Good evening, my fellow Americans.

Tonight I want to talk to you on a subject of deep concern to all Americans and to many people in all parts of the world, the war in Vietnam. (1.1-2.1)

As far as the very first line goes, there's nothing really special going on here. Nixon is starting off his television address with a simple "hello." It's definitely better than starting with "hey, America, I'm talking to you!"

And then…bam.

Nixon gets straight to the point. Vietnam is the topic at hand, and Nixon wants to get down to business. It's actually a fairly powerful opener if you think about it. The Vietnam War was tearing the country apart (not to mention Vietnam), and Americans were seriously concerned about the events taking place there.

So, by starting off this way, Nixon is able to grab everyone's attention.