Today in History: October 21, 1960 – 4th (and Final) Nixon-Kennedy Debate

The fourth and final Kennedy-Nixon debate was held on October 21, 1960.

For the final debate, the candidates met in New York City. And, like the 1^st debate, both candidates were given a chance to make both opening and closing states – 8 minutes for opening and 5 minutes for closing. Differing from other debates, though, each candidate made new policy position statements, hoping to gear the topic of questions for the upcoming debates.

The topic for the last debate was foreign policy including

• Cuba
• US Prestige
• Nuclear Weapons Testing
• Treaty Banning Testing &
• Aid to Communist-Held Countries

While Kennedy was firm in his belief that we needed to overthrow Castro while proving assistance to countries such as Poland and India, one already oppressed by Communist Soviet Union and the other in danger of falling to Communism. Nixon countered that this would make these nations pawns in the fierce battle between the USA & USSR. “We have to let them know that we want to help them … because we care for them, because we stand for freedom, because if there were no communism in the world, we would still fight poverty and misery and disease and tyranny”  (Source).

Between the 3^rd and 4^th debates, while Kennedy had initially been scorned for his mistake of using notes or ‘cribbing,’ polls showed that he’d actually done much better than initially thought, especially in Michigan. In this debate, “voters believed that the 4^th debate was a draw, although they believed that it was the strongest performance by both Kennedy and Nixon. Overall, the knowledge of the two candidates impressed Americans of all political stripes” (Source).

Watch: 4th Kennedy-Nixon Debate

Today in History: October 13, 1960 – 3rd Nixon-Kennedy Debate

On October 13, 1960, Senator Kennedy and Vice President Nixon held their third of four debates. And, let me just tell you, it was next to impossible to find anything on this debate. It didn’t even show up in history.com’s this day in history. I only found one source.

This time around, the two candidates weren’t even in the same studio – let alone the same state. Nixon was in Hollywood, while Kennedy was in New York. The panelists, even, were in a separate studio.

The topic of debate #3: Foreign Policy & US Economy including

• Quemoy
• Matsu
• DDE Agricultural Programs (& Budget)
• The Ku Klux Klan
• Labor Disputes
• World Prestige

The Ku Klux Klan topic actually came about because, apparently, one leader claimed that he planned to vote for Nixon. Kennedy defended Nixon, promising the American people that this in no way meant that Nixon backed, had sympathies for, or supported them in any way, shape, or form. Nixon agreed.

In another question, Kennedy was accused of backing “compulsory arbitration of labor disputes” (Source). Kennedy explained that his staff had released the press statement and he had made them retract it later that same afternoon. He went on to assure them that he did not favor such a position, though Nixon pointed out that he did at one time. Kennedy replied that: “I always have difficulty recognizing my positions when they are stated by the Vice President” (Source).

It was determined far and wide that Nixon had far a solid victory for the third debate. The reason? Republicans thought it was shameful of Kennedy to use notes in one of his responses. Kennedy had attempted to explain that he was reading “a photostat of a page from a book by Gen. Matthew Ridgeway and had written brief quotes from [President Eisenhower] and from [Secretary of State] John F. Dulles” (Source).

Nevertheless, Kennedy was hammered for days afterwards and it looked like Nixon was sure to win the election.

Watch: 3rd Kennedy-Nixon Debate