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From Buchanan to the President RE: the Vice president and the Campaign. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/23/1972
From Buchanan to the President (thru HRH) RE: observations from the study on McGovern primary ads. 6 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/12/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: McGovern and the Jewish Vote. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/11/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: Kevin Phillips representing McGovern as Democratic Party Elite rather than the "common man". 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/7/1972
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This file contains:
From Buchanan to the President RE: the Vice president and the Campaign. 4 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/23/1972
From Buchanan to the President (thru HRH) RE: observations from the study on McGovern primary ads. 6 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/12/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: McGovern and the Jewish Vote. 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/11/1972
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: Kevin Phillips representing McGovern as Democratic Party Elite rather than the "common man". 1 pg. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 7/7/1972
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Richard Nixon Presidential Library
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48
8
7/23/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Buchanan to the President RE: the
Vice president and the Campaign. 4 pgs.
48
8
7/12/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Buchanan to the President (thru HRH)
RE: observations from the study on
McGovern primary ads. 6 pgs.
48
8
7/11/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE:
McGovern and the Jewish Vote. 1 pg.
48
8
7/7/1972
Campaign
Memo
From Khachigian to Buchanan RE: Kevin
Phillips representing McGovern as
Democratic Party Elite rather than the
"common man". 1 pg.
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
Page 1 of 1
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 23, 1972
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT (As Requested)
FROM:
PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
SUBJECT: The Vice President and the Campaign
Because the Vice President remains, outside RN, the biggest gun
we have, the Veep should be staffed up -- at least on the level of
the 1970 campaign. Full plane, and gear and constant contact and
communication with the White House and Re-Election Committee.
1. He will have to visit those states the President cannot visit,
as of course the first responsibility.
2. However, as often as possible, the Vice President should be
scheduled into those areas and among those groups -- that are the
battleground in 1972. And that is not Republicans. We, by and
large, have the South now. In the North, it is Catholic, ethnic,
urban, Jewish, middle-income, working class Democrats who are the
swing votes, the ones who will decide by how large a margin we will
win this one, if we do win it.
Therefore, schedulers should look to Pulaski Day Parades, Columbus
Day Parades (What about a WH function, along the lines of the
St. Pat's Party), union halls, Knights of Columbus, Queens, PBA,
and ethnic community meetings.
This is vital, in my judgment -- and we should schedule Dole and
MacGregor into the GOP functions, using the Veep for those areas
where he can do us the most good -- among the Wallace Democrats
in the North, in places like Michigan and elsewhere.
3. The Vice President should have a set-piece speech, as the
President had, and instead of an entire new text every day -- as in
1970 we should have a new "Ten Graphs" in each speech. This
is one hell of a lot easier on speech writers, and gives us greater
control of the material that the press runs.
-2-
4.
The Vice President should carry the fight to the opposition
ticket, by and large ignoring Eagleton -- and zeroing in on McGovern.
The Veep has the Assault Book. What is needed now more than
anything is co-ordination of the attack strategy so that we don't pee
away everything in the first weeks, and so that our strategies can
be co-ordinated.
5.
Frankly, we need better press relations between the Vice
President and the national and local press; this might well require
a more conciliatory attitude on the part of the Veep's staff toward
the traveling press. (We had good relations we thought, by and
large, in the 1970 election.) Certainly, the Vice President should
do something for the locals at each stop. And we ought, of course,
to shelve for the campaign the broad anti-media attacks; unless
a) it proves politically necessary in light of their shafting. We have
the political dividends out of this -- our target is McGovern.
6.
Contact on a regular basis between the President and the Vice
President would be especially helpful -- not simply for morale purposes,
but to review the success of failure of a given strategy and to maintain
campaign flexibility.
7.
We should, on the campaign trail, avoid I think, the epithet
and make our charges -- based strictly on the record. So that
McGovern is forced to respond to what he himself said -- not to what
we called him. However, the extremism of the McGovern positions
and statements, and the "elitism" of the New Left controllers of the
Democratic Party remains an effective theme appealing to Democrats.
8.
