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From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: formulating a campaign theme and proving to the American people that RN has made political progress during his presidency. Hadwritten notes added by Buchanan. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 3/7/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: the White House's reaction to Muskie's campaign announcement and projecting RN as having a more presidential aura than Muskie. Handwritten notes added by Buchanan. 2 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 1/13/1972
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WHSF: Contested, 1-35
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This file contains:
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: formulating a campaign theme and proving to the American people that RN has made political progress during his presidency. Hadwritten notes added by Buchanan. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 3/7/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: the White House's reaction to Muskie's campaign announcement and projecting RN as having a more presidential aura than Muskie. Handwritten notes added by Buchanan. 2 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 1/13/1972
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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
35
3/7/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE:
formulating a campaign theme and proving to
the American people that RN has made
political progress during his presidency.
Hadwritten notes added by Buchanan. 1 pg.
1
35
1/13/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: the White
House's reaction to Muskie's campaign
announcement and projecting RN as having a
more presidential aura than Muskie.
Handwritten notes added by Buchanan. 2 pgs.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Page 1 of 1
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 7, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
FROM: KENNETH L. KHACHIGIAN
Va
The two attached columns touch on the same theme, and I think
Reston and Bartlett make some interesting points. Even if things
are going good, there is a lot of talk about the "mood" of the
electorate on election day. This is another way of putting the "what
have you done for me lately?" question. Issues may be transcended.
If RN goes on the stump solely on the record, the election of 1972
will possibly be a replay of the election campaign of 1960 - the
Democrats saying they can do better versus RN defending the record.
That's o.k. as far as it goes, but I think we can go a little further.
RN should be dissatisfied with his first term -- e.g., sure, we've
Give
made a lot of progress in X area, but I plan to do more. Give me four
more years to do it. Generally, the theme ought to be one of RN wanting
years
to keep moving ahead, going into new areas, with new thrusts. He
cannot go into this campaign as being the sole defender of the status quo.
But just as he says we have not done enough, he should also attack,
in general, the people who think America is not capable of doing better,
that we are sick, racist, imperialist, immoral, etc. We can make
)Noto
progress without beating ourselves over the head.
Finally, any theme we have should be developed now. I.e., Price
and his staff ought to have some general outline of a central thematic
proposition which should begin turning up in all of RN's major addresses
and messages. If we start now, the theme will have been established
and all prepared for the time when RN takes the stump himself.
Impressions will have been created and RN need only drive those
impressions home. In a sense, RN will be campaigning "for America,"
while the opposition will be campaigning for the Democratic party.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 13, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
FROM: KENNETH L. KHACHIGIAN Den
Concerning Muskie's television announcement for the
Presidency last week, a few observations.
From a great many news accounts and by my own measuring
sticks, Muskie's announcement was somewhat a digression
from the Muskie image so favorably created in November, 1970.
The appearance was wooden, mechanical, virtually devoid of
Note
expression and generally will pale in comparison to his effective
riposte to RN last year.
My friend who rides the bus with me ( a Democrat who works
as an officer with a national labor union) thought the performance
laughable "all he needed was a shawl on his shoulders and
blanket over his knees, "
However, we should learn from the performance as well.
It is not new to observe the presence that Muskie will seek in
his public announcements -- measured, calming, trust-invoking
and all the rest. It is not so much what Muskie will say in the
campaign but more how he will say it. I feel that to a great
Note
extent, Muskie as an opponent will make issues in the 1972 cam-
paign somewhat peripheral. He will specialize in high-minded
TRUST,WHO
rhetoric searching for the contrast that he hopes will have trust
triumph over trickery.
And here is where we have Ed. Whether or not they do, my
guess is that the American public wants to trust their President.
Thus, we must once again make use of -- in the Nixon presence
the commodity which we monopolize in the campaign the
Presidency.
Muskie being presidential is no match for the President being
Presidential. Virtually every minute of air time we purchase for
serious RN statements should be televised in the White House -
Page 2
the Oval Office, the Lincoln sitting room, the Roosevelt room,
the Cabinet room. Every effort must be made to identify the
White House with Richard Nixon -- pressing the dignity and
even the majesty of a political ambience that Edmund Muskie
couldn't match in a million campaigns. What do you want --
Big Ed in Kennebunk, Maine or President Nixon in the room
in which he made plans to de-ice Chairman Mao.
Let the stump speech be solely for network news con-
sumption. Where we can control the surroundings, it has got to be
Note
the Presidency -- over and over again.
I will add this I think we need to take a long look at diff-
erent rhetorical devices. The campaign will demand a change in
the approach, and I suggest that we need to lay before the Pres-
ident a whole raft of ideas on campaign pronouncements. Just
as we give him options for making policy, I am quite serious in
thinking he needs a great many more options in approaching the
Note
campaign. We ought to get the best staff minds putting together
some of this stuff and perhaps have RN's direct guidance through
out some of the process.