The first nationally televised presidential debate took place on September 26, 1960. Before debates were televised, most members of the public never saw the presidential candidates in person. They learned about them from the radio and newspapers. Republican nominee, Vice President Richard Nixon, was not well: he had injured his knee and was recovering from a bad cold. He looked sickly under the harsh studio lighting. This was made worse by Nixon’s decision not to wear proper makeup. By comparison, Democratic nominee Senator John F. Kennedy Jr. was energetic, youthful, handsome, and charismatic. Kennedy also had someone from his campaign team do his makeup. What happened next would become part of American political lore.
People who heard the presidential debate on the radio judged Nixon as the winner. Those who watched the debate on television thought that Kennedy had won. The next day, Kennedy would take the lead over Nixon and then go on to win the election by one of the slimmest margins in history. Nixon was leading Kennedy by six points before their first televised debate. American politics had entered the age of television and there was no going back.
