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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Defining moments in presidential debates
Even in this age of YouTube ads, incessant polling and action figures, debates have the potential to define a moment in a presidential campaign.
Just a few examples that come to mind:
* 1960 - Get me make-up! Richard Nixon vs. John F. Kennedy. Even I was too young to see this firsthand, but we studied it in a political science class my freshman year in college. Make-up and coolness gave Kennedy a decided edge over a pale, sweating Nixon. A defining moment in the role of television, one that would forever change how the candidates and campaigns approached mass media.
* 1980 & 1984 - There you go, again. Ronald Reagan vs. Jimmy Carter and later Walter Mondale. Again and again, Reagan shaped Carter’s record in four words, each time suggesting that nearly every statement Carter made came from a liberal agenda. The phrase became forever linked with Reagan. He reprised it in 1984 for his debate with Mondale, who had served as vice president under Carter.
1988 - Would you favor an irrevocable death penalty? George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis. Dukakis had plenty of hills to climb as a liberal governor from Massachusetts. But his campaign got no easier on the first question of his second debate with Bush. Then-CNN anchorman Bernard Shaw asked Dukakis if Dukakis would continue to oppose the death penalty even if Dukakis’ wife were raped and killed. Dukakis’ answer was so wooden and unemotional, it’s not even worth quoting here. His response did little to rally a spirit in American voters.
1988 - Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy. Dan Quayle vs. Lloyd Bentsen. Vice presidential debates don’t often become national conversation pieces, but this one did. Quayle, a little-known senator from Indiana, was a surprise running mate choice for George H. W. Bush. Quayle noted during a debate against Bentsen that he had just as much experience as John F. Kennedy had when Kennedy ran for president. Bentsen, a longtime member of the U.S. Senate, leveled his gaze at Quayle and said, “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator … you’re no Jack Kennedy.” The statement did nothing to knock Bush’s campaign off track, but it was an early sign (and many more would follow) that Quayle was a lightweight on the national political scene.
Those are a few that come to mind. Any others you want to share? More important, what do you hope to hear John McCain and Barack Obama address as the presidential debates begin Friday?
