I recently watched The Fog of War, which is a documentary about Robert McNamara. McNamara was the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War. He was appointed by Kennedy and fired by Johnson, with whom he clashed. McNamara, prior to being the Secretary of Defense, was the first president of the Ford Motor Company outside the Ford family. Fascinating guy.
The movie is essentially an extended interview with McNamara when he was 85 years old. It’s interspersed with archival footage, which is pretty interesting in its own right.
If you’ve ever been sort of confused about the politics surrounding the history of the Vietnam War, this movie won’t clear things up for you. You will, however, get a great dose of insight into one of the key players of that period. This is definitely on my “recommend” list.
Thanks for loaning it out. I have either read about, vicariously experienced, or directly experienced the time period that he discusses. I think I either saw clips or saw the entire movie on broadcast TV, so it was not brand new to me. The point that I absolutely agree with him on is that if JFK had lived we would not have escalated…and (I believe) if RFK had lived he would have been president (I think) and stopped it in 1969. It was a divisive and bitter time…much worse than what we have gone through (so far) today. Thanks for sharing.
One thing that stuck with me from this film is when McNamara says, “when you are asked a question you don’t want to answer, you answer the question you wish you were asked”. I see this all the time in political theatre to the point where it is hilarious to frustrating beyond belief.
Also, when McNamara was 85 in the interview he was still sharp as a tack. It is a goal in my life to do what ever is needed to become and stay that sharp.