Before the era of radio and TV, debates weren't considered important. Maybe this was because they took too much time, were not very controllable, and had too small an audience. Indeed, earlier in American history it was considered definitely un-cool to actually campaign or ask for votes, and a pretence of reluctant acceptance of a nation's call to service, was preferred.
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But in 1858, when Abraham Lincoln ran for the US Senate in Illinois against Stephen Douglas, that changed. Lincoln followed Douglas round the state, joining his audience when he spoke, and making critical comments from the floor. Douglas agreed to a series of seven debates, which through the newspapers became a national event. These were ideal debates, between highly intelligent and informed candidates, seriously exploring their agreements and differences on major issues. They also readily indulged in barbed criticisms of each other, mightily pleasing the crowds. But at that time, Senators weren't elected by popular vote, but by the state legislatures, so the audiences, however amused, couldn't vote for either of them.
Radio debates initially popular
For the next century, the only call for debates came from underdogs who really needed exposure to the public. In 1940, when the Republican Wendell Wilkie challenged Franklin Roosevelt to debate "fundamental issues", Roosevelt and the press dismissed this as a cheap stunt. But by 1944, radio began to come into play.
Later a radio debate between two Republican candidates for nomination as President, was heard across the country, and millions listened in.
Loophole found in equal-time law
A law of 1934 required that any station that gave time to one candidate, had to provide equal time to all other candidates, however minor, which discouraged broadcasters who were unwilling to give time to crackpot candidates. So the first general televised debates were the Kennedy / Nixon debates of 1960, when Congress suspended the equal time requirement of the law, for that year only. In 1970, Congress tried to repeal that section of the Act, but Nixon vetoed the bill - perhaps wanting to avoid repeating his huge embarrassment in the 1960 debates. Later the Senate tried to repeal it, but hesitated when it would apply to their own elections, as they all wanted to avoid debates. In 1975, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) very creatively discovered or contrived a wide loophole to avoid the requirement to provide equal time to all. It said that when debates were "bona fide news events" sponsored by some organisation other than TV stations, they would be exempt from the law. So the second TV debate was the Ford / Carter debate in 1976.
In 1988, the fears of the politicians sadly changed the nature of these events. The main parties secretly negotiated an agreement making rigid rules about selection of panellists, audience, and a ban on follow-up questions. The League of Women Voters, previously sponsors of the debates, refused to accept this, and the poll’s set up a Commission on Presidential Debates to ensure the protection of the candidates from undue reality.
Quotes and comments discovered online
"Joe Lieberman (Gore's vice-presidential candidate) would be the first Jewish person to serve directly under a president since - well, since Monica." - Late Show host, David Letterman
"Republicans are calling the Bush-Cheney ticket the 'Wizard of Oz' ticket. One needs a heart and the other needs a brain." -Tonight Show host, Jay Leno
"The fact that he relies on facts - says things that are not factual - are going to undermine his campaign." -George W. Bush on Al Gore
"The idea of putting subliminable messages into ads is ridiculous." -George W. Bush
"Bush is like a stripper with hairy legs. He's got some pretty smooth moves, but even from way back in the bar, you can tell that something is horribly awry." —Comedian Will Durst
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