—————- current events through a historical lens————————
Do televised Presidential Debates sway voters? Short answer: Probably
Historically speaking, presidential debates are relatively new. The first presidential debate was held between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960. Before then, debates were seen as beneath presidential candidates.
There were plenty of debates for other positions. The 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates for the Illinois Senate seat are probably the most famous, but the presidency was too important, and the idea was we should not elect a person who wanted that much power to the presidency.
Since 1960 there have been several historical moments in presidential debates. Some were gaffes like Gerald Fords 1976 line, “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration.” Some were meant to be funny like Walter Mondai es 1984 statement, “When I hear your new ideas, I’m reminded of that ad: ‘Where’s the beef?”’ Some were cuts like Lloyd Bentsen’s 1988 VP debate, “I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
Others were more underhanded cuts like Obama’s 2008 line, “You’re likable enough, Hillary.” Then there was possibly the best line of all time when the 73-year-old Ronald Reagan said “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” When Reagan made his opponent crack up, the election was over. Then there was last week’s Biden-Trump debate that gave us lines such as Trump, “Let’s not act like children,” to which Biden responded, “You are a child.” Maybe early Americans were right in believing debates were not dignified.
To be honest, I am not a big fan of debates. It’s normally two blowhards shouting at each other and more often than not they don’t actually answer the questions asked. We saw plenty of that last week. I did like the format, and felt the moderators were fair.
Lately debates are more about soundbites than issues and candidates end up in name calling. I appreciated the format where they stuck to time limits or tne candidate’s mic was cut off.
While name calling still broke out, they could only speak when they had a hot mic and not while the other was speaking.
If you ask the candidates, I’m sure they would say last week’s debate was the greatest one in history.
I assume they felt that way considering they felt everything they have done in their tenures were the greatest. I counted. Seventeen times they said their administration or programs were the greatest or best – not just good – but the greatest of all time. Twenty-two times they called their opponent’s presidency or programs the worst of all time. Again, not just bad, but the absolute worst. My favorite was the 42 times they said some aspect of their presidency or they themselves were the best in history. They are supposed to tout their accomplishments, but each claimed to be the best American president ever and the other was the worst. That is a very narrow view of history. Some of my favorite lines were greatest economy in history, best tax cuts in history, worst administration in history, most embarrassing day in history, safest border and worst border in history, most for veterans in history, no president has ever spoken like that in history, best time for Black Americans in history and best climate president in history.
There were some historical aspects of this debate.
For the first time since the original 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate, there was no live audience present.
First time they muted the mics when their time was done. Thank you for that!
This was the earliest the debates were held in the year. Normally they do not happen until after the party conventions. Finally, and I am sure I will write more about this later, it’s the first time two presidents debated each other. Not the first time two presidents ran against each other, but the first time they debated.
Speaking historically, possibly the most famous presidential debate was that first one between incumbent VP Nixon and Sen. Kennedy. A lot has been written over the years about this debate. Not only was it the first between the two major candidates, but it was the first one televised.
The television aspect has drawn most historians’ attention. TV changed forever who can be president. Not only did you have to have a proper resume, but now you had to look presidential. It has been argued that an overweight candidate can no longer win. It’s the idea that if you can’t control your weight, how can you control the nation?
Of the top five heaviest presidents, only two are past 1960. No one would call Trump fat and while Clinton struggled with weight, he can’t be seen as fat either. The other three – Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland and mostly famously, William Howard Taft – would all struggle today.
This idea of looks is a big part of the legacy of the 1960 election. The way it was reported and the way I even have taught it was that people who listened to the debates on the radio came away thinking Nixon won the debate, but those who watched on TV felt Kennedy won. The reason for the difference was that Kennedy came across as cool and calm and his good looks made him more appealing to voters who watched, whereas Nixon came across as nervous, fidgety and sweaty under the bright lights. It was also a matter of age as the younger Kennedy appealed to voters more than the older Nixon.
While this idea has been accepted for years, there are some flaws and some historians have rightly called for a new analysis.
The first idea is easy, their ages. Kennedy was 43 years old during the debates while Nixon was only 47.
Not a big difference. Secondly, is an eye test. While I was not alive during these debates, I have watched them, they are easy to find online. Watch them for yourself and decide if in any way Nixon seemed old or fidgety. I don’t see it. He was definitely not sweaty.
I cannot prove this, but my best guess is this story started to circulate after 1974. When people picture Nixon and Kennedy today they picture 1960 Kennedy and 1974 Nixon when he was leaving office. Fourteen years is a big difference and by the time Nixon resigned from the presidency saying, “I’m not a crook,” he looked much different than he did during these first debates. So, while I do believe TV has changed elections, I do not buy the story during the 1960 election.
As for the eye test last week, voters will have to decide for themselves. Most news networks are reporting that Biden looked too old and at times seemed incomprehensible. While Trump’s age does not seem an issue, his braggadocious debate style also may be off-putting for voters. It’s the voters who put them there and now it will be up to the voters to choose which candidate is better qualified to move our nation forward.
James Finck is a professor of history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He may be reached at Historically- Speaking1776@gmail.com.
