John F. Kennedy: The TV President

Kennedy served two terms in the U.S House of Representatives. John also ran for U.S senate to beat the Republican incumbent and he won the seat (“John F. Kennedy: Life Before the Presidency”). JFK was a well known conservative Democrat for all of his political career, which contributed to his nomination as the Democratic party's candidate. He was also known for speaking his mind and knowing when to change things. For example, he was frustrated with the senate so he left and ran for president eventually winning (“Biography of JFK”), “If JFK wanted something done he would do it himself”(Hodgson). JFK’s strong leadership was one of the contributing factors to his

In the United States, television has been influential in presidential elections since the 1960’s. Television has a way of “turning away from policy sphere,” it judges candidates based on their appearances, not their message. Television has shifted the key point of presidential debates: from pursuing issue to pursuing image. Therefore, television is misleading, having a negative impact on presidential elections.

John F Kennedy, 35th president of the United States Of America, in his inaugural speech, vocalizes his ideas for the country and its future through the use of many rhetorical devices such as diction, metaphors, ethos and rhetorical question to convince the people he is fit for the job of president. During the height of the cold war, John F. Kennedy was given the burden of solving the obstacle of the U.S.S.R. The gap between the presidential candidates was microscopic with John F Kennedy getting 49.72% of the votes and Nixon 49.55% of the votes. Most people believed that The now democratic president would get eaten alive in Russian negotiations and was unfit for the presidency. These factors made the speech that much more intense because he had to assure and calm the people who were in high doubt that JFK was the right person for the job. This is why he used these subtle but successful tactics to win the favor of the people and convince them to not only support him, but become active participants in their democracy.

Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960’s. But just what is this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made elections fairer and more accessible, or has it moved candidates from pursuing issues to pursuing image? The media only impacts the American Society, especially for the presidential election as it increases the talks in politics and gives the president a higher role to follow. The television race captures more popularity than what a citizen is actually voting for.

Similarly, in Hawaii , he had considered that Nixon had won in the state, but in a count Kennedy was able to come back and win the state for a minimum difference of 115 votes. In the national popular vote , Kennedy beat Nixon by just one tenth of a percentage point 0.1 % the closest margin of the popular vote of the twentieth century. In the Electoral College, Kennedy 's victory was bigger , won 303 electoral votes to Nixon's 219 when 269 were needed to win. A total of 15 voters, eight Mississippi , six of Alabama, and one in Oklahoma , refused to vote for either Kennedy or Nixon. The New York Times , summed up the debate in late November , spoke of a "narrow " consensus among experts that Kennedy had won more than he lost as a result of his Catholicism. Northern Catholics supported Kennedy because of the attacks of their religion. In particular, Kennedy was the last candidate to win the presidency without winning in Ohio and was the only one who did in the twentieth century. It is also one of the two Democrats so far winless Florida, from the beginning of the creation of the party

Kennedy came from a line of businessmen and politicians, so it only fit that he would follow. His father, Joseph Sr. Kennedy, had very high expectations for his family of 7 children. John was not always the best student in school, but he was clever and enjoyed history and English. He entered into Harvard University in 1936 and played football. Kennedy’s father was appointed United States Ambassador to England in 1937, and because of this, John became very interested in politics and world affairs.1 After graduating from Harvard, JFK entered the military and became a Lieutenant. He even received a Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his leadership and courage. He then decided to become a politician, and he served 3 terms in the House of Representatives then was elected to the U.S. senate in 1952. Kennedy became quite popular as a politician, so it was no surprise when he was nearly picked to run for Vice President in the 1956 election. Therefore, he decided to run for president in

In 1961, The United States of America was gridlocked with social injustice, inequalities, and intense racial tension, while combating the “red scare” of communism and protecting the population abroad from weapons of mass destruction and otherwise harbored by enemies both foreign and domestic. Terror and incertitude had seized the minds of the American people as the Cold War drew to its zenith. Desperate for a strong, reassuring leader, they turned to the young, former naval lieutenant and Presidential candidate, John Fitzgerald Kennedy who provided the reassurance the American populous yearned for as he charismatically and confidently addressed the nation. With critical rumination to the current national and international turmoil, Kennedy sought to ignite unity and esprit de corps in the American people in an endeavor to attain a lasting resolve. Kennedy’s inaugural address is imbued with rhetorical strategies to flatter and influence the emotions of the people through the use his strategic use of the rhetorical triangle without detracting from the truth and evidence expected from a national leader.

