Chuck Colson:Chuck Colson:Chuck Colson was the most powerful man in the Nixon White House after Halderman and Ehrlicmann. He was in charge of Communications.
He also was responsible for my becoming the "Principal Economic
Spokesman" for the Richard Nixon reelection campaign of 1972. 
He announced my appointment in spite of the rather violent objections of both George Shultz (at that time Secretary of the Treasury) and Herbert Stein (At that time Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors).He released the announcement when both Shultz and Stein were out of town. Neither Shultz nor Stein would accept the position (it was "unethical and a conflict of position"[official and political] ) but they sure did not want me to have it.
Colson waited until they were out of town to release the appointment to the media (Business Week had a ball with that!)! It was, of course, approved by Richard Nixon and known in advance by Leonard Garment, counsel to President Nixon.As a result of the job I did against McGovern in 1972 and as a result of the publicity my efforts raised in favor of President Nixon the President offered me one of several cabinet positions all of which I refused. I tell you this so that the record is clear.
Colson knew no limits in his dedication to achieving the reelection of Richard Nixon in 1972. I was in the White House for the announcement of my appointment and was with Leonard Garment in his office. The office of Leonard Garment looked across an air space to the office of Chuck Colson. We were standing there at the window looking across at Colson waving his arms in his office when Garment turned to me and said "What this man is doing is unbelievable", all the while shaking his head in disbelief and disdain. I didn't get what he was talking about until much later!
Colson knew, of course, all about Watergate and the machinations which were going on including a safe full of illicit and illegal money.He was in it up to his eyebrows. And at the time morality and the virtues of integrity and honor were not strong points of Colson. But in all my dealings with him I found him to be a decent sort, but I am, of course, totally and completely prejudiced!
His failure is typical of people that get into power. They become drunk with it, live in a cocoon, work themselves into a stupor and loose all perspective on the world. All they know is the intimate and horribly dynamic circle in which they exist.They kill themselves working 15/18 hour days, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year and do it for years on end! They are all nuts which is why I always refused to play except on my terms that include sanity as a prerequisite.
If you were to put them all together on a planet somewhere with little communication, if any, with the world then you can call it the White House. Because that is what the White House is; a horribly isolated and insulated zoo and insane asylum at one and the same time. If you stay there long enough you find that the guards become the inmates and vice versa!
Colson was guilty as hell; I take Garment's word for that but Chuck Colson was just as much a victim as a player. John Dean proved that.
Chuck Colson has become a "born-again Christian" and now spends his life espousing Christianity. He served time and deserved to do so but when all is said and done I feel sorry for him and the countless"luminaries" like him who trade in a decent life for a mess of potage and little if any appreciation. What do they have when they are all done and have damaged their soul beyond repair? Fame or nightmares?
Sic transit gloria.
These
are the backgrounds of prominent people I have known. The backgrounds may
be incomplete or they may be wrong. I am working from memory and the backgrounds
I give you are from my personal (not book) knowledge. This is their backgrounds
as I knew them. I have not checked out the details and the backgrounds are
incomplete but they do jell with my knowledge of them and my experiences
with them.
