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August 8, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Tuesday, August 8, 1972, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Monday, August 7, 1972

Next Date: Wednesday, August 9, 1972

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at The White House - Washington, D. C.

  • The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents made available transcripts of the President's news conferences; messages to Congress; public speeches, remarks, and statements; and other Presidential materials released by the White House.

    Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

  • Each Public Papers of the Presidents volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary during the time period specified by the volume. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the text note.

    To ensure accuracy, remarks have been checked against audio recordings (when available) and signed documents have been checked against the original, unless otherwise noted. Editors have provided text notes and cross references for purposes of identification or clarity.

  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

  • The Congressional Record is the official daily record of the debates and proceedings of the U.S. Congress.

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Tuesday, August 8.

      The President went up to Camp David this afternoon and I went right up from California. We had the Cabinet meeting with a regular briefing like the staff one last week and then a dinner in the new Laurel. The President gave the only talk. Made the point that the President will do no fundraising, the Vice President will be doing a little so the Cabinet stars have to do most of this. They should talk to the public audience, not just those in front of them when they’re at a fundraising dinner. They should never get into a Republican/Democrat dialogue. The best way we can help Republicans up and down the ticket is to win.

      Regarding the Connally operation, he said we need a separate Democrat activity to make it easy for Democrats. They will talk principles and issues. For Republican candidates, the best thing we can do is build a big vote for the President that we need to sell to the Republicans the idea that millions of Democrats and Independents are joining us. It's a great opportunity to emphasize the positive. We shouldn’t worry-- the Cabinet men shouldn't worry about making national news, they'll dominate the local on their speaking things.

      On the tactics of attack and strategy, he said what really matters, if the election is close at all, is whether the voters in the last two weeks are thinking about our issue or their issue. So we must not get trapped into defending. We have to focus on the issues they're weak on. For example, the economy. We can talk about cutting inflation in half and unemployment down, and so forth, but those are all defensive points. Instead, we should make the point that a vote for McGovern is a vote to add 80 million people to the welfare rolls and $40 billion to the budget for that. Hit him on his thousand dollar per person program. Hit him on the $300 billion added to the budget and raising taxes, wrecking the economy. So the idea of an answer desk is fatal. We must not answer, except just to correct the lies. Then attack where they're weak, but on the same issue. We must talk about peace at home, what we found when we came in crime, drugs, and so forth. The programs we've made. Hit the wave of permissiveness and the positive side of that, the Supreme Court appointments, the four strict constructionists. We're against permissiveness. The next President will appoint three or four more to the Supreme Court and we have to consider that. Compare the difference in attitude toward law enforcement.

      Regarding the economy, we can never win, no matter what we do. We have to keep it from being a loser though. It's a good issue for liberals, a bad issue for responsibles. We will always be outbid, so we don't want them thinking about the economy on Election Day.

      On foreign policy, the war is a difficult issue for us, because there's no easy answer, but we have a good record. It would be better if we had had the support of the Senate. We don't know what will happen, but the negotiations have been jeopardized by the Senate's actions.

      Overall, we have changed the postwar world. The danger of confrontation has been substantially reduced. The chances of peace are much greater. This only happened because we worked on it, and we knew what we were doing as we were working on it. We have to hit foreign policy over and over. Don't assume that the people know. They want peace, but do they know how to get it?

      On the point of competence, incumbency is a mixed bag. They'll get rough and strident in a hard attack. We must keep the emphasis on the big game, don't get dragged down by them. Have people thinking of the big initiatives that we've taken: jobs without war; growing economy; peace; open-minded reform. The other point is that the polls now will close the gap as the media shifts to the opposition. We've got to be prepared for that and ready to combat it.

      End of August 8.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

  • The National Archives Catalog is the online portal to the records held at the National Archives, and information about those records. It is the main way of describing our holdings and also provides access to electronic records and digitized versions of our holdings. 

    The Catalog searches across multiple National Archives resources at once, including archival descriptions, digitized and electronic records, authority records, and web pages from Archives.gov and the Presidential Libraries. The Catalog also allows users to contribute to digitized historical records through tagging and transcription.

    Nixon Library Holdings

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National Security Documents

  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. VIII, Vietnam, January-October 1972

    The Parties Move Toward Agreement, July 19-October 7, 1972

    Vol. XXIII, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1969-1972

    Proximity Talks and the Backchannel: Separate Department of State and White House Negotiating Tricks

    Vol. XXIX, Eastern Europe, 1969-1972

    Finland

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)