Who was the worst Secretary of Defense?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Rumsfeld.

For all his flaws, McNamara was an able administrator at DoD, and his accomplishments in program consolidation and cost reduction deserve respect.

On the other hand, Rumsfeld's commitment to missile defense and an "agile military" were both abject failures.

Exactly.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

People forget Rumsfeld's first tour as SecDef in the 1970s, which was a great success.  People also forget the importance of Rumsfeld's base realignment, moving us away from a focus on Europe.

And Supersoulty is right about McNamara in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In my view, neither of these guys is the worst SecDef ever.  I'd say the worst SexDef ever was Les Aspin.

Exactly.  I don't think Aspin was the worst, but Rumsfeld and McNamara both had their moments during their tenures.