He's still a human being and I think he showed incredible reflection. It is apparent that the events of the past still weigh on him. I came out with more respect than I had going in. The Vietnam war was a tragedy.
For a different view look at the Rumsfeld doc. Rumsfeld doesn't give a single inch but I probably wouldn't either if being asked about a still ongoing conflict.
Well, comparison to Rumsfeld is just setting the bar too low.
Don't take me as saying that Fog of War is bad or that McNamara is completely missing self reflection. Far from it. On first seeing some 15 years ago I have been impressed as well.
It's only over the years as I kept finding more and more about just how much responsibility for Vietnam does McNamara bear that I found that he's somehow trying to present himself as a technocrat without much in the way of a moral responsibility. Sort of a Nuremberg defense by steering clear of the ethical aspects almost altogether.
For a different view look at the Rumsfeld doc. Rumsfeld doesn't give a single inch but I probably wouldn't either if being asked about a still ongoing conflict.