We should remember that the swing voters in this election are
Democrats -- and strictly Republican appeals this fall are only useful
for rallying the troops, nothing more. The "McGovernites" is right
on the mark.
9.
The situation of 1970 where the President's people were on
board the Veep's plane- at the Veep's invitation -- was a good one.
Since the President is not going to be stumping, his top writing talent,
or much of it, should be withthe Vice President.
10.
I recognize the need to defend the President and his Administration,
but what the press considers "news" is usually negative news, i. e.,
an "attack" rather than a defense. And we must not allow McGovern
to swing over onto the offensive i. e., I would argue that the Vice
President should be carrying the struggle to their ticket, rather than
waiting for them to attack, and defending the President.
-3-
In my view, whereas in 1968 it was relatively easy to scare the
voters, with attacks on RN's economics and position on medicare,
etc. that tactic on the part of the other side won't work today.
Whether they agree with RN or not, very few Americans are
"frightened" by the prospect of another RN term. The same cannot
be said of McGovern; and this is the factor which opens up the
possibility of a landslide. Thus, a campaign which continually raises
specters about McGovern's extremism, and the crazyness of his
ideas, is the only kind of campaign I think that can win us a major
landslide. A defensive strategy, thus, does not commend itself to
me especially for our biggest gun outside of the President. We
ought to have other views on this.
11.
We have to be wary of making George a Martyr. Mean-spiritedness
has no place in this campaing; thus, it is important that the campaign
staff not be tired and bitchy as the campaign heats up. The humor
used should be light and needling not mean in character.
Again, on this score, though unfair, it is true that we have a smaller
margin for error than the Democrats. The Veep can call McGovern a
"fraud" and be excoriated for it McGovern can compare RN to Hitler
and his policy in Vietnam to the "extermination of the Jews" and get
away with it, without comment. Without tearing into our friends in the
media, we have got to keep pointing this up.
12.
Vitally important that we not allow a situation to develop, as
in 1960 with RN or 1968 with the Veep, when the candiate and his
traveling press were at sword's point. Even if the press is shafting
us, it is not to our advantage to conduct a Cold War with them when
they are reporting what we say and do. In the fall, on the Vice
President's plane, there should be some who will bring that "can of oil"
when necessary, and will, in a good cause, eat a little crow and
humble pie.
13.
Essential that the Vice President, this fall, feel that he has
the full confidence and support of the President, and regular backing.
My view is that in 1968, when the Vice President was under attack,
we would have done better by bringing him on to answer the charges
against him. In 1972, we can be sure that the Vice President will be
an issue the answer to this is to put him on the air, on national
television, and to let him in his own calm way, with his own accents,
answer the allegations that will be made against him. To show he does
not have horns. We might even consider a visit to some campus -- or
a youth confrontation on the tube -- for the campaign. As in 1952, a
-4-
harsh and strident and unfair attack on a Vice President can be made
to back-fire against its perpetrators.
Considering that one of the advantages of McGovern is that he may
be perceived as the underdog, the anti-Establishment candidate, it
might be good to get the Vice President into this role, and come
fighting back fairly, against all these elements and institutions that
are out to get him.
14.
Lastly, the major appearance the Vice President -- the major
national impression -- will come from his acceptance speech. This
speech can do a tremendous job for him, and for us, in laying out the
record of the Democratic ticket, in appealing to those Democrats who
have bolted, and in leaving an impression of the Vice President before
the country.
PJB would like to help put some of this together for the Vice President,
and if the President suggested that, would be most helpful.
15.
Recognizing that there are many within the White House and
the Hill who are not exactly enthusiasts of the Vice President, word
should go forth that this is a "team" effort, there should be no
"background" knocking the Number Two man, who will be shouldering
as RN did, much of the nasty workload of the party and the campaign.
Nothing is more embittering than to pull off the wire some holier-than-
thou statement from a fellow Republican, when- in the interests of the
Administration -- we are throwing Goodell to the sharks. Even a
word from RN to all involved that this is a team effort; that no good
is served us or the Party by background back-stabbing, and that this
is an all-for-one, one-for-all operation, would be beneficial in the
campaign, I would think from the 1970 experience.
