The History Of Presidential Debates
The lineup is set for the 10-person presidential debate that will air on Fox News on August 6 — a rude awakening for the seven Republican candidates who didn't make the cut.
While some criticize the sensationalized nature of modern presidential debates, they're an important part of the democratic process. Debates are among the only situations in which candidates are deprived of their stump speech, forced to think critically and to react spontaneously in front of a large group of voters.
The first, and most famous, US presidential debate took place in 1960 and may well have decided the election.
AUGUST 21, 1858
Lincoln And Douglas Have A Pseudo-Presidential Debate
Ottawa, IL
The Lincoln-Douglas debates weren't presidential debates: Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were candidates for the US Senate at the time. But the two men ran against each other for the presidency just two years later, and those campaigns focused on many the same issues
Over the course of two months, Lincoln and Douglas held seven debates, in front of audiences without a moderator. All focused on the topic of slavery. Lincoln is generally regarded to have "won" the debates, but both men's performances are well-respected amongst historians.
Lincoln lost to Douglas in the election, but had the debates printed and published, and used them to promote his successful bid for the presidency two years later.
SEPTEMBER 26, 1960
Nixon Sweats It Out
Chicago, IL
Before the first-ever televised presidential debate, Vice President Richard Nixon refused the TV station's makeup, opting instead for a discount product called Lazy Shave to coat his 5 o'clock shadow.
Nixon's opponent, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy, came across on TV calm and in control during the debate. Nixon, sweating profusely under the studio lights, looked haggard and tired to viewers. His facial tics were "positively reptilian," one observer wrote in a criticism of Nixon's performance.
Some cite the debate in explaining Kennedy's razor-thin victory over Nixon six weeks later. No incumbent president agreed to a debate for 16 years after.
OCTOBER 6, 1976
Ford Fumbles Foreign Policy Question
San Francisco, CA
The major party nominees didn't agree to debate each other again until Gerald Ford's re-election campaign.
During his second debate with Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, Ford stated that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe." Most US foreign policy was based on the opposite view, and the Soviet Union had invaded Czechoslovakia eight years earlier. The debate moderator was visibly shocked.
Carter's lead jumped by 4 percentage points, and he won the election.
OCTOBER 21, 1984
Reagan Turns Weakness Into Advantage
Baltimore, MD
During his re-election campaign, Ronald Reagan was the oldest presidential candidate in US history. This led to inevitable attacks on his fitness for office, and some rambling moments in the first debate gave the criticism credence.
But when directly confronted on the age question during the second debate, Reagan said, with perfect delivery: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." The joke turned a perceived weakness (too old) into a positive (critical experience), and even got a laugh from opponent, Minnesota Sen. Walter Mondale, who lost the election in a landslide.
FEBRUARY 19, 1987
Debates Get An Official Moderator
United States
The League of Women Voters had sponsored the debates of 1976, 1980 and 1984. In 1988 the campaigns of both major parties agreed to a set of guidelines for the debate. In the eyes of the League, however, this gave the candidates' campaigns too much control over the debates, turning them essentially into stage-managed affairs.
The League withdrew its sponsorship of the debate. The Democratic and Republican parties responded by creating the the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has sponsored every presidential debate since. It's been criticized for excluding third-party candidates and giving too much power to the major parties.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
Rick Perry Fumbles After Leading The Polls
United States
When Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced his run for the presidency in summer 2011, he was polling far ahead of the other candidates. Then came time to debate.
On stage, Perry announced he'd eliminate three federal agencies as president. He rattled off "Commerce, Education," and then forgot the third. The moderator asked him repeatedly, and he couldn't remember. "Oops," Perry said.
This wasn't the first of Perry's debate trip-ups, but it was the most significant. Conservative pundits roundly criticized him, and his lead disappeared within two weeks. The damage was lasting: When Perry ran for president again four years later, his low poll numbers excluded him from participating in the first debate.
2015
Big GOP Field Forces Limit On Debate Participant
United States
Because a whopping 17 Republicans have declared their candidacies for president, host network Fox News said it would limit participation to the 10 candidates with the highest poll numbers, according to a specific formula.
Low-polling candidates and polling organizations opposed this criteria, arguing that polling is too inexact of a science to play such a big role in establishing a debate lineup. Some in the GOP also expressed worries that bombastic businessman Donald Trump, who leads in the polls, would make a mockery of the forums.
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Further reading
Gallup argues that debates are often not game-changers.
The Lincoln-Douglas debates weren't presidential debates, but they shared many of the same characteristics.
Fox News proposes British-style debate for American presidential candidates
This story originally appeared on Timeline.
