PIVOTAL PRESIDENTS PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP JOHN F KENNEDY Edited by Sherman Hollar Britannica Educational Publishing IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Introduction John F Kennedy c 1961 Library of Congress Archive Photos Getty Images 6 6
series of On Sept 26 1960 John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard Milhous in the first Nixon faced off of an unprecedented four televised debates between two U S pres idential nominees It was a paradigm shift for the nation the first time that Americans could see would-be leaders of the free world speaking at length answer ing difficult questions and doing so in a somewhat impromptu style It allowed viewers and there were 70 million of them that first night to get a gut feeling about the two candidates How do they think How do they react under pressure Do they smile Grimace Pause Stall Of course television is a visual medium and as JFK was younger more charismatic and better looking than his opponent Nixon also had stubble and perspiration on his face having the debates televised worked to JFK’s advantage Interestingly many of those who heard the debates on radio rather than saw them believed that Nixon had won the opposite was true for TV viewers Did the visual dimension of television add the element of the superficial Perhaps But it was 7 7