Kennedy’s political career began in Massachusetts when he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946. Then, in 1952 he was elected as one of the Senators from Massachusetts. Kennedy received the Democratic nomination for the 1960 election upon defeating Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota the Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. He then faced Republican nominee Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Kennedy’s war hero reputation and his photogenic and confident manner on the televised debate helped boost Kennedy to the victory over Nixon.

On snowy, freezing cold January morning in 1961, five hundred thousand people lined Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The temperature was only twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit and eight inches of snow blanketed the ground in the American capitol that morning, causing even more traffic than usual, but that didn’t stop these hundreds of thousands of people from attending John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s inauguration ceremony. Little did they know, they would be hearing one of the most famous and memorable speeches of all time. Out of all forty five presidents, the inaugural address that American citizens would remember more than all the rest was that of John F. Kennedy. But what made it so memorable? After all, each president has given at least one, sometimes even two or more, inaugural address. Kennedy’s speech was neither the most elaborate nor the longest; it had one thousand three hundred and sixty four words and took thirteen minutes and fifty five seconds to read and it used relatively simple language. The importance of the address laid not in the length or the intricacy, but in the theme and the rhetoric. With figurative language, themes of unity and freedom, and appeal to Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, Kennedy’s address became not only one of the most memorable inaugural addresses, but one of the most memorable speeches of all time.

The media has always played an important role in the President’s relationship with the public, but just what kind of affect does it really have on the executive office? The first televised presidential debate in 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon marked the beginning of a new era – the inaugural shift of the media’s role in politics. Since that time, the media has continued to transform the way the president is perceived by the public through print, broadcast, and more recently, social media. All of said outlets have played vital roles in not only a president’s campaign, but also in their presidency and likability throughout their time in office. While the White House is still the source of most presidential news, the media are the shapers of the story and can frame it pretty much any way they want. There used to be limits on certain issues or realms of the presidency that were to remain untouched, however, first amendment freedoms take precedence over almost any restriction the government could try to place on the media. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the media and the president throughout recent years, looking briefly into the past to establish the scale of the dramatic change, and to study their reciprocal connection of how each utilizes the other.

Television has been influential in America’s elections since the 1960’s, and as TV continues to grow, so will the influence it has over the people. Many people believe whatever comes on their television screen, and don’t think twice to counteract the information. As America continues to televise presidential elections and politics pertaining to that, the elections will be frequently unfair and biased, the candidates won’t be able to completely focus on what’s important, like their imagine instead of their ideas. Television may give more substantial access to millions of more people, but that could change that end result of the presidency for better, or for worse.

Due to the fact this was at the beginning of technology era, televised media coverage was very popular. Kennedy had a bigger audience than those that sat before him and even greater than everyone in America who tuned in at home. He spoke to the whole world and its evident in the address that he realiazed that this is who he would be speaking to. His use of pathos can be seen throughout his speech.

John F. Kennedy played a huge part in the cold war ( Dodrill 3 ). This shows Kennedy's efforts in the fight against communism by helping people in Cuba gain their civil rights. This shows he cares about other people's rights in different countries. Even though he was unsuccessful, he still put his time and effort in a country other than his own. Finally, John F Kennedy has proven that he is pro-democracy.

The invention of the television has had an impact on all aspects of American's lives. It has affected how we work, interact with others, and our foreign relations. One part of American society that it has especially affected is presidential elections. Television has impacted who is elected and why they were elected. Since the 1960's television has served as a link between the American public and presidential elections that allows the candidate to appear more human and accountable for their actions; consequently this has made television a positive influence on presidential elections. But it has also had a negative affect on elections, making presidential candidates seem like celebrities at times and making it easier to publicize mistakes

On September 26, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon engaged in the first of four televised debates on issues of national importance. It was the first time T.V. Had been used to beam presidential debates where people could watch it from