https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Rockefeller



Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977, and previously as the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He also served as assistant secretary of State for American Republic Affairs for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (1944–1945) as well as under secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1954. A grandson of billionaire John D. Rockefeller and a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family, he was a noted art collector and served as administrator of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York.

Rockefeller was a Republican who was often considered to be liberal, progressive, or moderate. In an agreement that was termed the Treaty of Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller persuaded Richard Nixon to alter the Republican Party platform just before the 1960 Republican Convention. In his time, liberals in the Republican Party were called "Rockefeller Republicans". As Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, Rockefeller's achievements included the expansion of the State University of New York, efforts to protect the environment, the construction of the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza in Albany, increased facilities and personnel for medical care, and the creation of the New York State Council on the Arts.

After unsuccessfully seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964 and 1968, Rockefeller was appointed vice president of the United States under President Gerald R. Ford, who ascended to the presidency following the August 1974 resignation of Richard Nixon. Rockefeller was the second vice president appointed to the position under the 25th Amendment, following Ford himself. Rockefeller was not placed on the 1976 Republican ticket with Ford. He retired from politics in 1977 and died two years later.

As a businessman, Rockefeller was president and later chair of Rockefeller Center, Inc., and he formed the International Basic Economy Corporation in 1947. Rockefeller assembled a significant art collection and promoted public access to the arts. He served as trustee, treasurer, and president of the Museum of Modern Art, and founded the Museum of Primitive Art in 1954. In the area of philanthropy, he founded the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 1940 with his four brothers and established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development in 1946.

<snip>

Vice President of the United States (1974–1977)
Upon President Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, Vice President Gerald Ford assumed the presidency. On August 20, Ford nominated Rockefeller to be the next Vice President of the United States. In considering potential nominees, Rockefeller was one of three primary candidates. The other two were then-United States Ambassador to NATO Donald Rumsfeld, whom Ford eventually chose as his Chief of Staff, and then-Republican National Committee Chairman George H.W. Bush, who would eventually become Vice President in his own right for two terms and President for one term.

While acknowledging that many conservatives opposed Rockefeller, Ford believed he would bring executive expertise to the administration and broaden the ticket's appeal if they ran in 1976, given Rockefeller's ability to attract support from constituencies that did not typically support Republicans, including organized labor, African Americans, Hispanics, and city dwellers. Ford also felt he could demonstrate his own self-confidence by selecting a strong personality like Rockefeller for the number two spot. Although he had said he was "just not built for standby equipment", Rockefeller accepted the President's request to serve as vice president:

It was entirely a question of there being a Constitutional crisis and a crisis of confidence on the part of the American people. ... . I felt there was a duty incumbent on any American who could do anything that would contribute to a restoration of confidence in the democratic process and in the integrity of government.

Rockefeller was also persuaded by Ford's promise to make him "a full partner" in his presidency, especially in domestic policy.

Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, suffering embarrassment when it was revealed he made massive gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger, and used his personal fortune to finance a scurrilous biography of political opponent Arthur Goldberg. He had also taken debatable deductions on his federal income taxes, and ultimately agreed to pay nearly one million dollars to settle the issue, but no illegalities were uncovered, and he was confirmed. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation; nevertheless, a minority bloc (including Barry Goldwater, Jesse Helms and Trent Lott) voted against him. Many conservative groups campaigned against Rockefeller's nomination, including the National Right to Life Committee, the American Conservative Union, and others. The New York Conservative Party also opposed his confirmation. On the left, Americans for Democratic Action opposed Rockefeller's confirmation because it said his wealth posed too much of a conflict of interest.

The Senate had given its approval December 10, 1974, 90 to 7. The House confirmed his nomination 287 to 128 on December 19. Beginning his service upon taking the oath of office on December 19, Rockefeller was the second person appointed vice president under the 25th Amendment—the first being Ford himself. Rockefeller often seemed concerned that Ford gave him little or no power, and few tasks, while he was vice president. Ford initially said he wanted Rockefeller to chair the Domestic Policy Council, but Ford's new White House staff had no intention of sharing power with the vice president and his staff.

Rockefeller's attempt to take charge of domestic policy was thwarted by Chief of Staff Rumsfeld, who objected to policy makers reporting to the president through the vice president. When Rockefeller had one of his former aides, James Cannon, appointed executive director of the Domestic Council, Rumsfeld cut its budget. Rockefeller was excluded from the decision making process on many important issues. When he learned that Ford had proposed cuts in federal taxes and spending he responded: "This is the most important move the president has made, and I wasn't even consulted." However, Ford appointed him to the Commission on the Organization of Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy, and appointed him Chairman of the Commission on CIA Activities within the United States, the National Commission on Productivity, the Federal Compensation Committee, and the Committee on the Right to Privacy. Ford also put Rockefeller in charge of his "Whip Inflation Now" initiative.

While Rockefeller was Vice President, the official vice presidential residence was established at Number One Observatory Circle on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory. This residence had previously been the residence of the Chief of Naval Operations. Previous vice presidents had been responsible for maintaining their own homes at their own expense, but the necessity of full-time Secret Service security had made this custom impractical. Rockefeller already had a well-secured Washington residence and never lived in the home as a principal residence, although he did host several official functions there. His wealth enabled him to donate millions of dollars of furnishings to the house.

Rockefeller was slow to make use of Air Force Two, the official vice-presidential aircraft. Instead, he continued to use his own Gulfstream (which had the callsign Executive Two as a private aircraft). Rockefeller felt he was saving taxpayer money this way. Finally the Secret Service convinced him it was costing more to fly agents around separately for his protective detail than it would for him to travel on Air Force Two with them.

1976 election
With the moderate Ford facing continued difficulty in securing the support of conservative Republicans for the 1976 presidential nomination, and anticipating a challenge from the conservative Ronald Reagan, he considered the possibility of another running mate, and discussed it with Rockefeller. In November 1975 Rockefeller offered to withdraw. Ford eventually concurred, and in explaining his decision Rockefeller said that he "didn't come down (to Washington) to get caught up in party squabbles which only make it more difficult for the President in a very difficult time ..."

After Ford was nominated at the 1976 Republican National Convention, Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and other prominent conservatives conditioned their support for Ford on his selection of a suitable vice presidential nominee. Ford considered several candidates, including moderate-to-liberal Republicans such as William Ruckelshaus, and moderate-to-conservative Republicans including Bob Dole, and eventually decided upon Dole as the most acceptable to conservatives.

As of 2016, Ford is the last incumbent president to not have his incumbent vice president as his running mate. Ford later said not choosing Rockefeller was one of his biggest mistakes,[84] and "one of the few cowardly things I did in my life."

Rockefeller campaigned actively for the Republican ticket, and Ford lost narrowly to Jimmy Carter. In what would become an iconic photo of the 1976 campaign, Rockefeller famously responded to hecklers at a rally in Binghamton, New York, with a raised middle finger. "At the time, Rockefeller's finger flashing was scandalous. Writing about the moment 20 years later, Michael Oricchio of the San Jose Mercury News said the action became known euphemistically as 'the Rockefeller gesture'."

</snip>