The DC Traveler

While it seems a live presidential debate had been happening more often than reruns of this season’s Top Chef, the first-ever televised U.S. Presidential candidate debates were held in 1960.

The first debate, between Sen. John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon was held in the Democratic stronghold of Mayor Richard J. Daley’s Chicago.

The second debate was moved here to Washington, DC and held 47 years ago today, at the NBC-affiliate, WRC-TV studios. It scored an audience of just under 62 million viewers. Then, the third debate had the candidates spilt with Nixon speaking from Los Angeles and Kennedy located in New York City.  The final debate was again held in New York with both candidates present. 

The average viewership of the four 1960 debates were just over 63 million, roughly the same number of viewers as the first Bush-Kerry debate in September, 2004.  But the Bush-Kerry numbers dropped quickly for the subsequent two debates averaging under 50 million viewers.   In contrast, the recent Democrat and Republican debates have averaged under 3 million viewers.

Broadcast in black and white, the 1960 debates covered a wide range of topics including Cuba’s move into the communist block; the independence of Formosa (Taiwan), nuclear weapons and testing, civil rights, under-funded education and underpaid teachers. “Education is the hope of the future” said Kennedy. Wise words. The spread of communism and foreign policy were also discussed. Nixon stated, “We must develop the right diplomatic policies, those of firmness without belligerence”. More wise words.

Kennedy was thought to win the first TV debate, partly because he looked at the camera when answering questions, making viewers think he was speaking to them. Plus, his polished style of speaking and his appearance (younger, athletic and poised), not to mention his lighter colored suit stood out on the set. 

Yet Nixon was considered to have won the debate in the minds of most radio listeners, who didn’t see that Nixon’s gray suit caused him to blend into the background, nor see his five-o-clock shadow and lack of make-up which made him look tired and pale (he had recently been hospitalized for the flu, so he probably was).

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