Chapter 10, Things Go Wrong Summary and Analysis

As Johnson's Great Society programs began to be implemented, huge numbers of government employees were involved. It became impossible for Johnson to monitor and evaluate all of this. Further, he made it clear that he wanted no "bad news" from those who compiled the data and presented progress reports. His response was always the same—present a good report to Congress and try to fix the problems from within. In retrospect, many claim that the president could have established the structures to oversee improvement and attack problems within the departments and agencies; however, by that time he was mired in Vietnam and obsessed with personally controlling every aspect of the war. Bureaucrats got sloppier, money was wasted, and programs faltered.

The "house of cards" began to tumble for economic reasons. In 1964, Johnson had successfully...