Buchanan
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 12, 1972
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT
(THRU HRH)
FROM:
PATRICK J. BUCHANAN
Observations from a study of the McGovern primary ads, TV,
radio and press and the interesting McGovern biography.
Points worth noting:
1.
Despite the ideological liberalism of Mr. McGovern, there
is a clear conservative thrust to many of his issues ads - -
particularly those for "cleaning up the welfare mess, 11 and
relieving the property tax burden on the average citizen. The
McGovern oposals to increase the welfare payments and rolls,
and the manifest inconsistency in proposing $150 billion in new
spending - - while appearing to be for a reduction in and
redistribution of the tax burden are not present in these ads.
Further, late in the primaries, his new "hard-line" on Israel
was a major topic of his advertising. Could find nothing in the
way of elitist, new left ad themes in McGovern's primary
campaing. Amnesty, abortion, pot, soak-the-rich, slash
defense, $1000-a-person were clearly not major themes. There
are, however, several old-liberal approaches which he has
pushed in his advertising. These include:
a)
Social Security benefits beginning at 62 years of age --
a straight shot appeal to old folks, along traditional
liberal Democratic lines.
b)
An interesting emphasis on "occupational health and
safety. 11 For example, a number of TV spots focusing
on how workers were losing life and limb in unsafe
pla its, and this was a serious problem. Imagine
this approach to be one with great appeal where McGovern
is weak -- among production workers.
-2-
c)
Medical care for everyone. This is one of the positive
"liberal" programs, which McGovern emphasized in the
primaries. Again, it is traditional Scammon-Wattenburg
economic liberalism. Again, there is hardly a trace of
what one might call social liberalism, or "radical chic"
politics in the McGovern advertising campaign. And,
clearly, our people should never cease making references
to his "elitist" "radical chic" positions -- and focus on
them, rather than leaving the debate to resolve around
his more traditional "liberal" approaches.
d)
A relatively hard-nosed approach on drugs.
OTHER APPROACHES
The KENNEDYS - - Mr. McGovern is clearly running
on the coattails of two dead men, John and Robert Kennedy;
his documentary is almost a Kennedy Documentary; his TV
and radio spots make extensive use of the Kennedy endorse-
ments of George McGovern as the "most decent man in the
Senate. " We can expect much of this in the fall.
PERSONALITY -- McGovern's campaign consistently
contrasts Mr. McGovern as an honest, open, straight-forward,
candid, consistent candidate -- with Mr. Nixon's Administration,
which is portrayed as deceitful, closed, secretive, distrustful.
This is clearly in the McGovern campaign judgment a winner
for them -- and a loser for us. They focus upon the "personality"
of the two candidates and the two campaigns, as much as upon
any two issues. The need for us, again, in my judgment, is to
move early to get out the record of both the McGovern waffles
on positions, that McGovern compromises on principles,
McGovern's nasty and vindictive attacks upon the President and
his political adversaries. The press, which nails Mr. Agnew
to the mast for his rugged rhetoric has allowed Mr. McGovern
to get away with some of the more incredible statements in
American politics. We have Mr. McGovern's cruel and nasty
statements recorded, but these, along with his waffles and
back-downs, have to be moved into the public record. As with
Mr. Muskie, one of our problems is to contradict this idea
that, whether you agree or disagree with McGovern, you
"know where he stands, 11 and you know he can be trusted.
-3-
Other attributes the McGovern camp is playing up are such
as "warmth, humanity, sympathy, compassion," and they are
attempting to contrast them with a cold-blooded, super-efficient,
rather heartless White House and President. Such as RN's visit
to the flood-stricken areas of the country is most helpful as an
antidote to this kind of approach. We could do more of the last.
Also, an openness, and a new accessibility to the press and public
on the part of the President might, in my view, be helpful in
working against this "inaccessibility" allegation that is part of the
McGovern mode.
