The first televised debate between two candidates for US president took place on September 26, 1960. Running as a Democrat, John F. Kennedy was considered the underdog against then Vice President Richard Nixon, who'd long served in Congress as a Republican and who spent eight years as vice president to the popular Dwight Eisenhower. The debate demonstrated how awkward and impersonal Nixon was, especially compared to the charismatic Kennedy. Interestingly, most people who saw the debate on television believed that Kennedy presented as the better candidate while most who listened to it on the radio felt that Nixon presented better. That November, Kennedy narrowly defeated Nixon in, at the time, the closest presidential election in US history. Of course, the drama and closeness of the 1960 election was later upstaged by the election of 2000 between George H.W. Bush and Al Gore.
Nixon was an all-around loser in the early 1960's. After being defeated for the presidency, Nixon went home to California and attempted to run for governor in 1962. He lost to Democrat Gerald Brown, Sr. Although Nixon lost these two important elections, he would go on to win the US presidential election of 1968 and the rest, as they say, is history.
All I can say is that I have no idea how Nixon ever became president. Seems like that's when a lot of our troubles, dirty conservative politics, and party rancor really got going. If Nixon were alive today, I would not play with him.
- Charlie
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