(L-R: Donald Rumsfeld, Pres. Ford, Rumsfeld's Trusty Assistant Dick Cheney)

Back in 1969, Donald Rumsfeld went from being a member of Congress to becoming a political appointment of Nixon's to head the rather Orwellian sounding Office Of Economic Opportunity. It would seem to be reasonably harmless, but in 1970 Rumsfeld added Dick Cheney to the mix his assistant. Several different versions emerge as to what exactly Cheney's role was and how he got there. Like everything, it's shrouded in shadows and mystery. But suffice to say, things started changing shortly after.

Here is an interview with Rumsfeld on Face The Nation from December 7, 1969, a few months before the entrance of Cheney, but noteworthy for the fact that Rumsfeld never lost the gift for mangling a perfectly good sentence.