ISRAEL -- McGovern's extraordinary sensitivity on this
issue is manifest in the 180-degree turnabout on the issue, and the
astonishing hawkishness of his latest ads. He is vulnerable here;
and the lesson is obvious that we ought to continue to focus upon
his opposition to the Eisenhower Doctrine, to measures to promote
Is raeli security, etc. He is vulnerable here; and aware of it.
POPULISM -- While "Professor McGovern" is a representative
of the "outs" against the "ins, 11 the fighter against the "interests" for
the common man who bears too much of the burden, while powerful
corporations and institutions get off without paying their fair share.
The clear need is, as stated in previous memos, to portray McGovern
as a Candidate of the Elite, "Professor McGovern, 11 the leader
of the party of the PHds. and limousine liberals, whose elitist
shock troops took over the party of the people, the "noise-makers"
and the "exotic," the tiny minority who are imposing an asinine
social policy of bussing on a country, eight-five percent of whose
people do not want bussing.
There are few larger imperatives in our campaign than to mov e
McGovern into the position of the Establishment Candidate --
running against the candidate of Middle America. Crucial to our
success this fall is to put McGovern in the bag with the "radical
chic" and this message it seems to me, has to be impressed upon
our speakers. If we allow him to be perceived as his ads, and
previous campaigns portray him, we could have a serious problem.
-4-
VIETNAM McGovern's approach is that he is the one man
in the country, who has been "right from the start, " about this
miserable, horrible war. This should be confronted, not ignored,
and surely, not conceded. These are three basic approaches,
some of them not complementary, if not consistent:
a)
McGovern has been a waffler on the war; he voted for the
Gulf of Tokin in 1964, against its repeal in 1966, for appropriations
for the conflict throughout the early and mid-sixties, and only voted
to get out -- after a Republican had come in to clean up the mess
McGovern's Presidential choices (JFK, LBJ, HHH) had made of
the situation. His bitter attacks on RN thus come not from
principle but from the effort to pick up partisan dividends from under-
cutting an American President trying to get us out of a war into which
he voted us.
b)
McGovern has repeatedly made predictions as to what the
enemy would do if we made concessions -- and every single
McGovern promise and prediction has been wrong. Nobody had
a worse record on Vietnam in terms of understanding the enemy
than McGovern.
c)
McGovern's attacks on the President who is now honorably
ending American involvement in this war are not something to be
proud of they rank among the most shameful episodes in
American history. While President Nixon sought courageously to
ext ricate America from this conflict with his two objectives,
American honor intact, and our commitment not defaulted --
McGovern badgered and sabotaged this courageous effort every step
of the way.
Again, our people should not concede the war is immoral, should
not concede that McGovem was right, but we are right too, and
we are trying to end it as best we can. We should challenge him
on this issue, on many grounds. We should confront his claim -
not co-opt it, by saying: "Well, we are against the war, too, and
we are trying to do our best to end it. "
McGovern should be conceded nothing on Vietnam. He is a back-
stabber who would go "begging" to Hanoi -- and abandon our
prisoners to the enemy, without any guarantee we would ever get
them back. We should view his positions, not with disagreement,
but with contempt.
-5-
THE STRENGTH & WEAKNESS OF GEORGE MCGOVERN THE MAN --
From reading McGovern, a most interesting and sympathetic
biography, and observing the man, the following becomes clear.
McGovern's great strength and great weakness lies in hi S
personality; he is a minister in his own right and a minister's son;
he is a True Believer, his is the "Passionate State of Mind;" he
sees issues in moral terms, not simply mistaken versus wise, but
evil versus good. At the same time he is extraordinarily ambitious --
unlike Goldwater. Frankly, he bears striking similarities to our
present Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Romney.
Thus it is that McGovern can both shift positions and express a righteous
faith in his new position to match his faith and fanaticism in expressing
his old.
Thus, it is that McGovern can compare RN with Hitler and his bombing
policy with extermination of the Jews -- and still believe in his
own mind that Mr. Agnew is the "demagogue" who says horrible
things. McGovern's self-righteousness can be a great strength
he has a 'acher's appeal; against us his is the appeal of a man
who believes deeply in a "faith" against the man who is the
quintessent of the pragmatist.
