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How Did John F Kennedy And Nixon Influence Effective Candidates For The 1960s

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How Did John F Kennedy And Nixon Influence Effective Candidates For The 1960s
20th Century US History John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were the candidates for the 1960 presidential election, both winning their nominations on the first ballot. Kennedy was the first to be nominated. He had won impressive victories over Hubert Humphrey in the primaries. Once nominated, JFK chose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate. Johnson, the Senate Majority Leader, was an strong politician who was looking out solely for Kennedy 's election. Two weeks after the Democratic convention, the Republicans nominated Richard Nixon. Nixon chose former Massachusetts Senator and United Nations Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as his Vice Presidential candidate. The first televised Presidential debate, aired on September 26, 1960, between Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon. Television was a new and upcoming communication tool widely available during the 1960 presidential campaign. Senator John F. Kennedy’s ingenious use of this mass medium, specifically in the televised presidential debates, helped secure him gain presidency over Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Kennedy’s victory marked a new era of new innovative political …show more content…
Kennedy 's image was immediately improved. American 's idea of Kennedy before the debate was not a negative one, just that he was young, only being 43 when the campaigning was taking place. Aside from his age, which also came with inexperience, some American 's had a preconceived notion about Kennedy as being "snobbish", and some went even as far as to criticize him for his Catholic roots (Lang, Curtis 281). His apparent "snobbish" attitude was suggested because he had grown up in world of ease and privilege. Kennedy was born into a very wealthy and powerful family. His father, Joseph F. Kennedy, was the former American Ambassador to Britain (Brinkley, Alan 808). Although American 's had some doubts about Kennedy, he was also viewed as "a fine young man" with a lot of

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