By Daniel Nguyen and Jordan Summers
Now that the presidential debates have started, presidential veracity is more important than ever. Presidential debates can either make or break a candidate. While the advent of televised debates has shifted the emphasis away from a candidate’s speech content, American history has yielded some exceptional instances when a slip of the tongue or pointed comment has resulted in more than mere oratory misbehavior.
Ranging from the ludicrous to the unforgettable, quotes from past presidential debates clarify our understanding of the people running for the most powerful office in the world.
From the debate between President Barack Obama and Republican Party nominee John McCain in 2008, one of Senator McCain’s most criticized comments after the debate was his referral to then Senator Obama as “that one.”
The phrase brought him critiques condemning the senator’s implied disdain, exacerbating the gap in public approval between the two candidates.
In the midst of the Cold War and the 1976 run for the presidency, President Gerald Ford denied the USSR’s political goal of spreading communism throughout the European continent. He said, “There is no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe,” prompting a confused reaction from moderator Max Frankel. As the incumbent at the time, Ford lost the 1976 election to the lesser-known Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter.
The vice presidential debate of 1992 featured two important questions asked by Navy Vice Adm. James Stockdale, Ross Perot’s running mate. Introducing himself by asking the audience Vice Adm. Stockdale commented on the relatively powerless position of his third party candidacy. Although initially endearing, the memorable words took on an icy irony as the election cycle proved how unmemorable Stockdale’s candidacy really was.
During the 2008 election, a moderator’s question for Hillary Clinton’s thoughts on the greater likeability of Obama prompted her flustered response, “Well, that hurts my feelings. But I’ll try to go on. He’s very likable. I agree with that. I don’t think I’m that bad.” The brief moment in the debate endeared both candidates to the public while showcasing the importance of Obama’s publicly positive persona in securing the presidency as he responded by saying, “you’re likeable enough, Hillary.”
In 1944 the nation’s longest sitting president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, faced critic accusations about leaving his Scottish terrier, Fala, behind on a trip to the Aleutian Islands and subsequently sending a military vessel to pick the dog up. Referencing Orson Welles, a personal friend, Roosevelt responded, “I don’t resent attacks and my family doesn’t resent attacks, but Fala does resent them. He has not been the same dog since.” The president’s unconventional dedication to his dog has been memorialized in Washington with a statue of the two together.
The 2016 presidential race has featured some of the most outrageous claims in American political history, or history itself. When viewing the debates, students should keep in mind the shared historical context of ludicrous debate moments and the effect they have on each candidate’s perceived characters.
