"I could have ended the war in a month. I could have made North Vietnam look like a mud puddle"

This quote by Barry Goldwater suggests that he thought he had the power to end the Vietnam War rapidly and decisively. He suggests that he might have utilized military force to quickly beat North Vietnam and lower it to a state of insignificance. Goldwater's statement reflects the mindset of many Americans during the Vietnam War, who believed that the United States had the power to quickly and easily win the war. Nevertheless, the war dragged on for years, and the United States was eventually not able to accomplish a definitive triumph. Goldwater's quote serves as a pointer of the hubris of the American federal government during the Vietnam War, and the failure of the United States to achieve its objectives in the conflict.