McNamara soon established himself as the most indispensable member of Johnson’s cabinet. When Johnson called congressmen, he told them what a great job McNamara was doing in the Pentagon. A month after taking office, the president worried that he would have to report a cost overrun of $400 million in defense spending for fiscal 1964. McNamara, who had a knack for manipulating numbers, offered a solution. He volunteered to underestimate deliberately what moneys were spent for defense and later feign surprise when spending exceeded his department’s forecast. The dependable McNamara saved the
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