Why did McNamara have such good figures? Why did McNamara have such good staff work and Ball such poor staff work? The next day Ball would angrily dispatch his staff to come up with the figures, to find out how McNamara had gotten them, and the staff would burrow away and occasionally find that one of the reasons that Ball did not have comparable figures was that they did not always exist. McNamara had invented them, he dissembled even within the bureaucracy, though, of course, always for a good cause. It was part of his sense of service. He believed in what he did, and thus the morality of it was assured, and everything else fell into place. It was all right to lie and dissemble for the right causes. It was part of service, loyalty to the President, not to the nation, not to colleagues, it was a very special bureaucratic-corporate definition of integrity; you could do almost anything you wanted as long as it served your superior. David Halberstam
About This Quote

The quote by Robert McNamara shows his sense of service and integrity. He never admitted what he did wrong but instead worked hard to make sure that the information he released was accurate. He felt that his actions were serving a higher purpose and that this purpose was important enough that he would lie to achieve it.

Source: The Best And The Brightest

Some Similar Quotes
  1. I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us. - Veronica Roth
  2. The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace. - Mahatma Gandhi
  3. Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens - Tony Deliso
  4. I met an old lady once, almost a hundred years old, and she told me, 'There are only two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. How much do you love me? And Who's in charge? - Elizabeth Gilbert
  5. This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of... - Susan Polis Schutz
More Quotes By David Halberstam
  1. [On writing:] "There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.'", March 25, 2007.)
  2. There was, I found, always more to learn.
  3. Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefiled and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. Worse it was contagious, and could destroy a unit before a battle even began. Because of that, commanders were first and foremost in the fear suppression business.
  4. Officers came and went and were never a part of daily life.
  5. The men were always wary of an officer who took form more seriously than function.
Related Topics