Mario Cuomo
Jan. 2nd, 2015 01:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penpusherIf 2015 is just going to be a litany of names of people I like who are leaving the planet, I'll just start watching "Back to the Future Part II" on a loop for the rest of the year.
But Mario Cuomo is a name that is crucial and caring, not just in New York politics but also on the national scene. He was a three term governor of New York, yes. And that was important. But he was also a visionary, a forward thinker, a caring politician.
Personally, I think if Cuomo doesn't give the keynote speech he made during the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama doesn't have the impact that he does when he delivered his keynote in 2004. And if that didn't happen, President Obama likely wouldn't have happened. Without that, I really don't know where the United States would be today.
Governor Cuomo had a brilliant way of cutting through the usual red tape that is New York Politics. He could sit down and have a conversation with you. Yes, it might turn into an argument because he was very passionate about his beliefs and what he thought was the right and important thing to do in a situation. But at the end, most of his adversaries still admired him, felt they had their say with him and respected him.
The traits that Mario Cuomo had were his communication skills, and that means listening as well as orating. His persuasive nature and common sense were legendary. And he knew his limitations. He floated the idea of making a run for the White House, and eventually chose against it, remaining in the relative safety of the Empire State. In the end, that was fortunate for New York.
The Cuomo name lives on, as his son, Andrew Cuomo is running things from Albany these days. But Mario Cuomo was, and will continue to be, an inspirational presence in the history of New York politics.
And now, here's that crucial and important Keynote speech from 1984.
RIP Mario Cuomo
But Mario Cuomo is a name that is crucial and caring, not just in New York politics but also on the national scene. He was a three term governor of New York, yes. And that was important. But he was also a visionary, a forward thinker, a caring politician.
Personally, I think if Cuomo doesn't give the keynote speech he made during the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama doesn't have the impact that he does when he delivered his keynote in 2004. And if that didn't happen, President Obama likely wouldn't have happened. Without that, I really don't know where the United States would be today.
Governor Cuomo had a brilliant way of cutting through the usual red tape that is New York Politics. He could sit down and have a conversation with you. Yes, it might turn into an argument because he was very passionate about his beliefs and what he thought was the right and important thing to do in a situation. But at the end, most of his adversaries still admired him, felt they had their say with him and respected him.
The traits that Mario Cuomo had were his communication skills, and that means listening as well as orating. His persuasive nature and common sense were legendary. And he knew his limitations. He floated the idea of making a run for the White House, and eventually chose against it, remaining in the relative safety of the Empire State. In the end, that was fortunate for New York.
The Cuomo name lives on, as his son, Andrew Cuomo is running things from Albany these days. But Mario Cuomo was, and will continue to be, an inspirational presence in the history of New York politics.
And now, here's that crucial and important Keynote speech from 1984.
RIP Mario Cuomo