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| Parent | Parent |
| Type | Debate |
| Title | R.F.Kennedy-McCarthy Primary Debate |
| Start Date/Time | June 01, 1968 08:30pm |
| End Date/Time | June 01, 1968 09:30pm |
| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Modified | Chronicler - September 28, 2008 05:27pm |
| Description | The Democratic primary debate of 1968 was the first presidential debate of any kind since 1960 and the only presidential debate of 1968. It was held two days before the critical California primary.
Background
President Johnson's withdrawal from the presidential race in early 1968 left a wide open field for the Democrats. Sen. Eugene McCarthy had been campaigning for weeks by that time. Soon thereafter, VP Hubert Humphrey and Sen. Robert Kennedy joined the fray. Although the possibility of holding a debate was discussed from time to time, the same problem of 1964 remained: the "equal time" provision of the 1934 Federal Communications Act. Nine college presidents invited Kennedy and McCarthy to debate just before the Oregon primary, but Kennedy was reluctant to debate without Humphrey [New York Times 5/30/1968], and the equal time provision made it difficult to hold the debate [New York Times, 5/14/1968]. Sen. John O. Pastore (D-RI), chairman of the communications subcommittee, worked with the networks to draft legislation to adjust the wording so that networks could exercise judgment in choosing candidates to invite to a debate, but the negotiations dragged on throughout the primary season. [New York Times 5/26/1968]
As the critical California primary loomed, however, the McCarthy and Kennedy forces recognized that a debate would be beneficial. McCarthy's victory in Oregon gave him some momentum going into California, and he saw a debate as an opportunity to knock Kennedy out of contention. Kennedy recognized that; when he agreed to the debate on 5/29, he said that he would withdraw from contention if he lost in California [NYT 5/30/1968]. Humphrey was not on the ballot in California (though an unpledged slate of delegates originally pledged to President Johnson was on the ballot) and had already made other plans so did not attend [NYT 5/30/1968].
Quick Facts
When: 6:30-7:30 p.m. (PST), 6/1/1968
Where: KGO-TV (ABC), San Francisco CA. Carried only by ABC; carried live across the country except in the Pacific Time Zone, where it aired three hours after being taped.
Moderator: Frank Reynolds (ABC); panel: Robert Clark, William Lawrence (both ABC News).
Number of viewers/listeners: 32,000,000 [NYT 6/3/1968]
Topics: Foreign, domestic policy
Transcript: not available. The New York Times ran "highlights" of the debate on 6/3/1968 (page 40).
Format: 60 minutes of questions and answers; no opening or closing statements.
Setting: Frank Reynolds sat at a round table, flanked by the candidates (McCarthy on the viewer's left and Kennedy on the viewer's right).
The debate was semi-formal. Both Kennedy and McCarthy agreed on more topics than they disagreed on and maintained a positive attitude throughout the debate. Kennedy used more vivid gestures (according to the New York Times article the following day); McCarthy spoke a little more softly and appeared more relaxed.
On the issue of Vietnam, McCarthy sought action to begin a withdrawal immediately. He recommended a coalition government be installed. Kennedy felt that a coalition government formed at that time would result in forcing communism on South Vietnam. He favored the beginning of troop withdrawal. He also called for the South Vietnam government to take actions to end corruption and to establish a land reform program.
Kennedy gave an overview of his proposed foreign policy. He stated that the USA's global authority "rested more on moral leadership than military power," and he did not believe that the USA could "be the policemen of the world." He believed in the use of the military against external aggression to other countries but not for internal disputes.
McCarthy stated that he "did not recognize a moral or legal commitment for the United States' present role in Vietnam." He had supported the Korean War and believed that the USA had commitments to other nations such as Israel, Taiwan, and Japan, which he would honor. He said that he would fire SOS Dean Rusk.
Kennedy called for a tax hike to initiate several domestic programs. He wanted to seek additional funds to train local police to deal with violence, riots, and lawlessness, which he believed could not be tolerated. He wanted to begin a massive undertaking to rehabilitate slums in the cities and to provide a better solution for the poor than welfare.
McCarthy also believed that a tax increase was warranted. His domestic policy would begin with the replacement of J. Edgar Hoover, additional funds for additional state and local police, and new housing for low-income people. He would reduce the use of federal troops for quelling riots. He believed that working to attract industry into the vicinity of slums would provide additional job opportunities, and moving some poor people out of cities to areas with a lower cost of living would make it possible to use federal funds more efficiently.
McCarthy asked RFK if he (as Attorney General) had authorized the wiretap on Martin Luther King Jr. RFK believed that King was a "great and loyal American," but he chose not to answer the question. [NYT 6/2/1968]
At the end of the debate, Kennedy and McCarthy shook hands, smiling.
Aftermath
Commentators the following day believed the debate to have been a draw. Jack Gould, a New York Times columnist, called it an "electronic tennis game, in which Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene J. McCarthy played on the same side of the net" [NYT 6/3/1968]. The two Senators also appeared to believe that it was a draw, which hurt McCarthy more because he felt he was unable to establish his policy differences [NYT 6/3/1968].
Regardless of how the pundits evaluated the debate, the voters believed that RFK was the winner. Two days after the debate, he won the California primary by a 46-42% margin. In RFK's remarks that evening, he challenged VP Humphrey to a debate [NYT 6/5/1968]; at that time, the available returns showed him leading McCarthy 52-39%.
2d Democratic primary debate of 1968: [Link] |
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