Moynihan, Senate’s Eloquent Intellectual, Plans to Retire at End of Term

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), the epitome of the philosopher-politician and one of the leading scholars of the U.S. Senate, announced Friday that he would not seek reelection when his term is up in two years.

“I surely will miss it, but there are other things to do in life, and there comes a time,” the 71-year-old Moynihan said.

With his white shock of hair, sharp turn of phrase and strong political radar for issues, Moynihan served as an advisor to four presidents before being elected to the Senate in 1976, where he is the top Democrat on the Finance Committee.

He was the first senator facing reelection in two years to announce his retirement.

It was not entirely unexpected. Friends said that Moynihan was not thrilled at the prospect of raising vast amounts of money for another Senate race and was looking forward to teaching again.

Moynihan went from a childhood on the mean streets of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, where his mother ran a bar on 42nd Street; to Harvard, where he was a professor; to the United Nations, where he served as an outspoken U.S. ambassador. President Nixon named him ambassador to India in 1973.

“He’s a giant,” said Rep. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who defeated Republican Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato in Tuesday’s Senate race. “He’s had a great career. You also have to know when it’s time. As usual, his timing was perfect.”

Despite their differences in style and philosophy, Moynihan and D’Amato had more than a cordial working relationship. Each allowed the other to play to their strengths.

If D’Amato was known as “Sen. Pothole” for his strong constituency politics that stressed grass-roots service to New Yorkers, Moynihan was the master of broader intellectual issues.

“The world moves on,” Moynihan said when he was asked about D’Amato’s defeat and his own decision to leave politics.

During the recent Senate race, he campaigned for Schumer but did not go out of his way to attack his longtime Republican colleague.

“He stayed away from local politics. He had the perfect relationship with D’Amato,” said David Garth, a veteran New York political consultant. “He was above the fray. He was lofty in every way.”

Moynihan, who as written 18 books, served as a key Labor Department official in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and has been no stranger to controversy.

In the 1960s, he became a lightning rod when he wrote that “benign neglect” was preferable to a policy of failed welfare programs. Some opponents called him a racist. In 1965, he warned that single-parent families could worsen the plight of inner-city neighborhoods.

In September, Moynihan published “Secrecy: The American Experience,” examining the fabric of secrets after the Cold War in government. His first book in 1963, “Beyond the Melting Pot,” looked at the rich tapestry of ethnic groups and politics in New York City.

From 1955 to 1958, Moynihan was an advisor to New York’s Democratic Gov. Averell Harriman.

At times, Moynihan clashed with President Clinton. In 1993, he opposed the White House in its backing of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

An orator with an ego who wove history and philosophy into many of his Senate speeches, Moynihan was somewhat disenchanted with his role as a minority lawmaker after Republicans took control of the Senate in 1994.

After the last election, in which he won easily with 55% of the vote, Moynihan and his wife, Elizabeth, decided he would remain in Washington for one more term.

The announcement of his retirement is expected to set off a political scramble in New York state.

Among Democrats, state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, the first black elected to statewide office in New York, U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are considered potential contenders.

New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani heads a list of possible GOP candidates that also includes Reps. Rick Lazio of Long Island and Nita M. Lowey of Westchester County.

“There will be two years of great maneuvering. It will be a growth industry for pollsters, pundits and political consultants,” said Mitchell Moss, director of the Taub Urban Research Center at New York University.