Calvin Coolidge had an interesting start to his Presidential career. He was the Vice President under Harding, but (key intro music) at 2:30 on the morning of August 3, 1923, while visiting in Vermont, Calvin Coolidge received word that he was President. By the light of a kerosene lamp, his father, who was a notary public, administered the oath of office as Coolidge placed his hand on the family Bible. Coolidge was an old-styled, classical type of American politician, who believed that the running of the nation should be left to the people themselves, and as a result he refused to use federal powers to check the growing boom or to help the struggling farmers. In the 1924 election, Coolidge was reelected with a 56% popular vote, mostly because of the prosperity in the nation at the time, known as the “Coolidge prosperity”. In his presidency he twice vetoed farm relief bills, and killed a plan to produce cheap Federal electric power on the Tennessee River, totaling a whole 50 bills. Coolidge was very negative, isolated (perhaps leading or as a result from the new isolationism in the nation) President who was said to be a political genius simply because of his ability to do nothing, which at during the time period, was a perfect fit for the nation. Going along with his very short and to the point way of speaking and dry Yankee wit, he informed the nation he was not going to run in 1928 by simply stating: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928."