John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first television president. It was the advent of the 1960s – the Mad Men era – when his debate with Richard Nixon was the first to be televised, making the Kennedy presidency the first to be covered on television in its entirety, from its beginning to its violent premature end.
Some believe that Kennedy won the first debate because he made a more attractive visual presentation than Nixon to the television audience, while some who listened to the debate on the radio actually felt that Nixon made a better show. Regardless, it was a new era – an era of television – where appearances would matter more than ever.
However one felt about him or his politics, one could not deny that Jack Kennedy possessed powerful charm, enormous appeal and looks that the camera loved. He was a glamorous package that even Frank Sinatra couldn’t resist.
He also had style.