Character Analysis
Admiral Harry Morrow is Commander, Starfleet. That means he's the brass, the top dog, the head honcho, the—whoops, we lost our place in our thesaurus. Basically, he's the guy in charge.
Morrow's characterization is that of the politician, playing the political game and basing his decisions on what's popular at the time rather than what is right for the people involved. When Genesis becomes a galactic controversy, Morrow orders the crew of the Enterprise to shut it and bribes them with some vacation time.
And that might have been the end of it…had Kirk not buried his dead, not-dead friend on the planet.
Later, when Kirk asks to borrow the Enterprise and return to Genesis again, Morrow doubles down:
MORROW: No. Absolutely not, Jim. You're my best officer, but I am Commander of Starfleet, so I don't break rules.
KIRK: Don't quote rules to me. I'm talking about loyalty and sacrifice. One man who's died for us, another with deep emotional problems.
MORROW: Now wait a minute. This business about Spock and McCoy, honestly, I never understood Vulcan mysticism.
KIRK: You don't have to believe, I'm not even sure that I believe, but if there's even a chance that Spock has an eternal soul, then it's my responsibility.
MORROW: Yours?
And this exchange lays it bare for the audience. Kirk's actions originate from a sense of loyalty and wanting to do right by two friends who are suffering. But Morrow doesn't see the individuals and their suffering—despite the fact that they are suffering because of their service to Starfleet.
Morrow only sees the actions that fall within regulation and the political playbook as evident by the way he asks "Yours?" at the end. Clearly responsibility for his fellow officers never even occurred to him. His responsibility is to the system as a whole.
We don't see Morrow much after this scene, so we don't know what happens to him or whether he learned his lesson. All we can say is that our time with Morrow has taught us one thing: a man who orders beers with straws is not someone you can trust to have your back.