His weakness is, again the weakness of Romney -- he is, not
unlikely to state and re-state his convictions about RN being like
Hitler, when pressed on the question, rather than backing off. In
a pressure situation, he will fall back upon the "Gospel" of the
left, rather than frame some non-committal neutral response.
Very probably, he will be mor e sensitive, more likely to move to
outrage, with the suggestion that he is a waffler, a hypocrite, than
against the blanket charge he is a radical. Indeed, his campaigns
have shown that he is extremely effective in combating the charge
that he is a "radical"; he has been at his most effective against the
straight-on smear attack and his worst defeat -- to Karl Mundt --
came when his zealotry and hatred of Karl Mundt got the better of him.
This analysis of McGovern's character reinforces my belief that
our best attack against him is not the heavy-handed direct charge
that he is a radical and extremist, not a shouting denunciatory
approach but repeatedly elevating his wild positions, his slanderous
statement about the President, and suggesting and pointing to his
radicalis m and extremism without raging against it. No meat ax;
the scalpel is to be preferred.
Keep his positions and statements in front of the public, but
a posture of humor, of incredulity about the wildness of his
positions, of indignation and justified anger at the character
of his slanders of the President and other decent, good men
will, in my view, be far more effective than for us to think
up another new way to call McGovern a jackass every
morning. What McGovern the radical has going for him is
something which Jim Buckley had going for him when you
look at the guy on the tube and listen to him, it is hard to
accept him as a radical. We have the media which will be
helping him clean up his past for this election; and our job
is to consistently, and insistently, get that past on the public
record -- and make McGovern defend or talk about that
record and, hopefully, hysterically denounce us as SOBs,
which his sense of moral worth and righteousness is fully
capable of leading him to do.
WAR HERO -- Look for Guggenheim, his documentary
man, and his ad campaign, and his statements, to appeal to
his lost constituency by focusing heavily upon his war record
as a bomber pilot; and one will find, I would think, that the
national media will help out with regular reminders that
George McGovern was a medal-winning bomber pilot in the
war against Nazi Germany, and thus can hardly be considered
a woolly-headed peacenik. McGovern has expressed
consternation that the press was constantly referring to
"War Hero McCloskey" and not to "War Hero McGovern."
Their documentary also focuses heavily on his war record.
Buchanan
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 11, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: PAT BUCHANAN
FROM:
KEN KHACHIGIAN D
You may have missed this letter to the editor from Israel --
it's enough to put McGovern away for awhile with the Jewish vote.
Suggest that it be gotten over to 1701 with orders that it be
mailed out to all our Jewish fundraising people. It should receive
wide attention along with that Israeli editorial of a few days back and
the comments by Ambassador Rabin.
I'm not sure people understand that we have to start now and
continue hitting hard on this Israeli proposition in order that we
change voter sentiment on the issue safely in advance of the election.
Attachment
THE WHITE HOUSE
WAY HINGTON
July 7, 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR:
PAT BUCHANAN
FROM:
KEN KHACP GIAN
Kevin Phillips should be able to use the attached to
continue his current theme : McGover represents the
D nocratic party elite rather than the "coromon man. 11
Here's the approach.
The photo appearin in the Post amor ted to a round.
table of Car: nlot -- the sa to Eastern Establishment liberals
who got is into Victnam. Townsend I's apos and Paul Warnke
were both prominently inentioned in the P. atagon Papers, and
so, probably, was Abc Chayes, the Kennedy legal advisor at the
State Department. Moreover, all the 0 the were part of the
K. edy-Johnson team in one way or another -- the ones who
gave us the disasterous foreign policy of the 60's. In my
opinion, the fact that McGovern is calling on these guys for
advice is a damning indictment of his potential foreign policy.
Moreover, a loo': at the photo will show hat the only
women is a secretary. No blacks, chicanos, poor people, etc.
McGovern makes a big thing about represe nting the "people"
and that he will bring them into his cabinet. But, in fact,
he still calls on the clite for his advice.
I think there is a good potential column along these lines.