I think it’s time to pull out this story, told by journalist David Halberstam in his book about the origins of the Vietnam War, The Best and the Brightest
Among those dazzled by the Administration team was Vice-President Lyndon Johnson. After attending his first Cabinet meeting he went back to his mentor Sam Rayburn [poster’s note: Sam Rayburn served in Congress from 1913-1961, and was elected Speaker three times, for a total of 17 years, the longest tenure ever as Speaker] and told him with great enthusiasm how extraordinary they were, each brighter than the next, and that the smartest of them all was that fellow with the Stacomb on his hair from the Ford Motor Company, McNamara. “Well, Lyndon,” Mister Sam answered, “you may be right and they may be every bit as intelligent as you say, but I’d feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for sheriff once.”