Benjamin Wallace-Wells's newest TNR piece revisits David Halberstam's treatment of Robert McNamara in The Best and the Brightest and argues that, far from criticizing McNamara for his expertise, Halberstam indicts him for being a "brilliant generalist" who knew little about any particular subject.
Be they "brilliant generalists" or experts in their fields, the executive branch has not lacked for academics, quantitative jocks, and other quintessential "nerds" throughout the years. Click through to learn more about past geeks in government.
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--Dylan Matthews