The Effect Of Presidential Debates On Electorate’s Attitude

The extent to which debates might affect the electorate’s attitude remains a matter of contention. The case of the first televised presidential debate of September 26, 1960 between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon exemplifies it. It is well known that there are no right or wrong answers in such a format. The main issue is how to identify a winner. We know the election results. But, according to my opinion, Nixon was more convincing. It should be recalled that, immediately after debate, there was no consensus on Kennedy’s election victory, but he finally won. There are several explanations for this fact.

First, I would like to focus on the effect of personality characteristics upon voters’ attitude, and interpretation of the debate by news media. In that connection, I would like to emphasize the role of television. Experts agree that television changed tools of presidential campaigns). In addition, the format of TV debate was dominated by “cosmetic politics” when speakers did not touch upon some important issues. There were many assumptions on appearance of both candidates partly due to Nixon’s knee injury. For example, former Sen. B. Dole noted that Nixon “didn’t look well,” in contrast, his opponent “was young and articulate and. . . wiped him out”. In that regard, it is noteworthy that scholars conducted experiments on perceptions of televised and audio versions of the debate.

The findings show that for TV-watchers personality factors prevailed over overall evaluations. As a result, they consider Kennedy as a winner. It is remarkable that even in September 1960 some radio listeners highly estimate Nixon’s performance. Indeed, Nixon’s diction was clear and confident. He supported his arguments by statistical data demonstrating awareness of state affairs. What happened may be illustrated by words of B. DuMont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, who said that “it was not just what you said in a campaign that was important, but how you looked saying it”. Indeed, it is true that Nixon concentrated on the content of his speech, while Kennedy paid attention to his appearance, and tried to reach people. It is important that both candidates attempted to answer questions, and demonstrated respect to each other. Kennedy’s debating style and demeanor also affected the audience. He appealed to feelings and emotions by using rhetoric devices (e. g. , repetitions such as “I am not satisfied…” and personal pronounces), building patterns of solidarity and calling on all citizens to move forward.

We also should take into account such an influential factr as a party affiliation of both candidates. Republican R. Nixon made an accent on too huge burden on the federal government, while Democrat J. Kennedy stressed issues of economic development, social security, and freedom protection. This difference is also explained by Nixon’s background as a representative of executive branch, and Kennedy’s experience as a legislator.

I assume that the other reason of Kennedy’s predominant popularity was targeted character of his speech. He enumerated the real problems of concrete American citizens. It was a signal that his further policy will address these problems. We know from theory that individual issues may significantly influence on elections outcomes.

Thus, it is generally accepted that debates’ impact should not be underestimated, especially when candidates have approximately equal chances. But now we live in the world shaped by new media strategies. Politicians have to follow the rules of TV show. In this context, the level of their competences and intellectual capacities, unfortunately, do not matter. As a result, today, it is much more difficult to predict the electorate’s perceptions and attitude toward candidates.

Works Cited

1. “1960 Presidential Debate #1 (John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon) (9/26/60). ” YouTube, uploaded by David Von Pein’s JFK Channel, 30 Aug. 2013, https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=hdVHFESjTsE.
2. Botelho, Greg. “The day politics and TV changed forever. ” CNN. com, 14 Mar. , 2016. https://edition. cnn. com/2016/02/29/politics/jfk-nixon-debate/index. html. Accessed 11 Jan. 2019.
3. Druckman, James N. “The Power of Television Images: The First Kennedy-Nixon Debate Revisited. ” The Journal of Politics, vol. 65, no. 2, 2003, pp. 559-571. http://citeseerx. ist. psu. edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10. 1. 1. 835. 3845&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
4. Kallina Jr. , Edmund F. Kennedy v. Nixon: The Presidential Election of 1960. University Press of Florida, 2010. O’Connor, Karen, and Larry J. Sabato. American Government: Roots and Reform. Pearson Higher Education, 2018.