Question

read the excerpts from \opening statements from john f. kennedy and richard m. nixon first televised debate.\ kennedy: this is a great country, but i think it could be a greater country; and this is a powerful country, but i think it could be a more powerful country. im not satisfied to have fifty percent of our steel - mill capacity unused. im not satisfied when the united states had last year the lowest rate of economic growth of any major industrialized society in the world. nixon: lets put it in terms that all of us can understand. we often hear gross national product discussed and in that respect may i say that when we compare which best analyzes a difference in the evidence used by each speaker to reach his conclusion? kennedy uses specific statistics to argue that economic growth in the u.s. is lagging behind other nations; nixon relies on common assertions and opinions, rather than facts, to show that the u.s.s economic growth is forging ahead. kennedy uses facts to compare u.s. economic growth with other industrialized nations, which show the u.s. is lagging; nixon uses facts to compare the economic growth during this presidency to that during the previous one, which shows that the economy is improving. kennedy compares u.s. steel production to that of other countries to show that the u.s. is lagging

Explanation:

First, analyze Kennedy's evidence: he uses specific statistics (50% unused steel-mill capacity, U.S. had the lowest economic growth rate among major industrialized nations) to compare U.S. economic performance to other industrialized countries, arguing the U.S. is lagging. Then, look at Nixon's evidence: he references gross national product, proposing to compare the current presidency's economic growth to the previous one to show improvement, which is factual comparison of domestic economic trends over time. The first option is wrong because Nixon uses factual GNP comparison, not just opinions. The third option is incomplete and misstates Kennedy's comparison (he uses more than just steel production vs other countries). The second option matches both speakers' use of facts with different comparison frames.

Answer:

Kennedy uses facts to compare U.S. economic growth with other industrialized nations, which show the U.S. is lagging; Nixon uses facts to compare the economic growth during this presidency to that during the previous one, which shows that the economy is improving.