wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems (11. 782)

Nominated by Gerald Ford on this day in 1974 for the office of vice president of the United States, the former New York governor and presidential candidate, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the second individual to be installed under provisions of the US constitution’s twenty-fifth amendment in quick succession and was chosen a pool of candidates, beating out then-US ambassador to NATO Donald Rumsfeld and Republican National Committee chairman George H W Bush, who were respectively given the consolation prizes of White House chief of staff and first ambassador to China. Confirmed by congress in December (and the first to reside in the official residence), the long-serving and popular governor from the dynasty of oil tycoons and business magnates was known for his progressive policies in terms of equal rights for housing and employment, environmental conservation efforts, public works, healthcare and education and liberal- to moderate-leaning party members at the time were referred to a “Rockefeller Republicans.” Though promised to be a “full partner” in the administration especially in terms of domestic policy, the vice president’s participation in government was seen as a liability for Ford and thwarted by chief of staff Rumsfeld, who ultimately convinced the president to drop Rockefeller from the ticket for his 1976 re-election campaign and pick Kansas senator Bob Dole as his running-mate to boost his conservative credentials. Later, Ford recanted the decision as “one of the few cowardly things I did in my life.”