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This file contains:
From Khachigian to Haldeman RE: the formulation of campaign strategies in response to a recent Haldeman memo. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 7 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 6/16/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: the use of attack material against McGovern and how to respond to his charges of a White House "hatchet job." Handwritten notes added by Buchanan. 2 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 6/19/1972
From Buchanan to Khachigian RE: McGovern's role on abortion, statements made by him in Nebraska, and the endorsement of Alger Hiss. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 5/9/1972
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WHSF: Contested, 1-34
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This file contains:
From Khachigian to Haldeman RE: the formulation of campaign strategies in response to a recent Haldeman memo. Handwritten notes added by unknown. 7 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 6/16/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: the use of attack material against McGovern and how to respond to his charges of a White House "hatchet job." Handwritten notes added by Buchanan. 2 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 6/19/1972
From Buchanan to Khachigian RE: McGovern's role on abortion, statements made by him in Nebraska, and the endorsement of Alger Hiss. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 5/9/1972
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Richard M. Nixon's Returned Materials Collection
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Richard Nixon Presidential Library
Contested Materials Collection
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1
34
6/16/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Haldeman RE: the
formulation of campaign strategies in
response to a recent Haldeman memo.
Handwritten notes added by unknown. 7 pgs.
1
34
6/19/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: the use of
attack material against McGovern and how to
respond to his charges of a White House
"hatchet job." Handwritten notes added by
Buchanan. 2 pgs.
1
34
5/9/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Buchanan to Khachigian RE:
McGovern's role on abortion, statements
made by him in Nebraska, and the
endorsement of Alger Hiss. 1 pg.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Page 1 of 1
[ItemN-1]
Khachigian - draft
6/16/72
MEMORANDUM FOR:
H.R. HALDEMAN
file
RESPONSETO HRH MEMO OF 6/12/72
The original PJB/KK memo omitted many of the items HRH
mentioned only because it focused on the assault strategy rather than
Not
the tone of the total campaign. The following should be thought of
as the addendum which brings our original memo to logical exten-
tions of the attack.
1. We agree that the Nixon strength ought to be kept front and
center and that our lines of attack should end up emphasizing our
own strengths. We understand the Administration record has been
written up and will go out to our people along with the McGovern
attack books. Instructions should be that these two go hand in hand.
But the technique of how this is done is almost as important as
the substance itself. Comparing RN's record with McGovern's ought
to be done in the starkest possible terms, matching our best with his worst.
E.g., "When Richard Nixon fought Congress to keep America number
one in aerospace and to keep Lockheed and Boeing workers on the job,
Stank
George McGovern voted to throw them out of work and see the United
States recede to second-best in a crucial industry. "While Richard
Nixon has pressed for three years to reform our welfare system,
George McGovern answers with a $1000 per person giveaway plan which
requires no one to find a job while soaking the middle-class taxpayer
with more taxes. 11
Page 2
Note
Right down the line on the issues, Hoover, amnesty, pot,
abortion, defense, etc., McGovern's gross stupidity can be made
graphic when matched appropriately against RN's position.
We would be concerned, however, that RN be dragged by com-
RN:
parison into some of the assault efforts. Care should be taken that
McGovern is not elevated by comparison with RN or that RN is
dragged down by same. In some cases it will be best to list the
long bill of particulars finishing up with only a brief standard recitation
of the RN strengths. The whole rationale of negative attack is to belittle
McGovern to the point that the contrast is obvious.
Not
2. The second point in HRH's memorandum raises important
questions on McGovern's "new face" versus the "establishment" RN.
We don't feel that we can finesse this one simply by saying RN has
provided dozens of new initiatives we have hammered on this for
two years with very little impact. Rather than try to force the idea
that RN can out new-face McGovern, we must tarnish the McGovern
image of the new face.
This strategy must be part of an overall strategy which brings
us to a decision as to how we want to campaign vis 'a vis the 92nd
Congress. In other words, while McGovern attacks the political
establishment, we must forcefully get the point across that he
is part and parcel of the so-called establishment and has been
so for 16 years. Here's where the decision has to be made on
whether or not to run against Congress.
