Outside of JFK’s dad “buying” the election in West Virginia, nearly every one of JFK’s election speeches hit on the “missile gap” between the USA and the CCCP, re-enforcing the image of Nixon as the shady character of the televised debate,
add to that Ike’s refusal to endorse his own two term vice president.
I can’t argue with your assessment, it’s very good.
But, can you argue that democrats aren’t saps for emotional rhetoric? Or that the mushy middle can’t be swayed by an inspirational speaker?
Obama is all of that and more: His blackness taps into white guilt — or call it a byproduct of political correctness, if you will.