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03/11/1991 15:51 2126888399 ARTHUR SCHLESINGER R PAGE 01 Schlesun, Bitter THE PRESIDENT HAS SEN 5-395 not 9 & rad, isa Michas ARTHUR SCHLESINGER, JR. 1 May 1995 Dear Mr President: I thank you for your letter of 20 April (which took more than a week to reach New York) and only regret that I should have provoked you into taking the time to write. I don't know whether a letter I faxed to you on the 18th had reached your desk before you wrote. I don't blame you for feeling exasperated. I well remember when I worked in the White House in JFK days how irritated we felt about criticism from the left when we believed we were doing our damnedest to achieve common objectives. I sympathize with the general line of the Richard Rothstein piece (though he is sometimes wrong on historical details). Ken Galbraith and I were not out to organize an anti-administration campaign; we were chatting idly with John Harris and neglected to put passing remarks off the record. I do think it might help if you occasionally called in liberals with experience in government. We often read about White House consultation with the DLC crowd, most of whom have had no executive branch background; but rarely with liberals who have been through the mill. Any time you would like to hear out Ken, Ted Sorensen, Bill vanden Heuvel, Joe Califano and me, you have only to say the word. In the mean- time, as I said in the postscript of my letter of the 18th, our hearts are with you. Ever sincerely yours, Cash The President of the United States Box G40, 33 WEST 42 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036 TEL: 212/642.2060