Page 3
For the last twenty years, Congress has been controlled
by the Democratic party. For 14 of those years George McGovern
has been a member of Congress. For 14 years, George McGovern
did nothing to reform the tax structure. He waited for an election
year. For 14 years, George McGovern and his party did nothing
to diminish the amount of government control over our lives; to
the contrary, he voted constantly to expand big government. And now
he waits for an election year to campaign against "impersonal
government. 11 For 14 years, George McGovern could have done all
the things that he accuses RN of not doing -- but he didn't. George
McGovern does not urge passage of welfare reform; he doesn't support
passage of reorganizing a government that's too big; he's done nothing
to help seek passage of revenue sharing which could ease the property
tax burden on millions of Americans; he has not stumped the country
urging support for RN's volunteer army, etc. ad nauseum.
This point is but a part of a larger point about the Democratic
party; the point Broder and Drummond have made in their columns.
The Democrats have controlled the Presidency 28 out of the last
40 years and Congress 36 out of the last 40 years. After the appalling
record of their control, and George McGovern's part as a leader
of his party, it is pure gall for him to campaign around as a new face.
Page 4
Only after a ripping attack on the very basic failures of
McGovern and his colleagues in Congress, can we then point out that
RN has done more than any other President to bring institutional
revolution to an inert mass. However, I strongly advise against
trying to portray RNas a sleek corvette when he is really a damned
dependable Buick. It will be easier to prove that McGovern is not
the corvette, but rather a Great Society Cadillac in for a tune-up.
3. Foreign policy issues were not totally ignored, and we are
in agreement that foreign policy will be an RN long-suit in the
campaign. We wish to point out something else along these lines that
is being missed in many of the analyses we've seen. Namely,
McGovern is still largely a one-issue candidate -- i.e., his candidacy
is resting to a high degree on the quicksand of Vietnam. The New York
Times/Yankelovich survey of the California primary showed that
Note
two-thirds of the Democrat voters believed
the Vietnam war to be
the most important public issue, and that McGovern won heavy support
from those who thought so. The Hart Research Associates poll for the
Post also showed that two-thirds of the people voting for McGovern
cited Vietnam among the reasons for doing so.
Thus Vietnam continues to be a central issue in a McGovern/RN
contest. We feel that some decision here will be detrimental to
McGovern -- nearly a death blow. But beyond Vietnam, there are
a large number of foreign policy concerns that will help RN. Israel
is one. Our people have to know that McGovern is soft on this issue, and
Page 5
can be hurt. As we pointed out, his defense proposal is one
place to hit him on Israel. The Rabin statement should be
carefully noted for future use. Some heavy Jewish support ought
to be ready and willing to go out after McGovern on this point.
We especially wish to give strong recommendation to one
particular idea. The Jordanian crisis continues to be a big zero
in the public's mind. The campaign is when we need to surface
it again. We-recommend that an excellent documentary film be
made (half-hour) which re-creates the total situation -- including
footage of our carriers being moved in the Med, situation room
activity, RN's personal participation, footage of RN visiting with the
jetliner hostages, etc. This should be a film story which matches
the Fletcher Knebel books in suspense; and the best thing about it
is that it's true. We need to give it dramatic life. Showing that film
in areas of heavy Jewish voters won't hurt us a big against "strip-the-
Note
Sixth-Fleet McGovern. 11
We totally agree that RN's superior foreign policy capabilities
ought to be given prominent attention, but it ought not be linked
completely to McGovern. Rather the approach should be to denigrate
McGovern the lightweight who has probably negotiated nothing more than
an auto loan in his lifetime. Nice, decent McGovern against Mr. Chou
and the dour Brezhnev. To help in this, we need to get a lot of
heavies who will make fun of his proposal to strip our NATO forces
mit
500,000
Troops
Heary
(Wring for the Start)
unilaterally, to call his lack of understanding of how SALT was
negotiated a joke, to simply portray him as a South Dakota hick
whose blitherings over the Vietnam war aren't going to serve him
well when the hot line warms up.
4. We agree that our attacks should not surface the enemy
line, and that our own points need to be surfaced in the attack.
This point was covered basically in number 1 above. However,
the thing about McGovern is that the enemy line is a bunch of crap,
and surfacing it is precisely what we want to do -- McGovern being the
unknown quantity that he is. The enemy line of a $1000 to every thing
that breathes is something we want to point out, ditto on abortion,
defense and the others. What we do want to avoid is the following
type of thing: "McGovern says that RN is a cold warrior, and I say
he's not. 11 Anyone who can't distinguish between the arguments should
not be out speaking for us. Since we will be monitoring much of this,
we can make sure it is avoided.
5. Building the foreign policy issue is of great urgency. There
are two approaches. The first is simply a strong pro-RN line.
