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There's an old saying, "De mortuis nil nisi bonum." But exceptions must be made for public figures, when the good of the Republic requires that we speak the truth.

Senator Moynihan was an extremely intelligent man--absolutely brilliant, in fact--who also knew the difference between good and evil through his Catholic upbringing. He had a remarkable degree of moral and intellectual insight for a United States Senator.

Senator Moynihan was among the first to perceive that the welfare system was destroying black families. He said as much to Lyndon Johnson. Johnson leaned in him in some manner or other--probably blackmail--Moynihan caved, and the War on Poverty went forward like a juggernaut to break up almost ALL the black families in the inner cities, throw them on welfare and into drug dealing, and thus incidentally adding them to the roster of reliable Democrat voters feeding at the public trough.

The same pattern repeated itself again and again. Moynihan had the intelligence to discern the truth, and he had the moral insight to discern right from wrong; but again and again he chose wrong out of political expediency.

The clinton impeachment trial and the gift of his senate seat to Hillary! were only two of the latest incidents in this sad decay of a great man.

Most of the time it could be seen by the dullest eye that Senator Moynihan was drunk. I doubt that his blood alcohol level ever went below 0.1%, even when he woke up in the morning before taking his first drink. I have always assumed that he drank like a fish because he had a bad conscience and was seeking forgetfulness.

Let's hope that he repented in the end before he died. What is certain is that this man of great promise left behind him a legacy of shame. If he had not been a major public figure, we could let sleeping dogs lie. As it is, we have an obligation to speak the truth about his political betrayals, in the faint hope that other politicians may behave better in the future or that voters may learn better sense than to keep voting such failures into office.

Everything you say applies also to his steadfast support of abortion. He knew precisely what he was doing. In fact, he's the only politician I know of who actually discussed his own cynicism about abortion with a reporter. Most pro-abortion Catholic politicians simply attempt to float above their cynicism as though it were a non-issue.

Or, they attempt, like Mario Cuomo, to pretend that their cynicism is actually a sign of a much deeper understanding of the Catholic Faith than that Polish Peasant in Rome has to struggle through life with.

I read an interview with him a good 20 years ago, in which Moynihan made a play on words about it. The old expression for what is now called a "practicing Catholic" was "practical Catholic." That's what the membership requirement for the Knights of Columbus was, for instance. Moynihan made a little joke about those words--"as a 'practical Catholic'" who wants to remain in the Senate, I have to support abortion. I think your guess that his drinking was at least in part a refuge from his conscience is dead on.

The same pattern repeated itself again and again. Moynihan had the intelligence to discern the truth, and he had the moral insight to discern right from wrong; but again and again he chose wrong out of political expediency.
The clinton impeachment trial and the gift of his senate seat to Hillary! were only two of the latest incidents in this sad decay of a great man.

I cannot call Moynihan great precisely because he could discern these things and chose to abandon them.

Most of the time it could be seen by the dullest eye that Senator Moynihan was drunk. I doubt that his blood alcohol level ever went below 0.1%, even when he woke up in the morning before taking his first drink. I have always assumed that he drank like a fish because he had a bad conscience and was seeking forgetfulness.

It never occurred to me, but you are so right. Politicking under the influence is dangerous to our country's health.