The Kennedy-Nixon Debates
We are one week away from the first of three debates between President Barack Obama and Republican Candidate Mitt Romney, and today is also the 52nd anniversary of the first ever televised presidential debate, held on September 26, 1960 between Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican candidate Richard Nixon.
The debates were considered to be a key turning point of the 1960 election campaign. There were four of them and they were the first presidential debates ever held on television, so they attracted enormous publicity. Nixon insisted on campaigning until just a few hours before the first debate started. In August, Nixon injured his knee on a car door while campaigning in North Carolina. The knee became infected and Nixon had to cease campaigning for two weeks while the infected knee was treated with antibiotics. On the night of the first debate Nixon had not completely recovered from his hospital stay so he looked pale, sickly, underweight, and tired. Nixon also refused makeup for the first debate, and as a result his beard stubble showed prominently on the era's black-and-white TV screens. Nixon's poor appearance on television in the first debate is reflected by the fact that his mother called him immediately following the debate to ask if he was sick. Kennedy, by contrast, was rested and he had prepared extensively beforehand. According to media reports, he appearing tanned, confident, and relaxed during the debate.
An estimated 70 million viewers watched the first debate. It is often claimed that people who watched the debate on television overwhelmingly believed Kennedy had won, while radio listeners (a smaller audience) believed Nixon had won, but according to an article written by David Vancil and Sue Pendel entitled "The Myth of Viewer‐Listener Disagreement in the First Kennedy‐Nixon Debate", this is an unsupported myth.
After the first ended, polls showed Kennedy moving from a slight deficit into a slight lead over Nixon. In the remaining three debates Nixon regained his lost weight, wore television makeup, and appeared more forceful than his initial appearance. But an estimated 20 million fewer viewers watched the three remaining debates than the first debate.
Following is a YouTube video with an excerpt from the first debate:
The entire 59 minute debate can be seen here.
The debates were considered to be a key turning point of the 1960 election campaign. There were four of them and they were the first presidential debates ever held on television, so they attracted enormous publicity. Nixon insisted on campaigning until just a few hours before the first debate started. In August, Nixon injured his knee on a car door while campaigning in North Carolina. The knee became infected and Nixon had to cease campaigning for two weeks while the infected knee was treated with antibiotics. On the night of the first debate Nixon had not completely recovered from his hospital stay so he looked pale, sickly, underweight, and tired. Nixon also refused makeup for the first debate, and as a result his beard stubble showed prominently on the era's black-and-white TV screens. Nixon's poor appearance on television in the first debate is reflected by the fact that his mother called him immediately following the debate to ask if he was sick. Kennedy, by contrast, was rested and he had prepared extensively beforehand. According to media reports, he appearing tanned, confident, and relaxed during the debate.
An estimated 70 million viewers watched the first debate. It is often claimed that people who watched the debate on television overwhelmingly believed Kennedy had won, while radio listeners (a smaller audience) believed Nixon had won, but according to an article written by David Vancil and Sue Pendel entitled "The Myth of Viewer‐Listener Disagreement in the First Kennedy‐Nixon Debate", this is an unsupported myth.
After the first ended, polls showed Kennedy moving from a slight deficit into a slight lead over Nixon. In the remaining three debates Nixon regained his lost weight, wore television makeup, and appeared more forceful than his initial appearance. But an estimated 20 million fewer viewers watched the three remaining debates than the first debate.
Following is a YouTube video with an excerpt from the first debate:
The entire 59 minute debate can be seen here.