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Article: Daniel Patrick Moynihan.(Obituary)(Biography)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- March 29, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Daniel Patrick Moynihan, politician and polymath, died on March 26th, aged 76
A POLYMATH in a profession of intellectual pygmies; a free thinker in a world of crushing orthodoxies; and a cheerful imbiber in a country that has turned, once again, to Puritanism--Daniel Patrick Moynihan really was one of the most remarkable American politicians of his generation.
There was something of the Oxford don about him. Visitors to his rooms in the Senate were greeted by a glass of dry sherry (Tio Pepe was his preferred brand) and a lengthy tutorial. A discussion of Social Security reform would inevitably include learned digressions on the Victorian poor laws. Mr ...