Philly hosted a presidential debate 48 years ago. May this one work out better.
The debate between President Gerald R. Ford and Gov. Jimmy Carter at the Walnut Street Theatre was interrupted by a 28-minute silence when a part failed.
For the first time in history, Philadelphia hosted a presidential debate in 1976 between the major-party nominees.
It would be 48 years before the nominees agreed to debate in the city again, in this case Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald J. Trump.
It probably had nothing to do with the wait, but that 1976 event didn’t go so well.
The exchanges between Republican President Gerald R. Ford and the Democratic nominee, Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, at the Walnut Street Theatre produced no memorable moments à la “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy,” or “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
But it was indeed memorable, if not necessarily for the best of reasons. Ford and Carter suffered through a 27-minute interval of silence after the failure of an electronic capacitor ambushed the amplifier system.
It was the first of three debates between Ford and Carter, and the first presidential debate since 1960, that one involving Republican Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Why did they debate in Philadelphia in 1976?
This may sound familiar, but Pennsylvania was a pivotal state — one of the “swingiest” — during the 1976 campaign, critical to Carter’s successful campaign for the nomination.
Its electoral importance helps explain why Trump and Harris are due to square off at the National Constitution Center on Tuesday.
» READ MORE: The National Constitution Center prepares for presidential debate spotlight
However, the big reason Philly became the venue for the first 1976 debate was the fact that Philly was at the nexus of the nation’s Bicentennial celebration. It already had hosted an impressive resumé of national events that year, including the NBA and Major League Baseball all-star games.
Who won the Ford-Carter debate?
In quickie polls by the Roper Organization and the Associated Press, respondents gave an edge to Ford, and Carter, himself, said he thought Ford fared better.
An Inquirer editorial declared that both gave “respectable but not spectacular performances” but that “the stage of the old Walnut Street Theatre has been enlivened with more dramatic fare in its time.”
It opined that Carter led off with a whiff with his “rambling” and “philosophical” answer to question about unemployment, an issue in the Democratic wheelhouse.
The editorial writers noted that some might have viewed the prolonged silence as the most “suspenseful moment” of the debate. However, it noted that Ford and Carter showed “commendable patience and good humor” during the interval, “and the purpose of the debate was not to entertain or amuse.”
The election of 1976
Carter won both Pennsylvania — and what was then its harvest of 27 electoral votes — and the election, both narrowly.
Ford’s decision to grant a presidential pardon to former President Richard M. Nixon a month after Nixon was forced out of office by the Watergate scandal likely had far more to do with the outcome than 28 minutes of silence in Philadelphia.