From JFK to Obama

People gathered around the television to watch JFK's televised debate against Nixon:

Obama has often been compared to John F. Kennedy in his election and campaigning tactics. John F. Kennedy was the first candidate to involve television in elections, providing a whole new angle of each candidate. The percentage of televisions in homes jumped dramatically from a mere 11% in 1950 to a grand total of 88% in 1960 (JFK , 1). People could now put a face with the name and voice they heard over their radios and read in their newspapers. And, although we would like to think appearance has nothing to do with an election, it most certainly does. John F. Kennedy constantly appeared clean cut, healthy, and to many women, attractive. The public is overall more likely to vote for someone with those physical characteristics. However, beyond all of that, John F. Kennedy’s personal connection with the public through television was what won him the votes when the election got heated in the end. Like Obama, JFK was not favored by some voters because of a “controversial background”, specifically his youth, his Catholic beliefs, and the belief that he was not trained or versed in foreign affairs (JFK, 1). John F. Kennedy combated these setbacks by talking directly with the public through the newest form of literacy, television. He held a televised debate with Richard Nixon, Vice President at the time, and showed up ready for action. He wore clothing that stood out from the grayscale background and spoke directly to the cameras, differing drastically from Nixon, who appeared distant and uncomfortable on video. John F. Kennedy was able to fill in a gap that the public felt with Nixon, gaining many more supporters. After the debate, television viewers thought Kennedy would surely win; however, radio listeners felt that Nixon was substantially ahead. However, the first televised campaign and debate ended up completely altering the public’s opinion and ruling the election—out of four million people that voted the way they did because of the televised debate, three million voted for Kennedy (JFK, 1). Kennedy also aided his campaign greatly by grouping himself with former forward thinking Democratic Presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt with his fireside chat. By using the new literacies available at the time and linking himself with other successful politicians similar to himself, Kennedy was able to win an otherwise toss-up election—without them, there is a good chance Nixon would have would have been the new President.