Changes

''My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."''<ref>http://www.ford.utexas.edu/LIBRARY/speeches/740001.htm</ref>

''My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."''<ref>http://www.ford.utexas.edu/LIBRARY/speeches/740001.htm</ref>

Ford kept some of the original cabinet members from Nixon's Presidency, such as [[Secretary of State]] [[Henry Kissinger]]. However, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Attorney General would resign. He announced [[liberal]] [[New York]] [[Governor]] [[Nelson Rockefeller]] as his Vice President. He was confirmed in December 1974, although some - including Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] - voted against him. <ref>http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html</ref> Two of Ford's biggest decisions in his first month in office was when he granted a full presidential pardon to Richard Nixon, which prevented any legal action against the former President, and when he gave amnesty to all [[Vietnam]] draft evaders.  

[[Image:A4256-04-thm.jpg|right|thumb|250px|President Ford chats with Chief of Staff [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and Rumsfeld’s assistant [[Richard Cheney]] in the Oval Office, 04/28/75]] Ford kept some of the original cabinet members from Nixon's Presidency, such as [[Secretary of State]] [[Henry Kissinger]]. However, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Attorney General would resign. He announced [[liberal]] [[New York]] [[Governor]] [[Nelson Rockefeller]] as his Vice President. He was confirmed in December 1974, although some - including Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] - voted against him. <ref>http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html</ref> Two of Ford's biggest decisions in his first month in office was when he granted a full presidential pardon to Richard Nixon, which prevented any legal action against the former President, and when he gave amnesty to all [[Vietnam]] draft evaders.  

The [[economy]] was a major concern during the Ford administration. When taking office, [[Inflation]] was in the double digits, unemployment was rising and the gross national product was in decline. <ref>[Henry F. Graff, The Presidents, Pg. 538]</ref> Ford proposed a tight lid of $300 billion on the federal budget and asked for a $5 billion surtax on corporations and those in the higher income bracket. These were part of his "whip inflation now" policies. He did not have an easy time on Capital Hill with the Democratic-Congress. Sixty-six times he exercised his veto power. According to Congressional Quarterly, Ford won only 58 percent of congressional votes that he took a position on, the lowest level of support from any President. Therefore, Ford's inflation policies went no were.

The [[economy]] was a major concern during the Ford administration. When taking office, [[Inflation]] was in the double digits, unemployment was rising and the gross national product was in decline. <ref>[Henry F. Graff, The Presidents, Pg. 538]</ref> Ford proposed a tight lid of $300 billion on the federal budget and asked for a $5 billion surtax on corporations and those in the higher income bracket. These were part of his "whip inflation now" policies. He did not have an easy time on Capital Hill with the Democratic-Congress. Sixty-six times he exercised his veto power. According to Congressional Quarterly, Ford won only 58 percent of congressional votes that he took a position on, the lowest level of support from any President. Therefore, Ford's inflation policies went no were.