From Wikipedia):
"Although often viewed as a conservative by his contemporaries, Nixon's domestic policies often appear centrist or liberal to later observers, commenting after the end of the Keynesian consensus. While the rightward shift in the Republican Party started in the 1970s, Nixon like Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford, largely governed in accordance with Keynesian modern liberal principles on domestic issues, especially fiscal policy.[64] As President, Nixon imposed wage and price controls,[65] indexed Social Security for inflation, and created Supplemental Security Income (SSI). He also had plans to create a universal minimum income and universal health care, but was not able to realize either.[64] The number of pages added to the Federal Register each year doubled under Nixon. He eradicated the last remnants of the gold standard, created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), promoted the Legacy of parks program and implemented the Philadelphia Plan, the first significant federal affirmative action program, and dramatically increased spending on federal employees' salaries.[citation needed] ....
During the Nixon Administration, the United States established many government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Supplemental Security Income program, and the Office of Minority Business Enterprise; the Post Office Department was abolished as a cabinet department and reorganized as a government-owned corporation: the U.S. Postal Service. Nixon proposed in 1971 to create four new government departments superseding the current structure: departments organized for the goal of efficient and effective public service as opposed the thematic bases of Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, et al. Departments including the State, Treasury, Defense, and Justice would remain under this proposal.[66]
On January 2, 1974, Nixon signed a bill that lowered the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 miles per hour (90 km/h) in order to conserve gasoline during the 1973 energy crisis.
Oh, and then there was that whole diplomacy thing Nixon liked. -- Meeting with world leaders, like China - without preconditions, even....
