The Kitchen Debate: 50 Years Later

On July 24, 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon visited the American National Exhibition in Moscow. The American government sponsored the event and had a real American home built with all the modern appliances and conveniences. It demonstrated to the Russians the value and benefits of capitalism and freedom.

While visiting the exhibit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, an impromptu debate began. Khrushchev did not believe average Americans lived in such luxury. Nixon loved debating and accepted the challenge. The two sides argued over the benefits of each system. The Soviet leader stressed "things that mattered" and benefited the most people. Nixon boasted about America's high standard of living and ability to innovate. Nixon clearly won the debate. He was correct when he predicted the Soviet people would be freed one day. Perhaps the most poignant example of Socialist backwardness occurred inadvertently. Khrushchev kept playing with a disposable pen. He clicked it over and over in amazement.

Fifty years later, another foreign leader challenged another American president. At the Summit of the Americas, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega went into a diatribe over American foreign policy dating back two centuries. American President Barack Obama remained silent. Ortega succeeded with Obama where Khrushchev failed with Nixon. In fact, Ortega praised Obama and claimed he was someone they could deal with. Why wouldn't he feel that way? Silence means acceptance. What a difference half a century makes...