Political DebatesA Brief Summary of Historical Debates that shaped American

Politics

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“Honest differences of views and honest debate are not disunity. They are the vital process of policy making among

free men.”

–Hubert Hoover

Rebecca Gwynne

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Issues to Think About:

Debates: Helpful or Useless? Are they are necessary part of the political process?

Style vs. Substance? Could a president like William Howard Taft (over 300 pounds) or Franklin Roosevelt (confined to a wheelchair) be elected in an age of television? Would the public choose Lincoln over Douglas if they could see Lincoln's face, described by many as

extremely ugly?

Little Mistakes or Campaign-Costing Blunders? Debates focus on tiny gestures and body language that would otherwise go

unnoticed. Did President Bush glancing at his watch throughout the debate or Al Gore’s eye rolling and sighing really cost them the

election?

Rebecca Gwynne

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/teacher_guide.html

Illinois Senate Debates (1858)

Abraham Lincoln (R), former U.S. Congressman (IL) and Stephen A. Douglass (D), U.S. Senator (IL)Series of famous seven debates, each debate lasted three hoursThe main topics discussed were slavery and the Union.

Interesting Fact:Although Lincoln lost the election, these debates launched him into national prominence which eventually led to his election as President of the United States in 1860.

Interesting Fact:

General Election Presidential Debate (1960)

Known as the “Great Debates” John F. Kennedy (D), U.S. Senator (MA) and Richard M. Nixon (R),Vice President

First-ever televised presidential debate.Filmed in Chicago, ILWas shown on CBS, NBC and ABC from 9:30 t0 10:30pm70 million viewers

Most important, the Great Debates forced citizens to rethink how democracy would work in a television era. Most people think Kennedy would have lost the election without the televised debates.Kennedy looked young, healthy and energetic, while Nixon came across to viewers as old, uncomfortable and angry.

Interesting Fact:

General Election Presidential Debate (1976)

• President Gerald Ford (R) and former Dem. Governor

Jimmy Cater (GA)

During the debates, President Ford made the following comment, “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford Administration.” Many feel that the mishandling of that statement was a turning point in the campaign for Carter who won the election.

• After a 16-year hiatus, President Gerald Ford agreed to debate Democratic challenger former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in a televised series of debates. Ford was behind in the polls , following his controversial pardon of President Nixon for his role in the Watergate affair.

• 69.7 million viewers

Interesting Fact:

General Election Presidential Debate (1980)

• President Jimmy Carter (D) and former California

Governor Ronald Reagan (R)

• In 1980, inflation was soaring and there were huge lines

the gas stations. Reagan asked voters if they were better off today than they were four years ago. • Reagan’s charismatic personality and charm won over

the American people and he went on to defeat the sitting President.

During these debates Reagan delivered one of his most famous lines—“we can meet our destiny—and that destiny is to build a land here that will be, for all mankind, a shining city on a hill. I think we ought to get at it.”

Interesting Fact:

General Election Presidential Debate (1984)

• President Ronald Reagan (R) and former Vice President Walter Mondale (D)

• Incumbent President Ronald Reagan had a sizable lead

over Walter Mondale. Overall, the debates were seen as helping to revive Mondale’s failing campaign, but not enough to defeat the popular sitting President, whose approval rating was 54 percent.

At 72, Reagan remained a powerful speaker and a popular conservative, but Mondale sought to exploit the President’s age as a weakness. In one of the most memorable moments of the debate Reagan said, "I want you to know also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."

Interesting Fact:

An interesting moment in the VP debate between Dan Quayle (R) and Lloyd Bentsen (D) when Bensten told Quayle he “was no Jack Kennedy.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRCWbFFRpnY

General Election Presidential Debate (1988)

• Vice President George H. W. Bush (R) and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis (D) • Vice President Bush campaigned hard to emerge from under the shadow of popular president Reagan. The race was close and the debates were considered important in helping people choose their candidate.

• Governor Dukakis, a liberal Democrat, received the first question and his awkward handling of the capital punishment issue remains the most memorable of the campaign.

• Bush successfully exploited Dukakis’ liberal views on certain issues and won the election.

Interesting Fact:

General Election Presidential Debate (1992)

• President George H.W. Bush (R), Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (D), and Ross Perot (I).

• This was the first televised debate that featured three participants

• President Bush would rather focus on foreign policy issues, instead the debate constantly shifted to domestic concerns like the economy and health care, and this seemed to frustrate the experienced President.

The second debate implemented, for the first time ever, a "town hall meeting" approach which directly involved voters in the process by allowing them to pose questions to the candidates.

Interesting Fact:

General Election Presidential Debate (2000)

• Vice President Al Gore (D), and Texas Governor George Bush (R)

• In 2000, people were happy and comfortable and the political environment was relatively calm

• Believe it or not, the biggest issue of the debate was what to do with the growing federal budget surplus, which was $230 billion in the year 2000 alone!

The debate was as much about style as substance. Al Gore’s attitude was not perceived well by the American public. His eye-rolling and sighing appeared to hurt him in the first debate.

Interesting Fact:

Kerry wanted more debates but the campaigns settled on only three.

General Election Presidential Debate (2004)

• President George W. Bush (R), and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry (D)

• The Iraq War was dominating the news and national defense and terrorism were the key issues in the debate

• Kerry wanted to make the American public understand his position on the war, but was unable to unseat the incumbent wartime president.

"This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment." - Sen. John Kerry

Interesting Fact:

This was the first and last presidential debate limited to a single issue.

Oregon Republican Presidential Primary Debate (May 1948)

Radio debate lasting one hourOutlawing the Communist Party in the United States

Thomas Dewey, NY Governor

Harold Stassen, former Minnesota Governor