I'm more than a little tired of hearing how "complicated" guys like Moynihan and Nixon are. Coupla rank, separated-at-birth opportunists as far as I'm concerned -- it's just that donnish Pat has more affectations that Nixon, so everyone think's he's a class act.
No class, but plenty of act is my take on Daniel Patrick Moynihan . See, for instance, Jacob Heilbrunn's "The Moynihan Enigna" (American Prospect, July-Aug, '97):
"... like his hero Woodrow Wilson, who went from Princeton intellectual to politician, Moynihan seems doomed to disappoint his most ardent admirers. ... his impatience with compromise, his love of the soapbox, and his disdain for lesser intellects has caused him to come up short as a senator again and again, even on his own cherished issues. Edward Kennedy, from the left edge of the Senate, can boast far more legislative accomplishments. ... [For example,] if Moynihan failed to play a key role on health care [reform], his passivity on the welfare reform bill is even more puzzling."
I do agree with you that "Moynihan has made much more noise ... than anyone else in the senate."
Carl Remick