More than five decades of debate
The rhetorical contest first appeared on TV in 1960. Here is a look at the highlights over more than five decades.
1960 Seventy million viewers watched the first televised American presidential debate, which pitted Republican Vice President Richard Nixon against Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy. Nixon was recovering from a hospital visit and had a 5-o’clock shadow, having refused make-up. In contrast, Kennedy’s delivery was smooth and charismatic. Viewers focused on what they saw, not what they heard. Kennedy won the election.
1976 In the first TV debate in 16 years, Democrat Jimmy Carter faced off against unelected incumbent President Gerald Ford. This was also the first time vice-presidential candidates debated on television, with Republican US Senator Bob Dole squaring-off against Democratic US Senator Walter Mondale. Carter benefited when Ford said: “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration.” News media played up Ford’s remark as a major blunder, and many analysts thought it helped Carter win the election.
1980 Carter appeared only in a second debate with Republican Ronald Reagan after boycotting the first one because it included a third-party candidate, John Anderson. Reagan won the election. The encounter attracted 80.6 million viewers, the highest number ever for a presidential debate, according to Nielsen.
1984 Reagan, 73, successfully defused the issue of his age during the second debate with Democratic candidate Walter Mondale, 56. Reagan was reelected.
1988 The second presidential debate involving Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Michael Dukakis opened with a question to the Massachusetts governor on whether he would favour the death penalty for someone who raped and murdered his wife. The question was posed to bring out the human side of a candidate dubbed “the Ice Man.” His laborious response on an emotional issue did just the opposite. Bush won.
1992 This year’s three debates became the first time three candidates — Bush, Democrat Bill Clinton, and independent Ross Perot — shared the platform. Clinton won the election.
1996 In the second debate between Republican Bob Dole and Clinton, Dole was asked by a student whether at 73 he was too old to understand the needs of young people. He replied that at his age, intelligence and experience meant he had the advantage of wisdom. Clinton retorted: “I can only tell you that I don’t think Senator Dole is too old to be president. It’s the age of his ideas that I question.” Clinton was re-elected.
2000 Vice-President Al Gore and Republican contender George W. Bush took part in three debates. “We all make mistakes. I’ve been known to mangle a syllable or two myself,” Bush said during the second of the debates, purposely mispronouncing the word “syllable.” During the first encounter, Gore drew negative reviews for sighing loudly while Bush spoke. The son of George H.W. Bush won.
2004 The last debate between Bush and Democratic US. Senator John Kerry offered voters a stark contrast in styles, with Bush sticking to simple arguments while Kerry released an array of facts to make his case. Bush was re-elected.
2008 The three Obama-John McCain encounters averaged 57.4 million viewers, more than the average for the three debates in 2004, according to Nielsen. Republican US Senator McCain, his back against the wall, turned in his best performance in the last debate, but Democratic US Senator Barack Obama won the White House.
2012 Obama stumbled in his first debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, surprising and worrying his supporters. But in the second debate, Romney, responding to a question about gender pay equality, said he had “binders full of women” as candidates for Cabinet posts. The phrase became a meme on social media, with posts spoofing the former governor.