Ethos

You'd think that, being the president and all, LBJ didn't need to establish his credibility with the audience. He didn't waste time emphasizing that he's the leader of the free world or that he knows more than you do about the Constitution. Everyone already knew that.

But he also knew that he was talking to an audience of young adults, so he tried to boost his cred at the beginning of the speech with some jokes about co-ed college student partying—a few "I'm hip" statements to let them know he's been there, too.

Pathos

The Great Society speech is an emotional roller coaster (in a good way).

It climbs as the president touts Americans' past achievements: "For a century we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century we called upon unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people" (9-10).

It dips as he describes the problems: "It is harder and harder to live the good life in American cities today. (…) The water we drink, the food we eat, the very air that we breathe, are threatened with pollution. (…) Classrooms are overcrowded and curricula are outdated" (30, 46, 64).

And it rises when he talks about solutions: "New experiments are already going on" (38).

Finally, it climbs the last big hill with an appeal to the new graduates in the audience. Four times Johnson asks, "Will you join in the battle (…)" (85-88).

Then it pulls back into the station with a positive declaration: "We have the power to shape the civilization that we want" (91).

Not a bad ride, really.