On December 19, Loyola Marymount University will become part of presidential debate history by welcoming the sixth Democratic primary debate, hosted by PBS NewsHour and POLITICO, to its campus. In anticipation of the big event, the LMU History Department took to Twitter for a dive into memorable moments in debate history.
Early debates in U.S. political history, such as the famous series of debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, could last for several hours and required a seriously impressive attention span.
Abraham Lincoln & Stephen Douglas had 7 debates, focused mostly on slavery, in the 1858 IL Senate race. The format was different from today’s debates: one candidate spoke for 1 hour, followed by a 90-minute rebuttal by the other, & then a 30-minute rebuttal by the first. 2/33 pic.twitter.com/3YyjwWHeZg
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
Modern debates, as we know them, began with the televised general election presidential debate in 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Television viewers thought that JFK won the debate, while radio listeners thought Nixon was a stronger candidate.
After that, general election presidential debates took a hiatus until 1976. But as candidates became more familiar with the nuances of televised debates, they began to create television history moments with searing one-liners and memorable attacks.
A former actor, Reagan was a skilled performer in debates. In 1980 general election debate against President Jimmy Carter, he effectively deployed the phrase “there you go again.” Note that more than 40 years later, healthcare is still a key issue! 6/33https://t.co/1l9SUvuyb5
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
Mondale was on the receiving end of a memorable line when Pres. Reagan joked about concerns about his age: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth & inexperience.” 🤣 8/33https://t.co/QXJGF3pvve
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
Candidates also learned about the many pitfalls of televised debates, such as careless body language or being perceived as dismissive or overly aggressive.
In 1992, Pres. George H.W. Bush was caught checking his watch when asked about the economy. He fumbled the answer, while AR governor Bill Clinton skillfully engaged the audience member directly to talk about ordinary people’s lives. 11/33https://t.co/llXfrLI7BC
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
Body language matters! In 2000, VP Al Gore’s frequent sighs and eye-rolls did not play well with the audience. And when he tried to intimidate GOP candidate, TX governor George W. Bush, W. simply nodded him away. 🙄 13/33https://t.co/frYwk8RQ4Y
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
In a 2008 Democratic primary debate, the issue of NY senator Hillary Clinton’s “likeability” came up. IL senator Barack Obama responded, “You’re likeable enough, Hillary,” an answer that might have fueled HRC’s comeback in the NH primary. 14/33https://t.co/yqDt0fIXnc
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
In recent televised debates, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have played a critically influential role.
In 2012, when asked about pay equity for women, GOP candidate Mitt Romney spoke about his “binders full of women.” Twitter, by then a much more influential social media platform than it had been in 2008, had a lot of fun with the phrase. 16/33https://t.co/cxypzInqxh
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
Social media lit up again in 2016, when Donald Trump called former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton a “nasty woman.” 17/33https://t.co/NFL9EazEmY
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
LMU History also asked PBS NewsHour and POLITICO to cover a variety of issues during the debate on December 19, including climate change, immigration, and student debt, with a shout out to the Bellarmine Forum 2020 theme of transformative justice.
Next year’s @LMUBellarmine #BellarmineForum will focus on transformative justice. What are candidates’ ideas for how we might radically transform our criminal justice system, to move away from mass incarceration and towards a different system of justice? 21/33
— LMU History (@LMU_History) November 17, 2019
To see the full LMU History Twitter thread and learn more about U.S. debate history, please click here.
