Word: agnew
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...Agnew's duties were trimmed last January, when Nixon shifted the supervision of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, which handles White House liaison with Governors and mayors, from Agnew to Ehrlichman's Domestic Policy Council. The shift was a mixed blessing, because the Vice President felt that Nixon had misled those elected officials into thinking that they were going to get more federal funds from his revenue-sharing programs than now seems likely−and Agnew has no desire to take the heat for this. Explains an Agnew spokesman: "It could be awkward for the Vice President...
...Agnew's staff was slashed 23% (from 39 to 30) as part of Nixon's general Executive cost-cutting operation. The way in which this was done irked Agnew aides. His chief of staff, Arthur Sohmer, got the orders for cutback in a telephone call from Fred Malek, the second-ranking official in the Office of Management and Budget. "Do we have any choice?" Sohmer asked. "No," said Malek. That was that...
...some ways, Agnew's limited duties fit his desire to keep his profile low and let much of the controversy that has surrounded him abate while he assesses all the factors involved in whether−and how vigorously−he should seek the presidency. His intimates insist that he has not decided whether to reach for it. Some are not even sure that he wants the job. "He just doesn't give a toot," contends Harry Dent, counsel to the Republican National Committee. "He's got a lot of reluctance in him. He had to think...
There is in fact no solid sign that Agnew has developed the burning ambition that seems so vital to capturing the nation's highest office. So far, he is neither cultivating the people who could help him nor dropping those who might hurt him. In his speech forays, he often avoids reception lines, and he dislikes the handshaking and political chatter with influential regional politicians who will control many votes at the 1976 Republican National Convention. Moreover, he maintains a close friendship with Frank Sinatra (see PEOPLE), the high-living singer whose boorish conduct at Nixon's Inauguration...
There is of course ample time for Agnew to begin making his move if he does want the presidency. The fate of such recent front-running candidates as Democrat Edmund Muskie and Republican George Romney demonstrates the pitfalls in pushing too hard too soon. Agnew has said that he may not decide for another two years. But once John-come-lately Connally makes his expected shift to the Republican Party (apparently being delayed until the impact of the Watergate scandal is clearer), the pressure on Agnew to counter the Texan will grow...