Here is the man who has spent 25 years in public life; has parlayed
that experience into a deftness on foreign policy which has never
been matched by any President; has led him to successful negotiations
drawing the world nearer to peace; skillfully dealt with an unpopular
war that he inherited and won the peace without losing the war. In short,
Page 7
this is the line that shows RN to be the quintessential statesman.
Putting out this line forcefully almost removes the need to make
the comparison with McGovern -- McGovern could be dispatched
in about one paragraph.
The second line is focused on McGovern. What would George
McGovern have said to Leonid Brezhnev during SALT. "Mr. Brezhnev,
I agree with the Politburo's position that the Vietnam war is a disaster,
now what concessions may I give you?" We would point out that
George McGovern has never been involved in one single important
foreign policy decision in his lifetime; that he could not be treated
as an equal by one big-power leader in the world; that his foreign
policy propositions are major reversals of virtually the entire
American foreign policy apparatus. As President, he would
convulse international relations, destroy the NATO alliance,
forsake the whole of Asia, etc.
There is but one caveat on the McGovern foreign policy
argument. He may well try to turn this into an asset. E.g., "It's
time we turn our attention to America. I agree with Mr. Nixon's Moscow
and Peking diplomacy, but now that we've settled that, elect a
man who is willing to feed our own hungry children as well as the
children of Foreign countries. " He can demagogue against us on this
point, and we need to be on the lookout for it. We may have to give
him a little of the same treatment in return.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 19, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR:
PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
FROM:
KEN KHACHIGIAN
McGovern knows damn good and well that we have enough
material on him to sink a battleship. He also knows that we
won't be afraid to use this information, and that it will damage
him highly. Thus, his strategy will be, among other things, to
obfuscate the issues around personality. To wit, he and his
people will try to shrug off the attacks by yelling "smear, "
"hatchet job, " "Tricky Dick" the works.
This has already been promised by Mankiewicz and the
first evidence of it came over the weekend. After Herb Stein's
low-keyed assault on the McGovern tax and welfare schemes,
McGovern released a statement saying the following about the
Stein appraisal:
"He called the attack 'the opening shot of this
year's campaign against me, 1 and said: 'Nixon obviously
realizes that this year's Presidential campaign is going
to be waged primarily over the rampant unemployment,
inflation, economic uncertainty and favoritism which
now burden this country. 1
"The attack, he said, 'tipped his (Nixon's) hand that
he is going to try to cover up with the kind of political
hatchet work which has characterized every campaign
he has ever run. 1 " New York Times 6/19/72
This has been an enormously successful tool of the Democrats,
and they will use it with gusto. I have some suggestions to counter it.
We have to start, very soon, using the very same tactic. I.e.,
we need to have our people accuse McGovern of doing hatchet work,
accuse him of divisiveness, of polarization -- and we have the quotes
to back it up. Our use of this should be relentless in order not to let
McGovern get away with using it first. There is no reason why we
shouldn't be the "hurt" party. It didn't do RN any damage in 1966.
Page 2
-- As soon as things begin in earnest, any time McGovern
makes national news with such accusations, we ought to be right
on top of it and have Scott, Rockefeller, and others try to get
Note
on t.v. immediately refuting it -- backed up with some well- -
documented examples of McGovern demagogy.
-- This whole business reinforces the necessity that our
attacks be not at all strident, but simply factual. The only thing
McGovern will be smeared with is hard fact.
-- Finally, let's hold in reserve to the very end of the
campaign the possibility of a major speech by RN -- only if the
election appears to be close and only if the smear argument seems
good
to be catching. That speech would be a point by point refutation
(Checkers style) of the McGovern argument -- one which catalogues
the whole series of smears against the President (this is being
compiled by Research, as you know). Let's not jump the gun on
this one, but let's hold the idea in reserve if needed.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
May 9, 1972
MEMORANDUM TO:
KEN KHACHIGIAN
FROM:
PAT BUCHANAN
Thimmesch has the pro-abortion statements of McGovern--
and can we get that ad that was run in the Catholic papers
of Nebraska on abortion, McGovern's position.
Fruthe r, I understand that in Nebraska McGovern indicated
that he would name Ramsey Clark, the Berrigan Defender,
as the FBI Chief: Can we check this out and get it -- if
possible. Can you give my brother Bill a call and ask him
where he heard it, if you can't get it from the Nebraska
press.
Finally, understand from the News Summary that Alger Hiss
has endorsed George McGovern. Can we get that one nailed
down also.
Buchanan