Moynihan: Farewell To A Legend

Daniel Patrick Moynihan left the Senate two years ago, but an era came to end in Washington Wednesday as the woman he successfully promoted as his replacement on Capitol Hill announced his death.

"We have lost a great American, an extraordinary senator, an intellectual and a man of passion and understanding for what really makes the country work," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking on the floor of the Senate. "There isn't any way that anyone will ever fill his place in this Senate... in the intellectual power, the passion, the love of this extraordinary body and our country. He will be so missed."

Moynihan died at the age of 76, after several months of health problems, the most recent an infection contracted after an appendectomy on March 11 at the Washington Hospital Center.

In life, he was a legendary figure, and particularly in his later years it was hard not to feel the pull of history as one stood in his presence.

"In many respects, Pat Moynihan was larger than life, whether on the streets of New York or the corridors of this chamber," said the Senate's top Democrat, Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

"He was a prophet, with a heart as big as his mind, and his greatness of intellect and spirit infused every cause he undertook. I am especially grateful for his many contributions to the work of my presidency," said former President Bill Clinton.

Moynihan was a loyal Democrat, but his reputation and life's work often transcended traditional labels such as "liberal" and "conservative" and that was evident as the sad news spread across Washington.

"Sen. Moynihan was an intellectual pioneer and a trusted adviser to presidents of both parties," said President Bush, who was among the Oval office occupants who counted on Moynihan for expert opinions. "He committed his life to service and will be sorely missed."

Eulogies poured in from other Republicans as well, especially in the former Senator's hometown.

"Daniel Patrick Moynihan left his mark on public policy ranging from international diplomacy to the fight against poverty," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "He also reminded us that part of what makes us New Yorkers is our ability to dream of big projects and then carry them out."

"In establishing himself as one of our nation's most eloquent voices in the quest for a more civil society, Sen. Moynihan was the very example of what a statesman should be," said Republican stalwart and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Al D'Amato, who was the GOP Senator from New York at the same time as Moynihan, said over the years, his Democratic colleague "became a trusted confidante and friend. We complemented each other and I was proud to be able to get his advice and companionship."

A scholar as well as a politician, Moynihan might well have been at home in the first Congress, which forged the nation. He would have accepted the intellectual challenge of serving a nation divided, during the Civil War.

But he thrived during the last quarter of the 20th Century, tackling the tough issues of his day: welfare, civil rights and Social Security among them.

Among his colleagues, he was known for his great mind just as much as his bow ties and tweeds and most especially, being a man who often had his own take on things.

While serving in the Senate, Moynihan decorated his office with two framed magazine front pages. One, from a 1979 issue of The Nation, was headlined "Moynihan: The conscience of a neo-conservative." The other was a 1981 issue of The New Republic, headlined "Pat Moynihan, neo-liberal."

"He could have served at any stage of the nation's history," said the dean of the Senate, Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Byrd treasured Moynihan's words "as if they were etched in stone."

Moynihan, who spoke in staccato sentences, was sometimes unpredictable.

His 1965 report on the breakdown of the black family led to protests from civil rights leaders. Later, his findings gained wider acceptance in the black community.

An expert on urban affairs, he went to work for Richard Nixon in the White House, where he was surrounded by stiff-lipped conservatives.

"They got a kick out of him," said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution scholar who served with Moynihan and remained his friend. "Nixon would pass around memos Moynihan sent him."

One of those memos made Moynihan infamous. "The issue of race," he wrote, "could benefit from a period of benign neglect." Moynihan later explained that he hadn't meant that blacks merited neglect, but rather, that conservative tactics were playing into the hands of black radicals.

"It killed me," Moynihan once said. "It won't ever be forgiven."

Hess called Moynihan a rare breed. "There were other intellectuals in elective politics, but once they became politicians they stopped doing serious intellectual writing," Hess said. Moynihan wrote 19 books and countless articles.

His interests were so varied. Welfare reform. The highway system. Foreign affairs. The beautification of America's Main Street, Pennsylvania Avenue. Creation of the presidential Medal of Freedom.

He served as ambassador to India and the United Nations. He was co-chairman of President George W. Bush's Commission to Strengthen Social Security.

He was the first Senate Democrat to say a special prosecutor should look into President Clinton's Whitewater dealings and was critical of the Democratic president during impeachment proceedings. In the end, he voted against removing President Clinton from office.

Byrd, who often speaks of the grandeur of the Senate, said Moynihan "could well have been in that first Congress when the Senate and House were blazing paths and the Senate was creating the federal court system. He could well have served in the Constitutional Convention. He would have been proud to sign his name with Alexander Hamilton. We have lost one of the great thinkers of the Republic."

Hess said his friend was one of the five greatest senators of the 20th century.

"He was ahead of the curve on a lot of important issues," Hess said. "He created a sense of civility in a body that was starting to need it."