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From Colson to Haldeman RE: recent conversation with William Paley, with transcription of the conversation attached. Handwritten note added by unknown. 5 pgs. [Subject: Domestic Policy] [Memo], 11/3/1972
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WHSF: Contested, 7-73
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WHSF: Contested, 7-73
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This file contains:
From Colson to Haldeman RE: recent conversation with William Paley, with transcription of the conversation attached. Handwritten note added by unknown. 5 pgs. [Subject: Domestic Policy] [Memo], 11/3/1972
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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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7
73
11/3/1972
Domestic Policy
Memo
From Colson to Haldeman RE: recent
conversation with William Paley, with
transcription of the conversation attached.
Handwritten note added by unknown. 5 pgs.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Page 1 of 1
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
EVENCY
WASHINGTON
November 3, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR:
H.R. HALDEMAN
FROM:
CHARLES COLSON
SUBJECT:
Conversation with William Paley
You cannot possibly appreciate the impact of the attached without
hearing the tone of the voice. Paley was pleading. He sounded
like a whipped dog and almost on the verge of tears. My voice
was steely cold. Your letter was obviously exactly the right
approach. As you will note from the attached, I did not agree
to see him after the election nor did I say I wouldn't.
Chalk up one for our new task of destroying the old establishment.
Conversation with Wm. Paley, November 3, 1972
C: Hi, Bill.
P: Nothing could have been worse than your goddamn note.
C: I'm not sure it was any worse than the two-art series we were
treated to.
P: Listen, fellow, will you let me come down after the election? There
is nothing I can say now, but you can imagine a lot of things. I just didn't
want you to think this was the result of any activity engineered here in
my office or up on high from anyplace.
C: Well, I was the only guy from the White House
P: It's just an area that I don't want to talk about and can't talk about.
I just couldn't let your note go unanswered and I just wanted to call up
and say please have a little faith in me.
C: Well, the election will be over Tuesday, Thank God.
P: Well, okay, I'm sorry, really, Chuck. There is nothing that was done
by design or plan, I promise you.
C: Did you see the one this week?
P: I did. The one on Tuesday night?
C: Yes.
P: Yep, I saw it.
C: I thought it was probably the first time I've ever seen people found
guilty for refusing to answer a negative charge -- of course, you can No
disprove the negative, as you know.
P: As a matter of fact, the charge had been denied, which is even worse
I put it even stronger than you do and I don't know why the denial, if it's
made, has to be made to us, you know.
2.
C: Well, I don't know why it has to be made every day.
P: Well, I don't know why CBS has to have it made to it specifically
and personally. It was a ridiculous position that we took and I sat there
and saw it, and I'm not sure if you saw it when it was on the air, did you?
C: Oh, yes.
P: Anyway, I just wanted to call you
C: Well, the sadness of it, Bill, is that the whole thing was in my view
at least unnecessary and harmful all around, generally very, very harmful.
Obviously the public
I guess you have to give the public a hell of a lot
more credit for having more intelligence than most people think they have
because I gather from the latest poll, which I have this morning, they're
going to go to the election booth and decide who's best qualified to be
President, despite the best efforts of some people really to undermine
the confidence of the public in the office. The institutional damage I think
is very unfortunate.
P: Chuck, as I told you, I'm.
in a way, concerned as to how it affects
any one particular person, but my real concern is a very non-partisan one
because my real responsibility, my real love, my real zeal is to this
news organization of ours that I helped build for about 40 years, based on
policies that are supposed to be fair and balanced and when those things
don't happen the way they're supposed to happen, it's very hurtful.
C: I think it hurts all around, Bill. I think it's a bad thing for the country
really.
P: Well, anyway I didn't let this thing go unnoticed and I
this is a whole
situation that is so goddamn sensitive that if you'll let me, I want to come
down after the election.
C: I'll be recuperating.
P: From getting good and drunk, I hope.
C: Isuspect I'll do that.
P: It looks absolutely a shoo-in. We had. you don't see some of the local
stuff we have here, but it's absolutely amazing what's happening in New
York State.
3.
C: I gather it is. The New York Daily News poll is certainly very
encouraging.
P: Well, we've taken polls right along and there's just noq uestionabout
it. I don't know this could be. almost a clean sweep, you know. I
think certainly there's a great possibility of 47 states
C: Looks that way.
P: But maybe 50 and there's no question about the way the people feel.
We did a half hour last night on how you're going to vote, this was a local
show, WCBS-TV and we did a lot of sidewalk interviews and that sort of
thing and it was just amazing how people came through with their feelings
which would have made you and all of your associates very happy.
One thing if I can kibitz for a minute, the President was on, the night
before last? on a political paid half hour.
C: No, it was last night.
P: Does he have any more of those?
C: He's got a 5 minute coming up on Monday night.
P: Just himself. Well, I hope he doesn't have more of those half hours
like he had last night.
C: That's a little long, isn't it?
P: It was dudsville, really, and I think he needs
I know a little about
mass circulation and this kind of thing needs the orchestration of other people
including enthusiasm and a lot of other things.
C: You'll get some of that today and tomorrow
he's campaigning with
the crowds.
P: That's fine, but I'm talking now about the stuff that he goes on the air
and pays for. The 5 minute pieces have got it because they're usually
excerpts from things he's done and they're very effective, but I didn't
know whether he was going before the cameras and sit still for another
half hour
C: No, that's not planned. McGovern is
P: I don't know how you felt about it.
4.
C: Well, I thought it was very low key
P: Well, yea, but he made good points, but they could have been twice
as effective if they had been put inthe right setting and if he's going to
read, by the way, for Christ sake, have the papers there, but don't
keep them in frontof the camera. If he looks down, people know he's
readi ng, but it's very distracting to see the papers up themselves.
C: Yea, a number of people have mentioned that, the papers can be
quite a distraction.
P: But this
the setting and atmosphere created when a person is trying
to get a message across is terribly important and you know that and I
think for a stateman making an address having to do with national
problems or where there's no contest going on, so to speak, the so-called
fireside chat is very effective, but when there's a contest going on and
people are
each side is trying to knock over the other side, I think it
needs a little more than just the quiet solitude of a little room and I'm
really glad to hear that he hasn't any more of the half-hour shows lined
up.
C: Nope, that was the only one he did and it was done to
P: I read someplace that he had 2 and 3 scheduled and I didn't even call
to find out whethe we had them
I thought you wald give me the answer
directly.
C: I think we're trying to clear time for 5 minutes
he will do a 5 minute
speech. I think we're trying to clear time on CBS Monday night for the
network buy for a half hour, but only 5 minutes of it would be the President
speaking.
P: Well, how would the rest of it be used then?
C: I think for some of the documentary stuff.
P: But if he does go on himself will it be live from the WhiteHouse?
C: It would be a tape.
P: I think 5 minuties can stand it and I think anything beyond that is pretty
difficult.
C: Well, I appreciate that Bill we'll be seeing you.
P: Okay, fellow. After the electon.