The Kennedy Nixon debates were a series of four debates, the first one on September 26 and the fourth and final debate on October 21.  Between this period of roughly one month, Kennedy and Nixon showed America their personalities and their styles.  The four debates also showed America the influence television played in the debates and were a harbinger of the future relationship of television and politics.

The first debate on September 26, 1960 was the most important debate because it had the most television viewership and also because it allowed Kennedy and Nixon to make a first impression on the American public that would define them throughout the rest of the campaign.  During their campaigns both Kennedy and Nixon had faced challenges and made mistakes so this was their chance to respond to those challenges and overcome their mistakes.  However, most of this was done within the first few seconds of the debate, before either candidate said anything.  Their image had much more importance than what they said.  Kennedy had the clear advantage as far as image.  During the debate, he appeared tan, good looking, and healthy.  He also chose to wear a dark suit that would contrast with the light background of the debate set so that he would stand out more.  Kennedy naturally looked better than Nixon but he looked even better during the debates because he took advice from his aids and wore a little bit of makeup so that he would still look good under the bright lights.  He especially got help from his television advisor, J. Leonard Reinsch.  Reinsch and Kennedy worked together to come up with a flawless television presence; they even looked over the set beforehand so that they could examine the set design and shooting angles.  (O’Brien 479)  Nixon, on the other hand, appeared pale and sick on television after suffering a recent illness.  While nothing could cure the unfortunate timing of his illness, he could have improved his image by allowing the expert CBS make-up artist apply make-up to his face.  His stubbornness, as was shown earlier in the campaign when he decided not to take advice from experts on how to deliver his campaign advertisements, prevailed again and he refused the CBS make-up artist.  Nixon also appeared disheveled and insignificant since he did not shave right before the debate and wore a tan suit that blended in with the background of the debate set.  (O’Brien 480)  These appearances made a great impression on many of the television viewers and the debate had not even started yet.  When the debate began Kennedy continued to improve his image and Nixon did the opposite.

Two important factors further affected the candidate’s image once the debate started: sweat and eye contact.  The combination of the bright lights, Nixon’s recent illness, and his choice not to wear sufficient make-up caused him to sweat profusely while debating and gave the impression to the television viewers that he was nervous and not in control of the debate.  Kennedy, on the other hand, appeared very calm, cool, and collected since he was not sweating as much as Nixon was.  More importantly, as the debate developed, Kennedy took the advice from Reinsch and made good use of body language by talking into the monitor when speaking and looking at Nixon when he was listening.  (O’Brien 480)  This gave a sense of conviction; Kennedy would address the American people directly and honestly and would listen attentively and respectfully to his opponents’ points of view.  These small characteristics of the candidates’ on-screen presence may seem insignificant however they really mirrored each of their personalities.  Nixon was a stubborn, introvert and this came through in the debates because he did not take anyone’s advice and suffered as a result.  Kennedy was an outgoing and gregarious person and this was evident in the debates because he appeared healthy and fit to be President.

The image the candidates conveyed consisted more than the aforementioned first appearance on stage.  While this was probably the most important as far as developing a first impression on the American public, the subsequent dialogue and display of rhetorical skill by both candidates helped the public maintain their first impression.  The audience would continue to judge each candidate based on his ability to convincingly give speeches and effectively answer tough questions.  The opening statements of both Kennedy and Nixon display the former.  Kennedy’s opening statement set his focus for the debate: the power of America and the American people.  He says the question before the American public is: “Are we doing as much as we can do?” (CPD) He answers this question with, “I should make it very clear that I do not think we’re doing enough, that I am not satisfied as an American with the progress that we’re making.  This is a great country, but I think it could be a greater country…” (CPD) He continues in his opening statement to express optimism in the power of America and the American people.  He ends his opening statement with, “I think it’s time America started moving again” (CPD) This conveys a sense of urgency and a partnership between the leaders of the country and the citizens to work toward a better future for America.  His rhetorical skill in giving a moving speech was confirmed by many viewers who could identify with his message.  Nixon’s opening statement began with a rather weak response to Kennedy’s.  His opens agreeing with Kennedy, “The things that Senator Kennedy has said many of us can agreewith.”  Shortly after he says, “There is no question but that this nation cannot stand still; because we are in a deadly competition, a competition not only with the men in the Kremlin, but the men in Peking” (CPD).  Even though he says he agrees with Kennedy on this sense of urgency, he has already distinguished his rhetorical style as different than Kennedy’s.  His emphasis of the “deadly competition” gives a sense of urgency but it uses fear as its proponent.  Kennedy started his opening statement optimistically by emphasizing the power of America and the American people.  While these subtle differences may seem insignificant, they actually contribute to each candidate’s image and style and influence the American public.

