There They Go Again: The Use of Humor in Presidential Debates 1960–2008

One of the most memorable moments in presidential debate history occurred in the second 1984 presidential debate. Henry Trewhitt, a diplomatic correspondent for The Baltimore Sun, asked President Ronald Reagan about his age. Noting that President Reagan, then age 73, who was already the oldest president in U.S. history was running for reelection, Trewhitt asked: "Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able to function in such circumstances [the Cuban missile crisis] ?" (League of Women Voters [LWV], 1984b, Section 10, para. 1). In response, Reagan said: "Not at all, Mr. Trewhitt, and I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience" (LWV, 1984b, Section 10, para. 2). The auditorium filled with laughter. Even Democratic candidate Walter Mondale, 56 years old at the time, and journalist Henry Trewhitt laughed. The comment was quoted in the analysis of the debate in The New York Times (Weinraub, 1984), in many major newspapers, and on news shows across the country (Clendinen, 1984). The humorous comment ended two weeks of concern about Reagan's age spurred by media criticism of his performance in the first 1984 presidential debate (Condon, 2011, para. 6). This is one example of the influence humor can have in a debate. Given the essentially serious nature of presidential debates, an exploration of how often moments of humor like this have occurred becomes worthwhile. Moreover, scholars have argued that humor is a tool that, when used effectively, enhances self-perception (Meyer, 2000) and helps candidates connect with U.S. voters (Yarwood, 2001, 2004). Thus, it would be valuable to see for what purposes presidential candidates use humor in debates to make their points. Finally, analyzing almost 50 years of televised presidential debate history provides an opportunity to trace the trends of the use of humor by candidates in general election presidential debates. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of humor in presidential debates and how its use in the debates has evolved. The results illustrate the type, function, and location of humor in presidential debates. The discussion explores how candidates use humor in persuasive ways to accomplish their debate goals. I also analyze why humor use increased in the 1980s and 1990s, and began to decrease in the 2000s. LITERATURE REVIEW Debate Research Televised general election presidential debates first occurred in 1960 and have become an important and regular part of presidential campaigns since 1976. The presidential debate is one form of campaign communication that reaches many U.S. voters, including those marginally attentive to politics, and marginally attentive voters play a critical role in determining the outcome of elections (Pfau, 2003). Every presidential debate since 1960 has attracted a television audience of at least 35 million viewers with many presidential debates attracting more than 50 million viewers (CPD 2008 Debates, 2008). Watching presidential debates can have effects on viewers. Benoit, Hansen, and Verser's (2003) meta-analysis of 33 empirical studies of presidential debates found several effects of debates on viewers including issue knowledge, issue salience, preferences toward candidates' issue positions, perceptions of agenda setting, perceptions of candidate character, and vote preference. This recta-analysis details effects on the viewer of the presidential debates, but does not consider humor content as a factor in these effects; neither do the 33 studies they analyzed. Debates can also have an impact on viewers through secondary modes of presentation. Although debates are often just a 90-minute event, it is common for them to be discussed in newspapers, network and cable news, and internet blogs, along with becoming the focus of jokes on late-night talk shows for several days around the time of the debates. …