00:00Presidential debates have been a staple of campaigns for decades, and history has shown
00:05that they can have the power to sway undecided voters and solidify public perception of the
00:09candidates.
00:21The 1960 Debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon
00:25The first debate between Kennedy and Nixon is considered one of the most significant
00:28because it entrenched the idea that appearances are an important part of presidential campaigns.
00:33The debate is also considered the first nationally televised presidential debate in history.
00:38The best-known narrative about the debate is that then-Vice President Nixon lost the
00:43election because he looked old and tired during the debate, while Kennedy, then a senator
00:48from Massachusetts, wore makeup and appeared young and vibrant.
00:53People who watched the debate on television generally believed that Kennedy had won the
00:57debate, but those who listened to their speeches on the radio believed that Nixon had performed
01:02better.
01:03Now, some historians argue this explanation doesn't hold up because of different demographics
01:08between TV viewers and radio listeners, and we have very little empirical research to
01:12suggest that's why Kennedy won the election.
01:16The 1976 Debate between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
01:22After the Nixon-Kennedy election, a long period passed without any general election debates
01:26until President Gerald Ford fell behind during the 1976 campaign and decided he needed to
01:32debate then-Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.
01:35The debates are best remembered for a single moment during the pair's second debate.
01:39There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration.
01:47Could I just pause?
01:48Did I understand you to say, sir, that the Russians are not using Eastern Europe as their
01:52own sphere of influence and occupying?
01:55Historians argue that the moment was particularly damaging for Ford because of the media reporting
01:59after the debate, which contributed to the narrative that he was clumsy and not up for
02:04the presidency.
02:06The 1980 Debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
02:10For most of the 1980 campaign cycle, Jimmy Carter had been unwilling to debate Ronald
02:15Reagan, who was considered a master of visuals and humor.
02:19But Carter changed his mind about ten days before the election after realizing that he
02:23was trailing in the polls and needed a last-minute pitch to undecided voters.
02:28Carter peppered his rhetoric with facts and policy, and Reagan countered with one-line
02:33catchphrases.
02:35Are you better off than you were four years ago?
02:39Governor?
02:40There you go again.
02:43Experts argue that Reagan went on to win the election one week later, in part because he
02:48came across as very confident and amiable in that debate.
02:52The 1992 Debate between George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot
02:58Unlike most other presidential debates where candidates respond to moderator questions,
03:02the second debate in 1992 was conducted in a more relaxed town hall format suggested
03:08by Bill Clinton's campaign.
03:10The format was seen as benefiting Clinton, who voters thought seemed more likable than
03:15his opponents over the course of three debates.
03:17In one famous moment during the second debate, President Bush was caught on camera looking
03:21at his watch as a voter in Richmond, Virginia asked a question about the national debt,
03:26giving viewers the sense he was being passive or bored.
03:30The debates also introduced the public to third-party candidate Ross Perot, who garnered
03:34almost 19% of the vote.
03:37Exit polls suggested that Perot took votes from Clinton and Bush about equally.
03:43The 2000 Debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore
03:48The debates were particularly important in the 2000 election.
03:52Vice President Al Gore had been in high-profile debates before, whereas Texas Governor George
03:57Bush was a relative newcomer known to stumble over his words.
04:02During the first debate, microphones caught Gore loudly sighing in response to Bush's
04:06answers.
04:07In the state of Texas, that's what a governor gets to do.
04:09At the third debate, Gore walked up to Bush as he was speaking, seemingly to intimidate
04:14him.
04:15Bush smirked and continued on, but the moment prompted the audience to laugh.
04:20Time wrote in 2000,
04:21The pundits and the polls agreed Gore had won the debate.
04:27Then he lost.
04:28Within a week, Bush had opened up a lead in several polls, as voters apparently decided
04:33they were tired of Professor Know-It-All.
04:37President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will now meet on stage in Atlanta on
04:40June 27 for the first of two presidential debates ahead of the November 2024 election,
04:46and they plan to meet again on September 10.
04:49And as history has shown, their performance in the televised debates could influence the
04:53outcome of the election.
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