Haven't We Seen This Before?

In 1969, David Halberstram authored The Best and the Brightest an examination of how the United States inexorably became entwined in what would later be known as the Vietnam War. (To see how this all ended, I recommend Frank Snepp's Decent Interval.)

One of the key events that led to a greater American involvement was the decision to oust the leader of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, in 1963. The fact that the Kennedy White House was involved in the coup came to light several years later. Nonetheless, the coup was less than perfect as Diem (along with his brother) were killed a day later.

I'll leave it to professional historians to determine if this helped or hindered what would eventually become a losing proposition -- but it certainly compelled the administration to play a greater role in Vietnamese affairs.

I'm reminded of this event, as reports indicate that President Obama demanded the resignation of Rick Wagoner, the chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors.

Apparently, the White House, thinks it has the smarts to help a failing company the way its predecessors -- forty-five years ago -- thought it could save a failing nation.

Granted, nobody died in this coup, but greater government intervention does seem to be around the corner. I'm not so sure that this generation's best and brightest know what they have gotten themselves into.

UPDATE: Someone beat me to the punch on the Diem comparison.