July 13, 1972

Really not much to report, because the Democratic National Convention has been going on. Granted, the Nixon campaign hasn't been kidnapping anyone or seducing them with prostitutes and then bugging the rooms and listening in -- Gemstone, whether in its originally proposed or finally approved versions, is long gone by now, of course. But the convention is hardly going well, anyway; famously, on Thursday July 13 they lost control of the schedule and George McGovern wound up giving his acceptance speech at 3:00 AM.

In California, the president and his chief of staff have been monitoring the Democrats. On Monday (July 10) Nixon told Haldeman (all this from the diary) that "it was just hard for him to believe that the Democratic Party was actually nominating McGovern, but obviously they are." Tuesday's conversation was about how they would deal with Ted Kennedy as the VP candidate if he was chosen. And Thursday, July 13, they had to push back their plans to watch the acceptance speeches, and all the president's men agreed that Kennedy's speech clearly overshadowed both McGovern's and VP nominee Thomas Eagleton's.

Back in Washington, the men at the Committee to Re-elect and John Dean at the White House are continuing to try to find a cover-up plan that will work, but they're still stymied. Most of that, however, is moving slowly this week, which is obviously a very good week overall for the re-election effort.