As mentioned above the audience was also able to judge each candidate by their responses to the panelist’s questions.  One example from the first debate that shows the difference in styles and skill between Kennedy and Nixon was the way they responded to questions.  Sorensen describes Kennedy’s approach: “…he gave informed, incisive, forceful answers.  His rapid-style delivery crowded more facts and arguments into each severely limited time period than Nixon could answer” (Sorensen 200).  One example from the debates is when Kennedy responds to a panelist asking about Nixon’s attacks that he was “naïve and immature.”  Kennedy first compares his congressional experience to that of Nixon and later describes the Republican Party with, “…most of these last twenty-five years the Republican leadership has opposed federal aid for education, medical care for the aged, development of the Tennessee Valley, development of our natural resources” (CPD).  Kennedy shows his command of details since he is able to calmly list off these various policy stances of the Republicans in the last twenty-five years.  Sorensen describes Nixon as quick and prepared but “less specific in his facts, less certain of his memory and more defensive and evasive on hard questions” (Sorensen 200).  An example of Nixon’s lack of detail and elaboration is when he is asked to respond to Kennedy’s statement about the policy stances of the Republicans in the last twenty-five years.  Nixon had a good chance to refute or to explain some of the claims Kennedy was making, but he did neither and said nothing.

Another example that shows the difference in rhetorical skill between Nixon and Kennedy was when the panelist asked about personal attacks that had been waged during their campaigns.  Panelist Sander Vanocur asked Nixon about his thoughts on a statement Eisenhower had made that made Nixon look like an ineffective Vice President.  Nixon responded first with, “Well, I would suggest, Mr. Vanocur, that if you know the President, that was probably a facetious remark” (Jamieson 147).  Jamieson emphasizes the hesitance with which Nixon answered the question and the use of the word “probably”.  Both of these characteristics show Nixon did not effectively resolve that issue.  Jamieson also makes a good comparison when he says, “Of course, if Nixon had Kennedy’s rhetorical reflexes, he never would have attempted to answer Vanocur’s question directly” (Jamieson 147).  She actually proves this by showing that when a panelist brought up a similar charge against Kennedy by Truman he directly answers the question with, “I really don’t think there’s anything that I can say to President Truman that’s going to cause him to change his particular manner.  Perhaps Mrs. Truman can, but I don’t think I can”  (Sorensen 203).  This quote shows Kennedy’s ability to smartly only answer questions he could answer himself as well as his ability to use humor in serious conversation.

While there were three subsequent debates, there is no question that the first was the most influential.  It had the highest viewership of all the debates and it was the time that Kennedy and Nixon made first impression on a lot of Americans.  Sorensen calls the three final debates an “anticlimax” because they had less viewership and were much closer, since Nixon learned from his mistakes in the first debate.  (Sorensen 202)  That being said, the subsequent three debates were not wholly insignificant.  They were less significant on an image-making level for the candidates but more so on a substantive level.

The last three debates were held on October 7, 13, and 21 respectively.  The most vigorous exchanges in these debates between Kennedy and Nixon were over foreign policy.  The main issue that came up in the second debate was over two Nationalist Chinese islands off the coast of China, Quemoy and Matsu.  (Sorensen 204)  Kennedy’s take on this topic was that the United States could persuade the Nationalists to draw the line of defense around Formosa and the Pescadores.  Kennedy felt that this policy was the best choice possible because it would not lead into a war with China.  (Sorensen 204)  Nixon, and the Republicans, replied by calling Kennedy’s ideas “policies of appeasement, defeat, retreat and surrender” (Sorensen 204).  This issue of the Quemoy and Matsu islands was also used as a broader attack on the Democrats.  In the third debate, Nixon describing the history of Democratic Presidents said, “…there were three Democratic Presidents who led us into war.  I do not mean by that that one party is a war party…” (CPD).  Nixon tries to use this issue to show that Kennedy’s ideas are indicative of previous Democratic administrations that had made mistakes.  Even though he says he is not saying one party is a “war party,” he is still suggesting that a lot of Democratic ideas lead to wars.  Through this statement, Nixon also wanted to refute the idea that the Republican Party is trigger-happy.  (Ambrose 581)  The other main foreign policy issue that came up was a debate over Fidel Castro and Communist Cuba.  Kennedy argued that Republican mistakes had led to that takeover attempt but Nixon responded by linking Castro with other Latin-American revolutionaries like Simon Bolivar.  (Sorensen 205)  This issue was later phased out in the debates because neither candidate liked talking about it nor did they think it helped them.

The last three debates did bring up some foreign policy issues and both Kennedy and Nixon were able to weigh in on those issues however it was not nearly as significant as the first debate.  This shows that Presidential debates matter much more about image and appearance than relatively minor foreign policy issues.  In the last three debates, Nixon learned from his mistakes in the first debate.  He wore makeup, wore a different suit, and in general greatly improved his appearance and style on stage.  The last three debates also had more of a focus on foreign policy, which was his specialty, so he had an advantage there.  Many pollsters thought that Nixon, with his improved image and superior foreign policy knowledge, might have won some of the last three debates, or at least tied with Kennedy rather than losing big as he had in the first.  (Ambrose 583)  Despite Nixon’s relative success in the latter debates, he was not able to overcome his performance in the first debate.  The most Americans watched the debate the first night and formed a first impression based on Nixon’s appearance and even if they watched all four debates they still saw Kennedy as a more eloquent and dynamic speaker.  The power of television decided the winner of the debates within the first few minutes of the first debate and this powerful medium would play a growing role in politics.

