Editing Spiro Agnew (section)

=== Transition and early days ===
{{see also|Presidential transition of Richard Nixon}}
[[File:Johnson, Nixon, Agnew, Humphrey.jpg|thumb|Spiro Agnew is sworn in as vice president in 1969. Front row, from left to right: [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[Everett Dirksen]], Spiro Agnew (with hand raised), [[Hubert Humphrey]].]]
Immediately after the 1968 election, Agnew was still uncertain what Nixon would expect of him as vice president.{{sfn|Coffey|2015|p=89}} He met with Nixon several days after the election in [[Key Biscayne, Florida]]. Nixon, vice president himself for eight years under Eisenhower, wanted to spare Agnew the boredom and lack of a role he had sometimes experienced in that office.{{sfn|Coffey|2015|p=89}} Nixon initially gave Agnew an office in the West Wing of the White House, a first for a vice president, although in December 1969 it was given to deputy assistant [[Alexander Butterfield]] and Agnew had to move to an office in the [[Eisenhower Executive Office Building|Executive Office Building]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woodward |first1=Bob |title=The Last of the President's Men |date=2016 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-1501116452 |page=63}}</ref> When they stood before the press after the meeting, Nixon pledged that Agnew would not have to undertake the ceremonial roles usually undertaken by the holders of the vice presidency, but would have "new duties beyond what any vice president has previously assumed".{{sfn|Coffey|2015|p=89}} Nixon told the press that he planned to make full use of Agnew's experience as county executive and as governor in dealing with matters of federal-state relations and in urban affairs.{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=284–285}}

Nixon established transition headquarters in New York, but Agnew was not invited to meet with him there until November 27, when the two met for an hour. When Agnew spoke to reporters afterwards, he stated that he felt "exhilarated" with his new responsibilities, but did not explain what those were. During the transition period, Agnew traveled extensively, enjoying his new status. He vacationed on [[St. Croix]], where he played a round of golf with Humphrey and Muskie. He went to Memphis for the [[1968 Liberty Bowl]], and to New York to attend the wedding of Nixon's daughter [[Julie Nixon Eisenhower|Julie]] to [[David Eisenhower]]. Agnew was a fan of the Baltimore Colts; in January, he was the guest of team owner [[Carroll Rosenbloom]] at [[Super Bowl III]], and watched [[Joe Namath]] and the [[History of the New York Jets#Super Bowl III|New York Jets]] upset the Colts, 16–7. There was as yet no official residence for the vice president, and Spiro and Judy Agnew secured a suite at the [[The St. Regis Washington, D.C.|Sheraton Hotel]] in Washington formerly occupied by [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] while vice president. Only one of their children, Kim, the youngest daughter, moved there with them, the others remaining in Maryland.{{sfn|Coffey|2015|pp= 89–91}}

During the transition, Agnew hired a staff, choosing several aides who had worked with him as county executive and as governor. He hired [[Charles Stanley Blair]] as chief of staff; Blair had been a member of the House of Delegates and served as Maryland Secretary of State under Agnew. [[Arthur Sohmer]], Agnew's long-time campaign manager, became his political advisor, and [[Herb Thompson]], a former journalist, became press secretary.{{sfn|Coffey|2015|p= 92}}

Agnew was sworn in along with Nixon on January 20, 1969; as was customary, he sat down immediately after being sworn in, and did not make a speech.{{sfn|Witcover|1972|p=283}} Soon after the inauguration, Nixon appointed Agnew as head of the [[White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs|Office of Intergovernmental Relations]], to head government commissions such as the [[National Space Council]] and assigned him to work with state governors to bring down crime. It became clear that Agnew would not be in the inner circle of advisors. The new president preferred to deal directly with only a trusted handful, and was annoyed when Agnew tried to call him about matters Nixon deemed trivial. After Agnew shared his opinions on a foreign policy matter in a cabinet meeting, an angry Nixon sent [[Bob Haldeman]] to warn Agnew to keep his opinions to himself. Nixon complained that Agnew had no idea how the vice presidency worked, but did not meet with Agnew to share his own experience of the office. [[Herb Klein (journalist)|Herb Klein]], director of communications in the Nixon White House, later wrote that Agnew had allowed himself to be pushed around by senior aides such as Haldeman and John Mitchell, and that Nixon's "inconsistent" treatment of Agnew had left the vice president exposed.{{sfn|Coffey|2015|pp= 93–94}}{{sfn|Witcover|2007|pp= 55–57}}

Agnew's pride had been stung by the negative news coverage of him during the campaign, and he sought to bolster his reputation by assiduous performance of his duties. It had become usual for the vice president to preside over the Senate only if he might be needed to break a tie, but Agnew opened every session for the first two months of his term, and spent more time presiding, in his first year, than any vice president since [[Alben Barkley]], who held that role under [[Harry S. Truman]]. The first postwar vice president not to have previously been a senator, he took lessons in Senate procedures from [[Parliamentarian of the United States Senate|the Parliamentarian]] and from a Republican committee staffer. He lunched with small groups of senators, and was initially successful in building good relations.{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=285–286}} Although silenced on foreign policy matters, he attended White House staff meetings and spoke on urban affairs; when Nixon was present, he often presented the perspective of the governors. Agnew earned praise from the other members when he presided over a meeting of the White House Domestic Council in Nixon's absence but, like Nixon during Eisenhower's illnesses, did not sit in the president's chair. Nevertheless, many of the commission assignments Nixon gave Agnew were [[sinecure]]s, with the vice president only formally the head.{{sfn|Witcover|2007|pp= 58–59}}