Two days after the 2016 presidential election I turned one day of my normal university classes into a history of recent presidential campaigns. I looked at a few of the more famous moments from campaigns of the previous 50 years, none of which the students knew.
If you’re reading 3QD you probably know these moments. But you might also want to remind yourself that not everyone does, especially if they have not lived through them. If it’s a help, here is a short list that you might send others who are interested.
The 1960 Kennedy – Nixon debate
Before this debate even begins, the first thing you might notice is the way JFK sits. He crosses his legs. He’s also in a dark suit against a light background. He is also the better looking of the two candidates. Nixon, on the other hand, sits with both feet awkwardly on the floor and can’t find a place for his hands.
As a televised debate — and the first ever — these things unfortunately matter.
The next thing you might notice is that the moderator announces that there will be opening statements of eight minutes. Eight minutes! (And JFK only used about seven). And while it was not stated, there were to be no interruptions. This, after all, was formal debating. If you watch the debate, the striking thing is how different that style now seems.
Presidential candidates didn’t debate on television again until the 1976 campaign.
1964 LBJ – Goldwater
Barry Goldwater chose the slogan “In your heart, you know he’s right.” So how do you minimize the effect of something like that?
Make a rhyme.
Opponents turned Goldwater’s slogan into “In your guts, you know he’s nuts”, or “In your heart, you know he might” (as in, he might go nuclear). Playing to the nuclear fear, here’s the famous Daisy commercial from LBJ’s campaign.
1980 Reagan – Carter
Regan, the more photogenic and personable of the two candidates, had a number of one liners. Here he is using his “there you go again” retort.