CLINTON, BILL. (b.1946). Forty-second president of the United States. TLS. (“Bill”). 1p. 8vo. White House, September 8, 1993. On White House stationery bearing the blind-embossed seal of the United States. To New York Senator DANIEL PATRICK “PAT” MOYNIHAN (1927-2003).

“Thank you very much for your recent support of Dr. Joycelyn Elders. Your vote in favor of her nomination is an indication of your commitment to improving public health for all Americans. Your leadership and vision in this area will ensure that the public health problems confronting our nation are fully addressed. Once again, thank you for your support. I look forward to continue working with you to bring about the best possible solutions for our country...”

Clinton, a former Arkansas governor, became the country’s youngest president since JFK upon his 1993 election, and his re-election made him the first Democrat since FDR to serve a full second term. Clinton’s 8-year tenure marked the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in America’s post-war history, and he left office with the highest approval rating of any president in the second half of the 20th century, even though a series of sex scandals overshadowed his accomplishments, (“Presidents and Prosperity,” Forbes). His 1998 impeachment by the House was only the third time in American history that a president had been impeached (Andrew Johnson and Donald Trump being the other two). The Senate acquitted all three presidents.

Despite his Democratic affiliations, Moynihan began his political career as Republican President Nixon’s counselor on urban affairs. In 1977, he was elected to the Senate, representing New York from 1977 to 2001. A hallmark of his long and impressive senatorial career was his ongoing interest in American poverty and the problem of welfare dependency. In the early days of his first term, Clinton had already started work on key campaign promises including health care reform, which fell under Moynihan’s jurisdiction as the newly elected chairman of the Finance Committee. Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act into law with Moynihan’s approval as they tackled the thorny issue of welfare reform, a matter of special interest to Moynihan, which he felt was more important than overhauling health care. Although Moynihan and the Clinton White House did not always see eye-to-eye, upon leaving his senate seat in 2001, Moynihan endorsed former First Lady Hillary Clinton who was elected to fill it.

Our letter was penned the day Jocelyn Elders (b. 1933), a pediatric endocrinologist and professor at the University of Arkansas Medical Center, was confirmed as U. S. Surgeon General, the first African American woman to hold that position. However, Elders’ views on drug legalization, distribution of contraceptives in schools and the importance of comprehensive sex education prompted Clinton to request her resignation 15 months later.

Unfolded and in mint condition.