On the recordMarch 27, 2003
I am going to make a longer speech about Pat Moynihan, who was a close personal friend. That sounds almost presumptuous to say. He was such a towering intellect and profound political figure, to claim a personal friendship with him seems to be somewhat presumptuous. But he was. Of all that I recall Pat Moynihan said and did, there is one thing that sticks in my mind that seems particularly appropriate on the day after his passing. He once said, and I am paraphrasing but it is close to a quote, about John Kennedy's death: There is no sense in being Irish unless you understand the world is eventually going to break your heart. I want Mrs. Moynihan to understand that there are a lot of us--Irish and non-Irish--who have a broken heart today because of the passing of a man who was truly, truly a giant in 20th-century American politics.
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