Kissinger set foreign policy through the terms of presidents Nixon and Ford, totally disregarding US popular opinion - whether protests against the Vietnam war or the black Civil Rights movement s support for anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles around the world. Important foreign policy moves were timed for periods when the US Congress was on break and would be slow to respond. It worked at that time, but in the longer run created such opposition that no other foreign policy adviser has been able to wield such influence.