R.I.P. Mario Cuomo (June 15, 1932 to January 1, 2015). Arguably the greatest politician of my lifetime who should have run for President but chose not to. The son of poor Italian immigrants, he signed a $2000 contract to play baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, using the money to buy an engagement ring for his wife, Mathilda, to whom he was married for sixty years. When an injury ended his baseball career, he came home and received his B.A. at St. Johns, and then graduated first in his class at St. Johns Law School. He was the Governor of New York from 1983-1994, and his keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention is considered one of the greatest pieces of oratory in American political history, so electrifying that it totally overshadowed Walter Mondales humdrum acceptance speech the following day. Governor Cuomo was the clear front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 1992, and the unofficial leader of the party--its heart, its soul, and its intellect. But he had no interest in running for President because it would have required him to say and do things he didnt believe in, and he was, first and foremost, a man of principles who was incapable of saying anything he didnt mean. And so, sadly, we ended up with Dukakis and Clinton. Bill Clinton wanted him to be his running mate in 1992, but he declined. In 1994, President Clinton wanted to appoint him to the U.S. Supreme Court (Cuomo was a brilliant legal scholar), but again he declined. He was defeated for reelection as Governor in 1994 due to a nationally weak economy and a virulent negative campaign by his opponent, which he refused to respond to in kind. After the defeat of the finest Governor in the states history by New Yorkers who soon came to regret what they had foolishly done, Cuomo retired from politics, authoring many books, the most important of which is _Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever_ (2004). Here is Governor Cuomos entire keynote speech at the 1984 convention (there is an abbreviated version going around, but the whole speech is worth your listening to). It is as relevant today as it was when he delivered it thirty years ago. Let it stand as the epitaph to a truly remarkable man: https://youtube/watch?v=LgIMIEXkcz8&index=1&list=PL383425891D5BF726
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 22:15:54 +0000
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