Sixty years ago - the first televised presidential debate on 26th September 1960
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In the presidential campaign of 1960, the now famous debate between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon was broadcast from Chicago by CBS on 26th September.
It has been suggested that Kennedy himself requested that the chairs for the studio set should be the Round Chair designed by Hans Wegner and that it was chosen because it was comfortable.
John F Kennedy suffered from severe pain in his back - the consequence of an injury when he served in the United States navy in the war - but that had been withheld from the public in case it was seen as a weakness in a presidential candidate. Back then, just as television began to be seen as important in political campaigns, Kennedy, or someone in his team. was aware of the importance of image and public perceptions and realised that the visual impact of the programme would be as important as the words spoken. The debate lasted 60 minutes and even if moving around was because of pain and discomfort, it could well be interpreted as being uncomfortable with the arguments and, rather literally, be seen as being shifty.
If you watch the debate, Kennedy looks relaxed and confident and generally the television audience - rather than those listening on the radio - thought that Nixon had lost the debate because he looked tired; had refused to wear make up so, under the studio lights, the dark shadow of his beard stubble was judged harshly against the tanned and clean-cut look of Kennedy and even the colour of Nixon’s suit was criticised as a poor choice because it was too pale against the set … presumably a difficult judgement to make ahead of the debate and when the programme was broadcast in black and white so tone rather than colour was more important.
It could be said that this was the first time and possibly the last time that Danish design had a major supporting role in American politics.
