On September 26, 1960 70 million viewers tuned in to see the first-ever televised presidential debate. The debate took place in Studio One in the CBS studios in Chicago. For the full text of the debate see here (also contains a link to RealAudio of the debate). For a RealVideo documentary on the debates see here.
In this first debate John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debated each other on domestic issues. The candidates were pretty well-matched on substance. But while radio listeners proclaimed Nixon the winner of the debate TV viewers decided that Kennedy had won the debate by a substantial margin. Kennedy’s poise, charisma, good looks, and good grooming won the day.
A new era in Presidential politics had begun.
