Interviews:
President Bush
Senator Dole
More interviews

Debates:
1976
1992

More on President Taft

More on President Franklin Roosevelt

Presidential Image-making
This site looks at how presidents exploited photography to look presidential.

KQED's Media Literacy project

Debating Our Destiny lesson suggestions:
Debates: Useful or Pointless
Then & Now
Personal Attacks

Could a president like William Howard Taft (over 300 pounds) or Franklin Roosevelt (confined to a wheelchair) be elected in an age of television? Would the public choose Lincoln over Douglas if they could see Lincoln's face, described by many as extremely ugly?

The visual medium of television shades reality.

Former Senator Bob Dole notes that his analysis of the Kennedy-Nixon radio debate changed dramatically when he saw the videotapes later. Nixon's sweaty, shadowy face contrasted poorly with the confident smile of the young Kennedy.

Gestures that would otherwise go unnoticed, can become important. Did President Bush's glance at his watch reveal his impatience with the debate, or was it a meaningless reflex? In his interview, Bush regrets the big deal that was made from a private moment.

The candidates' posture and gestures can reveal a lot. Notice the debaters' stances at the podiums. With the sound turned down, what does the body language say? Look at the image of Senator Dole to the right. What does his silhouette say to you?

In the 1976 debate between Presidents Carter and Ford a technical difficulty created an uncomfortable situation. While technicians tried to fix a sound problem, both Carter and Ford stood stiffly for 27 minutes at the podiums. Neither wanted to sit down, for fear of seeming to back away. Listen to President Carter describe the incident.

How do you think an event like that affects a voter's opinion of a candidate?

Should those evaluations matter? When debates are on television, does everything become show business?

Is the picture, as the adage suggests, "worth a thousand words"; or, does the picture simplify and obscure a complex issue? Could the visual image actually distract from critical thinking?

Suggested Activity for Teachers of Public Speaking/Debate:
-- From Professor George Brashears, Georgetown University

The following activity can help to bring home to students the fact that we "size up the speaker" quite quickly based on demeanor and "look" rather than content.

Early on in the class, begin a lecture for which you are very well-prepared, and for which you have rehearsed an animated delivery. Tell the students to listen carefully and proceed for about ten minutes. Then stop. Ask the students to describe your performance in just four words that come to them quickly without any long reflection. Have them write down the words. Randomly elicit their responses and make a list of them on the board. You will probably get things like "organized", "interesting" "smart" (but be prepared for negative ones, depending on the maturity and seriousness of the group).

Shift the discussion to how the students arrived at their judgements. Questions like, "How did I move?" get them to focus on the non-verbal behavior that supports a clear message. Now ask then to describe what you said. Discuss which made more of an impact.

Books for further study:

Brennan, Ruth M.G.: Listening for a President: A Citizen's Campaign Methodology. Praeger Publishers, 1990

Friedenberg, Robert: Rhetorical Studies of National Political Debate. Praeger Publishers, 1997

Henggler, P.R.: The Politics of Style Since JFK. Chicago, 1995

Jamieson, Kathleen Hall: Eloquence in an Electronic Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988

Kendall, Kathleen: Presidential Campaign Discourse. State University of New York Press, 1995

Sanders, Barry: The Private Death of Public Discourse. Beacon Press, 1998