Rocky resigned in '73 with a '76 WH bid in mind.
Yesterday's trivia question was this:
Assuming Sarah Palin is quitting the governorship to prepare a bid for the White House, who was the last governor to do so? Who was the last governor to leave office in midterm with the understanding that one of the reasons was to prepare for a presidential campaign?
The answer: Nelson Rockefeller. The New York Republican, in his fourth term, resigned in December 1973, officially to devote himself to his Commission on Critical Choices for Americans -- but, more likely, to prepare to seek his party's presidential nomination in 1976, when Richard NIxon's tenure in the White House would come to an end. Thrice before he sought the GOP presidential nod: a half-hearted effort in 1960 and serious campaigns in '64 and '68. But he was ready to go once more, in 1976.
But, as events played out, Nixon never lasted until '76, which forever changed Rockefeller's plans, and dreams. Enmeshed in the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned the presidency in August 1974. Gerald Ford, appointed vice president after the scandal-ridden Spiro Agnew quit, ascended to the presidency. He picked Rockefeller as vice president. But that's as close as Rocky got to the White House.
Congratulations to "Mark S" for the first correct response.
categories: A Look Back In Politics
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