1960 Televised Debate
The 1960s are known for the countless technology developments . From the computer mouse, to the moon landing in 1969, technology boomed during the decade. In September of 1960, the first televised political debate took part. The debate was between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Everyone tuned into the historic debate to determine who they would vote as the next president. Even before the debate began, John F. Kennedy already had the upper hand. The young attractive candidate knew that his appearance would help him gain a lead against his older less attractive candidate. When the former Vice President got on camera, he froze and became an instant mess. Nixon began stuttering and sweating profusely while Kennedy kept his cool and spoke with great confidence and did not seemed phased by the spotlight unlike Nixon. He came off unqualified to be the leader of the country while making his opponent seem like the best choice. After Nixon’s televised debacle, countless political cartoons were created making fun of the candidate’s failure. The countless jokes and mockery of Richard Nixon essentially caused him to lose his first presidential race. Some say that if Nixon never did the televised debate and only did it over the radio, he would have won instead of Kennedy. Between the news casts, articles, and political cartoons, the advancement in technology not only hurt Richard Nixon’s image, but promoted John F. Kennedy and secured him his short presidency. The advancement of technology caused Richard Nixon lose his seat in the Oval Office.