By Meredith Brower, Discovery Channel: The 1960 presidential debate between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy ushered in a new era of made-for-TV political discourse.
When candidates Richard Nixon and John Kennedy stepped in front of cameras in September 1960 for the first televised presidential debate, the world had yet to realize the impact of live television on politics. The debate was inevitably to be historic as television’s debut in the political arena, but it goes down in the books as something even more significant — the precise moment at which real-time image and styling began to matter in the public sphere.
When the two candidates took their places on the brightly lit stage, Senator Kennedy, who had been campaigning in California, looked tan and fit. In contrast, Vice President Nixon, who was recovering from a two-week hospital stay, appeared underweight and pale with a 5 o’clock shadow. The podium did not hide his ill-fitting suit and he refused make-up.
Who won the debate? Those who watched the discussion on domestic issues declared Kennedy the winner. Those listening to radio, unable to see Nixon’s obvious discomfort, felt he had the upper hand [source: Allen]. In reality, television came out on top because it changed the way candidates use the medium to run for office.