The Power of Television

Today in 1960, the first series of televised presidential debates took place in Chicago between then Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy. Robert Sarnoff, the chairman of NBC, initiated the debate, asking both candidates to participate. Kennedy immediately accepted the idea, but Nixon took four days before also accepting. According to the recent Ted Kennedy memoir, behind the scenes President Eisenhower encouraged Nixon not to participate. Perhaps Nixon should have listened to that advice, as he did poorly in the televised debates and many believe it was these debates that secured Kennedy the presidency.

While Nixon had been slightly ahead in the polls before the debates, and the candidates stressed familiar Cold War themes, viewers felt that Kennedy proved a far better candidate after watching the debate. The image of seeing the youthful, vibrant Kennedy juxtaposed to the staunch and uncomfortable looking Nixon outweighed what the candidates were actually saying. Nixon constantly looked like he had a five o’clock shadow. The producer suggested to each candidate that they should see the make-up artist, both candidates were hesitant. Nixon refused, relying instead on an over-the-counter product, “Lazy Shave” meant to mask the appearance of that five o’clock shadow. Kennedy had an aide use a little drugstore makeup to absorb perspiration that would be created by the television studio’s lighting. While Kennedy’s make up held up well, Nixon’s did not. The product melted under the heat, making Nixon appear to be sweating heavily and accentuating that five o’clock shadow.

Their poise played a role as well. Kennedy seemed calm and composed during the debate. Nixon seemed nervous and uncomfortable. While Kennedy spoke directly to the camera, Nixon seemed unsure where to focus, his eyes darting from his notes, the the producer, to the camera and back to his notes.

So powerful was the image that those who listened to the debates over the radio believed Nixon won. However, those who watched the debates believed Kennedy won. Approximately 120 million people saw at least one of the four televised debates. Those viewers went to the polls with these images still in mind. Kennedy went on to win, of course, albeit by a narrow election. But it would not be a far stretch to state that without these debates, Kennedy might not have been our president at all.

The Man Who Pardoned Nixon

Today in 1913, Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States, was born. Happy birthday President Ford!

Ford was appointed Nixon’s vice president in 1973 when the original VP, Spiro Agnew, resigned upon the discovery that he had been receiving bribes from construction firms both as Maryland governor and as the vice president. Nixon had stepped down as president after multiple articles of impeachment had been placed against him (read about it here: Losing Faith). Once president, Ford named Nelson Rockefeller his vice president, making it the first time in history that both offices were held by people for whom no one had voted.

Within one month of becoming president, Ford pardoned Nixon. He did this with the hope of putting the Watergate scandal behind him and moving the nation first. However, the action immediately backfired, the public’s cynicism of its government increased. Ford also refused to pardon the draft resisters of the Vietnam War, half-heartedly offering conditional amnesty after a review by a government panel. For the president to pardon the man who many considered a crook but refuse to offer the same treatment for those who resisted fighting what was now an overwhelmingly unpopular war, made him a difficult leader for many to like or respect.

In the two years Ford served as president, little was done domestically. The economy fell into a recession, inflation diminished the savings and wages of Americans, and unemployment climbed ten percent, exceeding nine percent at the national level for the first time since the Great Depression.

Internationally, Ford’s administration watched the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975 and continued the Nixon policy of détente. Also, under Ford’s presidency American diplomats joined with the Soviet Union and thirty other nations to sign the Helenski Accords. The agreements called for increased commerce between the Eastern and Western bloc and for guarantees of human rights.

In 1976, Ford attempted to run for the office he had inherited and lost to Jimmy Carter. Carter had easily one by representing an alternative to “party hacks and Washington insiders.” Ford left Washington as one of the most unpopular American presidents.

Losing Faith

Today in 1972, the Watergate scandal began. A group known as the Plumbers broke into the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., beginning a series of events that revealed the corruption that was plaguing the federal government.
That year, President Nixon was running for reelection against the Democratic nominee, George McGovern. McGovern was supported from party liberals who agreed with opposition to the war and his agreement with feminism. However, McGovern was too liberal for many Americans with his support to legalize marijuana and legalizing abortion. By November, the question was not whether Nixon would win the election, but why what percentage. Nixon won in a landslide, taking 61% of the vote.
However, Nixon was a troubled man. While brilliant, he was also extremely paranoid. He created an “enemies list” that included reporters, politicians, and celebrities that he perceived as unfriendly to the administration. Nixon created a special investigation unit known as the Plumbers to gather information about David Ellsberg, a former government official who had leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1971. Nixon ordered his Plumbers to not only find information about Ellsberg, but to burglarize the office of his psychiatrist to discover his weaknesses.
On June 17, 1972 five former employees of Nixon’s reelection committee broke into the Democratic headquarters. The police immediately recognized that these were not run-of-the-mill burglars, as they were armed with walkie-talkies, bugging devices, and $2000 in new one hundred dollar bills. Suspiciously, Nixon’s press secretary responded to the break-in by calling it a third rate burglary attempt and to be wary of any elements who might to stretch it beyond that. To those already concerned that Nixon might be involved, this immediate denial seemed to be a red flag.
More and more information became available in the weeks and months following the break-in. By the middle of 1974, it was clear that Nixon might not have known about Watergate before hand, but that he had become involved afterward by authorizing payments to the burglars if they would remain silent or commit perjury. He instructed the FBI to halt its investigation of the crime. Reporters from The Washington Post traced some of the money used in Watergate to the Nixon campaign. When the burglars were sentenced in 1973, the judge warned them that if they did not reveal who paid them, they would receive much longer sentences. Soon after, two Nixon aides resigned and Nixon fired the White House counsel who had agreed to participate with prosecutors.
Until this point, there was no hard evidence linking Nixon to the incident, just a great deal of suspicion. However, it was discovered that Nixon had secretly taped everything in the Oval Office (the tape recorded was left over from the Johnson years). Nixon refused to hand the tapes over, instead offering his own edited transcripts. The Supreme Court unanimously ordered Nixon to provide copies of the tapes.  However, Nixon continued to refuse. At this time eighty-four members of the House filed sixteen bills of impeachment. Finally, a transcript was provided. Even the edited version severely hurt Nixon’s case. This, along with other evidence, revealed that on June 23, 1972 Nixon definitely knew that the burglars were linked the White House and that he knew his attorney general had been involved.
Three more articles of impeachment were adopted by the House; charging the president with obstruction of justice, using federal agencies to harass private citizens, and hindering the Senate committee’s effort to investigate a cover-up. Fearful of being convicted, Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974.
Watergate revealed the corruption that plagued the government. Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned in 1973 after revelations appeared that he had accepted bribes from construction firms while he was governor of Maryland. Nixon’s attorney general and two White House aides were convicted of obstruction of justice in regards to Watergate and were sent to jail. Americans, who had grown wary of a government that had kept them fighting in Vietnam since 1964, lost confidence in their national leaders.