Politics Sells

JFK: I'm a boss lolz
 Nixon: I know :P

         Fifty years ago today, something rather extraordinary happened.  Instead of watching I Love Lucy or Bonanza, legions of Americans tuned in their televisions to the first ever televised presidential debate, that of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard Nixon.  Historians have debated the effect of media on this election, many postulating that the new media had a positive effect on the campaign of Kennedy, who, through the medium of television, appeared young and dynamic, making his rival look old, unpleasant, and ineffectual by comparison.  Presidential elections had, to be sure, had a long history of basis in personal popularity, but the birth of the televised age has transformed the way in which politicians campaign for office.
          Televised debates were just the beginning.  Next political campaign advertising that infiltrated all of the broadcast networks and leaked on to prime-time.  And it didn't stop there.  Once the internet hit the scene, the campaign beast raged and filled up the world wide web with political ads.  By the time YouTube hit the scene, most people, even those not particularly interested in politics could at least claim familiarity with a candidate or two that they had seen in a viral video.  In the age of mass-media, politicians feel more pressure than ever to spend, spend, spend in order to get themselves re-elected.  For instance, in her campaign for governor, Meg Whitman broke all sorts of records by spending $119 million of her personal fortune on campaign ads, a record previously held by NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg.  And that's to say nothing of the massive amounts of cash that Barack Obama fundraised in his presidential campaign. Whether it is true that political hopefuls must raise gobs of cash in order to get the swing voters to cast ballots in their favor is obvious, whether it is just that it be so is doubtful.  As midterms and the California gubernatorial race approach, I can't help but be a little wistful for a day in which sitting down and watching two candidates debate the issues in front of a live audience was not only a novelty, but something important, something that must be paid attention to.  But even this little reminiscence isn't quite accurate--even then, the viewers were just as transfixed by Kennedy's youthful appearance as by his oratorical prowess.  I just hope that maybe at least some people take the time to watch the candidates verbally spar about important issues in the upcoming weeks.
        On that note, be sure to watch the Brown/Whitman debate on Tuesday.  Even if one's mind is made up, it still might be informative....