I need to know the following about Nixon during his presidency: the
programs implemented by him, his foreign policy, his domestic policy
and his budget issues. Also, was there a divided congress or not?  Was
the margin of control large or small?  I?m happy to tip $10 if the
answer is strong.

This is what I dug up about Richard Nixon during his presidency.

Programs implemented:

* The Philadelphia Plan; first significant federal affirmative action program
* Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); prevent
work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths by issuing and enforcing
rules (standards) for workplace safety and health.
* Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or USEPA); agency charged with
protecting human health and safeguarding of natural environment: air,
land and water.
* Supplemental Security Income (SSI); monthly stipend provided to some
citizens by the U.S. federal government.

Comments concerning foreign policy:

* "Publicly, we say one thing....Actually, we do another." - Richard
Nixon about his secret war in Cambodia after it became public
* "People react to fear, not love- they don't teach that in Sunday
School, but it's true." - Richard Nixon about the the Cold War
(concerning fear and paranoia)
* "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam
War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now." - Richard
Nixon looking back at the Vietnam War in 1985

His stance to domestic policy:

Noted for his middle-of-the-road domestic policy that combined
conservative rhetoric and often, as in his environmental policy, in
liberal action.

Budget issues:

* Increased budget to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) by 214%
(total budget of $1.2 billion in year 1973; increase of $300 million
in two years).
* Better health insurance programs for low-income families, increased
federal funding for students from low-income families, and automatic
cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for social security recipients to
help them cope with inflation.
* Creation of National Student Loan Association to aid students from
low income families attend colleges and universities.
* Career Education Program to aid community college in teaching
critically needed skills.
* Increased funding for elementary and secondary beginning with the
Education Amendments of 1972

Expenditures for social welfare spending programs increased from 49%
in 1965 to nearly 60% in 1975
Funding for social welfare services grew from $55 billion in 1970 to
almost $132 billion in 1975 making him the "last of the big spenders"
on domestic programs.
This represented an increase from 28 percent of all federal outlays to
40.4 percent, compared to a decrease in defense spending in the same
period from 40 percent of all federal outlays (or $78.6 billion) to
26.2 percent (or 85.6 billion).

Divided congress, or not:

The political pressure of the Congress was great. There were more
candidates for the presidency in the chamber than there probably have
been at any time in the whole history of the Republic. Difference of
opinion, not only between parties, on foreign and domestic policy
issues. So it was indeed a very divided congress.

Margin of control:

When Nixon first got elected in 1968 his margin was very narrow. He
won that election by one puny percent.
In 1972 it had all changed. This time his margin was wide.
Alltogether, during his time, his margin of control was rather narrow.

Sources used: Wikipedia, Infoplease, Historywise

So, this is what you where looking for? Anyway, it was interesting for me! :)

Best regards,

Marcus

A few things I remember about Nixon
- who was quite an interesting guy

He opened up trade and 'friendly relations' with China

He used (supposedly John Ehrlichman's) Madman Theory to intimidate the USSR
( only a nutter would press the Red Button - so he pretended to be a nutter )

He got Daniel P Moynihan ( a Democrat ) to come up with a report on
how to deal with the problem of poor whites - the phrase 'benign
neglect' was pretty memorable.

If I remember correctly, his second election campaign was based on 'I
have a secret plan to end the Vietnam War'

I attended a speech that he gave at the Oxford Union in the late
1970's, sadly the content was rather 'hick' - but we gave him a
standing ovation more from pity than admiration.

On balance he was quite a curious guy, perhaps the right person in the
right place at the right time.
From a UK perspective, the US has an interesting way of electing
impressive and unconventional presidents like the Roosevelts, Nixon,
Reagan and Clinton.

there's something inherently wrong in putting Reagan and Nixon at the
same level of Roosevelt and Clinton. Nixon made a couple of mistakes
(although they were pretty bad ones) no big deal really, but Reagan?!
lol that guy said things like trees polute we are better of cutting
them down. Since the end of WWII this nation had been bringing down
debt, although raising in dollars lowering it on a % basis to GNP,
until Mr. Reagan took office,
http://zfacts.com/p/318.html 
started a myriad of proyects that the people that were in charge of
making them happen told him "it can't be done" he spent hundreds of
billions on it anyways and sure enough they weren't done... Reagan is
credited with the collapse of the Soviet Union but that would've
happened anyways as their spending did not grow proportionally with
ours. Reagan and Bush are two of the worst presidents this country has
ever had. Clinton and Roosevelt were among the best.