Theodore H. White’s seminal 1961 work, The Making of the President, 1960 chronicles the campaign and methods that Kennedy used to become President in 1960.  His Chapter 11, “Round Two: The Television Debates,” explains the debates between Nixon and Kennedy and emphasizes the power of television in making Kennedy the President of the United States.  He describes the focus of his chapter: “What concerns us here is politics and power; and the power of television to shape the American mind, concentrated, as it is, decisively in three commercial network offices in Manhattan, New York, has long perplexed the American Congress and its agent, the Federal Communications Commission” (White 307).  This concentrated power and influence was unprecedented in American politics before 1960.  White traces the history of television in politics and shows how it did have some influence and power before 1960 but it certainly was not at the same level post-Kennedy-Nixon debates.  “Television had already demonstrated its primitive power in politics from, at least, the fall of 1952, when, in one broadcast, it had transformed Richard M. Nixon from a negative Vice-Presidential candidate, under attack, into a martyr and an asset to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Presidential campaign” (White 309).  Television in the 1950s showed its power by helping out Nixon by improving his image and therefore helping Eisenhower’s campaign.  Nixon is the perfect example of the power television wields because at times it worked to his advantage and other times it did not.  Television by itself is objective; anything one does in front of the camera will be seen by the world.  Television in the hands of an interested group like a political party is subjective.  Nixon experienced both of these, the former in the debates, the latter in the 1952 campaign ads.

Between 1952 and 1960, television in politics was mostly used for partisan advertising, as in Nixon’s 1952 ad.  This changed after 1960 and in large part due to the Kennedy Nixon debates.  As White shows, Kennedy helped make the debates so powerful and influential because he understood television as a medium.  He describes Kennedy’s style as, “…typical attention to organization and his air of casual self-possession; the man behaves, in any crisis, as if it consisted only of a sequence of necessary things to be done that will become complicated if emotions intrude” (White 311).  Kennedy used his on-camera skill to communicate with all of viewers at home.  White describes Nixon’s style: “…Mr. Nixon was debating with Mr. Kennedy as if a board of judges were scoring points; he rebutted and refuted, as he went, the inconsistencies or errors of his opponent.  Nixon was addressing himself to Kennedy—but Kennedy was addressing himself to the audience that was the nation” (White 315).  These subtle differences are not so subtle when they are broadcast on television to millions of Americans simultaneously.  Kennedy learned this going into the debates.  Nixon learned the hard way after the first debate.

The Kennedy-Nixon debates highlighted the uniqueness of the 1960 Election as well as the power of television and the role it would play in the future of politics.  The 1960 Election was unique because the candidates, Kennedy and Nixon, were very different people and had come from very different backgrounds but both aspired to the most powerful political office in the United States.  Kennedy was a master of television and public appearances while Nixon was neither as outgoing nor as effective a speaker.  Because of this dichotomy it was inevitable that their personal styles and images would play a large part in the Election.  In addition to that, they were holding the first televised debates in the history of American politics so their personal styles and images would be instantly visible to millions of Americans.  The debates mirrored their personal styles that they had already used in their campaigns.  Kennedy’s quickness and skillfulness in answering tough questions about his religion and experience during the campaign came through during the debates, especially when he answered the panelists’ questions.  Nixon’s stubbornness, introversion, and lack of connection with the American people displayed during his campaign when he wouldn’t take advice from his advisors was mirrored in the debates when he rejected CBS’s makeup expert and when he refused to answer Kennedy’s attacks on his party during the first debate.  The debates acted as a medium for both candidates to continue to craft their image on stage as best they could so they emphasized things that worked in their campaigns and deemphasized things that did not work.  The debates, through the sheer number of Americans who watched and the magnitude given to the candidates’ mistakes, also showed the influence that television would play in politics in the future.

Bibliography

“The First Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Debate.”  Debate Transcript.  2004.  Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).  10 Dec. 2005. http://www.debates.org/pages/trans60a.html.

Allen, Erika.  “The Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Debates, 1960.”  The Museum of Broadcast Communications.”  10 Dec. 2005. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv /K/htmlK/kennedy-nixon/kennedy-nixon.htm.

Ambrose, Stephen.  Nixon.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.

Halberstam, David.  The Powers That Be.  Knopf Publishers, 1979.

Jamieson, Kathleen.  Packaging the Presidency.  New York: Oxford University Press,        1996.

O’Brien, Michael.  John F. Kennedy.  New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.

Sorensen, Theodore.  Kennedy.  New York: Harper & Row, 1965.

White, Theodore H.  The Making of the President, 1960.  New York: Antheneum  Publishers, 1961.