Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 676 › Conversation 676-009

Nixon & Colson on 1972 Presidential Election and Democratic Primaries

Wednesday, March 1, 1972 · 8:50 AM–9:08 AM ET · Oval Office · 17 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation676-009 on Tape 676 (tape position 00:28:04–00:44:45)StartWednesday, March 1, 1972 at 8:50 AMEndWednesday, March 1, 1972 at 9:08 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 676-009 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417180869 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss the shifting dynamics of the 1972 Democratic presidential primaries, specifically focusing on the performance of candidates and the influence of the press. They analyze the impact of voter turnout among liberals and conservatives, while speculating on the potential entry of Senator Ted Kennedy into the race. The conversation concludes with administrative coordination regarding upcoming staff communication while the President prepares for a brief period of absence.

Audio

Download MP3 · 38.2 MB

NARA Description

On March 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:50 am to 9:08 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 676-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 676-9

Date: March 1, 1972
Time: 8:50 am - 9:08 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 20-135]

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/25/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[676-009-w001]
[Duration: 10m 6s]

     [See Conversation No. 20-135]
******************************************************************************

******************************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/25/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[676-009-w002]
[Duration: 3m 46s]

     [See Conversation No. 20-135]

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 4% 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.

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello?
Yeah.
Aye, what's new today before I take off?
So Margaret didn't say that again.
Oh yeah, try this, this, this.
Yeah.
5.9 now, aren't we?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, we're gonna need that.
But I sure don't want to get him.
That's almost unheard of, you know.
or so.
Jesus did never do that.
He might be kind.
He's very good for him.
Yeah.
You already know anything?
Is he?
I'll be there.
I thought it was just unbelievable.
It was in Nashville and over and over.
Good job.
It is really helpful.
Yeah, yeah.
And you've got to shake their hands and see them and do everything in a little coffee glass thing.
It is unbelievable.
Sit down.
All right.
We know we all, it was all her, Mrs. Marker-Smith always said that he was not happy enough.
But the press has done him a great disfavor by making it appear that he was unflattable.
Now he doesn't break anything.
He got away with some of this.
The press, they created a problem for him.
The bastards who wanted to help him, now they're hurting him.

— 1 min 9 s with no transcribed speech —

Yeah, well, at least it could have to do with the fact that he's just known to, you know.
But as the others fall off, they go back to the old rival.
That makes it more of a horse race.
But don't you, aren't you now convinced that Teddy is greedy in the wings?
You, of course, have felt that.
I think so.
Now, try it.
Do you praise the trip?
That's extreme.
That's right.
He just thinks people aren't going to remember that he was this and that.
And he's probably right.
That's why I got drawn to him.
He said he was in heaven screaming and swaying like that, huh?
They're busting the very sun.
They turned down the sultry thing.
Oh, the other way around.
And they're beating it by homage yesterday.
Why are you doing that?
That surprised me.
Yeah.
Liberals are always going to turn out.
Always the more extreme people do.
On the Republican side, they agree.
The conservatives turn out.
Goodbye.
Teddy Contigliano.
Pro.
Yeah, because of the Negroes.
Humphreys really can't be any harder.
God damn, what it's...
I tell you, those poor guys, I've done all those, like, it's awful in those, in primary stage, you know, it's great.
Helicopters, small crowds.
God damn.
Yeah, 1968, the primary was more interesting because of the war issue.
They don't have a version of that now.
I'm going to have to take off for a few days to get my sheet pattern back.
So I probably won't be in touch with your group until Monday.
So if you've got any energy, you can pass it on to me.
All right.
Well, yeah.
We don't care.
Okay.
Bang!

Also recorded on March 1, 1972

  • 676-003 8:32 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:32 am to 8:33 am.
  • 676-004 8:33 AM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:33 am and 8:40 am.
  • 676-005 8:33 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:33 am and 8:40 am.
  • 676-006 8:40 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:40 am to 8:43 am.
  • 676-007 8:43 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 8:50 am.
  • 676-008 8:43 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 8:50 am.
  • 020-135 8:50 AM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:50 am to 9:08 am.
  • 676-010 9:08 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:08 am and 9:10 am.

All 31 conversations from March 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 676-009, March 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417180869). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/676-009 (accessed November 2, 2026).