:-)

@elids-ga

I've a feeling that you rather underestimate Reagan.

One of the things he insisted on was 'Mini Memos'
- if a briefing document did not fit on a sheet of A4 then he would
refuse to read it.
- that was a seriously smart move
- if you ever get a chance to see the TV comedy 'Yes Minister' and
'Yes Prime minister' you'll follow what I mean.

Apart from wasting money, which might have been beneficial, Reagan did
very little damage - unlike Carter (an honest amateur) and Shrub (a
first rate menace).

My impression is that the collapse of the USSR was less about Star
Wars and the arms race, and more about the defeat in Afghanistan,
which the Russians realized was the start of a trend
- so they sensibly decided to withdraw into a safe shell keeping the
vast majority of their natural resources, and getting rid of the
Stans, which were a turbulent liability.

Obviously my view is from the UK, so I take a different slant on things.

Hi frde, 

I don't necessarily disagree with your views on the Soviet Union,
think they are just part of a larger whole.

Since I don't understand the concept behind the minimemo I'll wait to
see those sitcoms ...

Could you please expand on your views of Carter? I know of nothing he
did that could possibly be viewed in that light. In my opinion he was
and still is a great humanitarian, and an average politician. Please
don't blame him for things that were out of his control, i/e the oil
crisis. Back then the OPEC had a firm grip on world production of oil
the north sea hadn't come into production yet, Alaskas fields were not
even a dream and the Soviet Union's vast resources were not accessible
to us. So other than invadin all of the OPEC nations there was nothing
he could do to control or influence that. That said, could you
elaborate on your views of Carter?

The UK Civil Service have a trick of drowning ministers with paperwork.

Undoubtedly, the same happens in the USA - Reagan spotted it and
refused to be suckered - a very smart move

Those 'sit coms' are real classics, they should be compulsory viewing
for anyone studying Government.

I also reckon that Carter was a pretty nice guy, but he was not
presidential material - personally I blame him for the collapse of
Iran, where US foreign policy was ambivalent which undermined the
Shah.

It was also pretty obvious what was taking place in Afghanistan, and
one did not need the benefit of hindsight - just a vague sense of
history - to realize that something very nasty was developing.

OPEC was an unpleasant shock, primarily triggered by the Arab-Israeli
war of 1973, however it did not take the USA long to realize that the
real ring leaders in the area were the (oil less) Egyptians, with whom
they made substantial efforts to make friends - something that lasts
to this day.

My main beef with Carter was that he made the USA appear ineffectual.
To be fair, in the late 1970s the UK was a complete basket case, which
if anything, made it more important that the USA should look
competent.

I suppose what I am really saying is that nice guys do not make good
presidents, while well advized and rather slippery individuals are
rather impressive, especially the ones who appear consistent, but
negotiate a devious path.

Ok cool, thank you. 

I don't necessarily agree with, but I understand your position.

Elí

Watergate Tapes:

Nixon wrote a lot:  See 
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/bibdisplay.pl?index=N000116

Nixon, Richard M. Beyond Peace. New York: Random House, 1994.

____. The Challenges We Face. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1960.

____. In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat, and Renewal. New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.

____. Leaders. 1982. Reprint, with new introduction by the author. New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.

____. 1999: Victory without War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.

____. No More Vietnams. New York: Arbor House, 1985.

____. Real Peace: No More Vietnams. 1983. Reprint. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1990 (originally published as Real Peace: A Strategy for the
West).

____. The Real War. New York: Random House, 1980.

____. RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New York: Grossett & Dunlap, 1978.

____. Seize the Moment: America?s Challenge in a One-Superpower World.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

____. Six Crises. 1962. Reprint, with a new introduction by the
author. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.

____. ?Superpower Summitry.? Foreign Affairs 64 (Fall 1985): 1-11.