This Day in History September 26, 1960

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedy_Nixon_Debat_(1960).jpg#file

I find this quite appropriate in light of the season in which we find ourselves now.  On this date in 1960, the first televised presidential debate occurred live on television.  Seventy million viewers tuned in to watch Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice-President Nixon "spar" in this all-important debate.  And yes, indeed, it did help decide the debate.  Image was important, and you know who won that hands-down--Kennedy!  Nixon had spent the weeks prior recovering from a knee operation, and he came across as thin, pallid, and wooden.

  Watch More News Videos at ABC
  |
  2012 Presidential Election
  |
  Entertainment & Celebrity News

For more information, please check out:
http://famousdaily.com/history/first-televised-presidential-debate-chicago-nixon-kennedy.html
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=kennedy-nixon

This Day in History April 16, 1972

I happen to remember these two, but I didn't know the history surrounding them.  It was on this date in 1972 that China sent Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing to President Nixon following his trip to China.  In return, the U.S. sent China two musk oxen.  They attracted lots of visitors during their time at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

Over the years, this pair provided us a lot of enjoyment and drama.  It was very sad indeed when they both passed on.  They did live to be quite old for pandas. Ling-Ling died in December 1992 at the ripe old age of 23, and Hsing-Hsing had to be put to sleep in November 1999 due to his major health problems at the age of 28.

For more information, please check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ling-Ling_and_Hsing-Hsing
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7598033
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/june99/lingdies92.htm
http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/pandas/meet/ling_hsing.html

This Day in History August 8, 1974

There are those of you who are reading this who lived through this date.  I was alive, but I was barely two months old.  This is the date in history when President Richard Nixon announced that he would resign the following day due to the Watergate scandal.  Don't get me wrong, I know about this, but I cannot remember it.

What exactly was the Watergate scandal?  The word itself refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

In general, these political scandals occurred between 1972 and 1974.  The hotel housed the office of the Democratic National Committee, and it was the office that was burglarized June 17, 1972.  This burglary and cover-up is now known collectively as the Watergate Scandal.  Watergate now refers to a general misuse of power.  I don't want to bore you, my wonderful readers.  If you would like to go in depth and study this scandal in great detail, check here.

I find it very interesting that this president just two years earlier won his presidency by a landslide--he carried 49 states!  Massachusetts and D.C. were the only places he didn't carry.  Of course, he did spend an unprecedented 60 million dollar campaign.

 
Websites Used:
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/World/Nixon-Richard-13735.htmlhttp://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/August-8
http://watergate.info/background/