come tomorrow, so I don't know the next day, but just do work it out at home.
because I like to just read my written books and a lot of written books and so forth and be able to talk to her sometimes.

NARA Description

On January 25, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:18 am to 9:19 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 655-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 655-1

Date: January 25, 1972
Time: 9:18 am - 9:19 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

     The President’s schedule
          -The President’s Vietnam peace proposal speech, January 25, 1972
          -Meeting with Richard M. Scammon
               -Postponement
                      -Rescheduling
                           -Colson and H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
               -Books written with Benjamin J. Wattenberg, The New Majority (1970)
                      -The President’s reading

Also recorded on January 25, 1972

  • 655-002 9:19 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:19 am and 9:53 am.
  • 655-003 9:55 AM · 2 hr 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), Robert H. Finch, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:55 am and 12:32 pm.
  • 316-001 12:32 PM · 1 hr 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert H. Finch, Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:32 pm to 2:15 pm.
  • 655-004 12:32 PM · 12 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 8:19 pm.
  • 316-002 2:15 PM · 9 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 2:15 pm and 2:25 pm.
  • 316-003 2:15 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:15 pm and 2:25 pm.
  • 316-004 2:25 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, Rose Mary Woods, and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:25 pm to 2:33 pm.
  • 316-005 2:33 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:33 pm and 2:45 pm.

All 29 conversations from January 25, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 655-001, January 25, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/655-001 (accessed October 6, 2026).