The Sixties in America Primary Sources | Debating the Power of Television

Anyone who doubted that television had become an influential force in American culture had only to watch the first televised presidential debates held in 1960. Those who only listened to the debates on the radio thought that Republican vice president Richard M. Nixon (1913–1994) was the clear victor, for he seemed knowledgeable and persuasive. But those who watched the debates on television had a completely different opinion. On TV Nixon looked hot, haggard, and uncertain, wiping his sweaty brow repeatedly. His opponent, the handsome, young Democratic senator John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), appeared calm, cool, and unflappable. Kennedy's appearance...