Kenneth E. Montague Presidential Rhetoric
1 total work
In Lyndon Johnson, Vietnam, and the Presidency, political rhetoric scholar David Zarefsky examines the three key announcements and how they fit together in the speech. In particular, LBJ's announcement that he would not run for re-election gave the de-escalation measures more credibility because they could not be seen as political ploys.
Zarefsky traces the development of the speech through eleven drafts, reflecting disagreements and doubts among the writers and advisers. In turn, he sets these efforts in the larger context of the Cold War and the impact of the Tet offensive.
Drawing on archival sources and reflecting rhetorical insights, this book illuminates one of the most consequential speeches of the 1960s. Even though the fighting in Vietnam would continue for several more years, the course of America's conduct in Vietnam was changed permanently by this speech.