Presidential Debate Analysis

Presidential debates have been and still are a major player to the Presidential elections. The debates have evolved from newspaper to radio to television and now to social media/ the internet. One of the most popular debates have been decided by the image presented by each president. Television made this task for presidents even harder because now they look good or they will pay the consequences. For example, in the 1960s the president took on the new evolution of the debates which was through the televised debates. This was a different experience and this made it clear who would make a better public image to the country. "The Kennedy-Nixon debates not only had a major impact on the election outcome, but ushered in a new era in which crafting …show more content…
Kennedy was smart about the way he perceived the camera and how he responded looking directly at the camera. "His practice of looking directly at the camera when answering the questions and not at the journalists who asked them and who gave them straight answers." (the great debate). This technique was by far the best way to win this election people felt that Kennedy was speaking directly to them and not just being a robot that would answer the questions to the journalist without acknowledging them. This is probably the main why Kennedy ended up winning this election. Another way Kennedy beat his opponent was through physical appearance. “Certainly one part was was simply physical appearance-Nixon had pasty skin and a 5 o’clock shadow, sweated and looked somewhat sickly and even haggard and appeared glowing and angry at times. Kennedy, by contrast, appeared relaxed, vigorous, and fit.” (Kennedy-Nixon debate). These traits helped Kennedy because lots of citizens are worried about how good the public speaker looks. Although Kennedy may be inexperienced, his looks help him win because because now everyone is looking through the television and he obviously looks good. Lastly, Kennedy’s last action that helped him win the election was the election was the way he approached foreign policy. “Kennedy’s aggressive rhetoric on foreign policy issues probably helped him squeak out a victory in the election” (Kennedy-Nixon Debates). Kennedy was just better prepared than Nixon for a television debate. Kennedy addressed all his points unlike Nixon who agreed with Kennedy’s points but gave a different approach to solve them. Not to take credit from Kennedy but he also had the advantage of preparing these speeches since Nixon was recovering from a flu and a bad