Let's go ahead and get this out of the way: Nixon couldn't stand the 1960s counterculture movement. He made a name for himself throughout his political career criticizing those on the left, and especially those who protested the war in Vietnam. He constantly accused the hippie counterculture, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, and even members of the Democratic Party of being secretly in love with communism.

Or, at least, of having a pretty serious commie crush.

Nixon may have been known as Tricky Dick, but it was definitely clear that he really, really, really didn't like the whole liberal scene in America. So, why does he act so civil in his speech, then?

Nixon wants to put on his Mr. Nice Guy face to get those approval ratings up. To be fair, this is something nearly every single president has done throughout their careers. It's not particularly odd that Nixon would do this as well.

What is a little different from other presidential speeches, however, is that underneath this Mr. Nice Guy persona, Nixon is totally insulting those on the left that he hates so much. This can be seen in just a few lines of his speech:

I recognize that some of my fellow citizens disagree with the plan for peace I have chosen. Honest and patriotic Americans have reached different conclusions as to how peace should be achieved.

In San Francisco a few weeks ago, I saw demonstrators carrying signs reading, "Lose in Vietnam, bring the boys home."

Well, one of the strengths of our free society is that any American has a right to reach that conclusion and to advocate that point of view. (114.1-116.1)

By articulating these lines, Nixon is seriously walking the line between being a really decent individual and being a total jerk. There's a serious effort to try and understand the perspectives of protestors, but there's also a veil of irritation. He almost views them as an irritating itch that he can't quite scratch away. By the end of the speech, he makes it clear that he'd rather those people stay quiet from that point forward when it comes to the Vietnam War.

It is those in the "great silent majority" that he really wants to hear from.