Young Candidates Find Success In Presidential Elections

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The Young Candidates Find Success in Presidential Elections

The United States as a democratic state has always placed a great amount of importance on the leaders of our nation. Not only are United States presidents elected by the people, they are also the face of the nation. These factors combine to make the Presidential race not only one of the most exciting focuses of history, but also overall increasingly controversial. The presidential campaigns of 1960 and 2008 have been two of the most polarized elections of United States history. Many distinguishing factors have contributed to the intensity of these elections, but the common factor has been the candidates involved. John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama entered the presidential arena in a whirlwind of controversy and anticipation of citizens. The success of both John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama stem from their similar qualities, the state the nation during the election period, and their utilization of framing tactics.

John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama have many similar qualities that were beneficial to their presidential campaign. Although some of these qualities were mostly accepted as a positive aspect, critics exist to balance public opinion. In the 1960 and 2008 elections John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama were successful because public opinion favored their controversial qualities and overwhelmingly disregarded the chirps of critics.

I. Political Affiliation

The most obvious public standstill of a majority of elections falls into the conundrum of political affiliation. This was also the case in John F. Kennedy’s 1960 election and Barack Obama’s 2008 election. Although the focus of both elections was not specific to party policies, it was a present theme as alwa...

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