Politics At Last: A No-Go From Mario

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At the end, the decision was Cuomo's alone. After working with the Governor for four hours last Friday morning, Cuomo's top assistant, Andrew Zambelli, told a colleague, "You'd think that I, as the chief of staff, would know if the Governor were going to run for President. But you'd be wrong." A few days before, Cuomo's political advisers, sticklers for order and slaves to planning, had connived to convince their man that they, at least, had to know his plans 36 hours before the 5 p.m. New Hampshire primary filing deadline. Their ace, they thought, was Cuomo's personal frugality. Chartering a press plane to accompany the Governor for the symbolic trip to New Hampshire's capital costs real money. Why part with the cash if Cuomo was going to say no? But Cuomo was unmoved. "It's only money," said the Governor uncharacteristically, "and timing is everything. It would be silly to make a decision before you have to." At a loss for guidance, the advisers prudently got the plane.

What might have been? Using his words as fists, Cuomo offered a brief foretaste several days before he bowed out. Calling Bush's economic prescriptions a "fraud" and a "phony," the Governor stared straight into a television camera and challenged the President: "You want to talk about what you call the 'New York nightmare,' " said Cuomo. "I'll meet you anytime, anyplace. You can have all the memos and all the aides with you that you want. I'll come alone without a note."

The same combative spirit and sense of command was evident during the question period following Cuomo's somber announcement of noncandidacy. In a spellbinding, extemporaneous critique that spared no one, Republican or Democrat, Cuomo began softly, "Especially this year, the message is ((most)) important . . . But it must be a responsible, complete, persuasive one. You can't and shouldn't win with a slogan. You're going to have to earn the presidency . . . with plans that are real. I don't believe we've done that yet.

"It's easy to criticize," Cuomo continued, warming to his indictment. "You want the criticism, I'll give it to you in one line: 'Is your life better today than it was four years ago?' The answer is so dramatically clear that the contest is over. But you shouldn't win because he loses. You should win because you're right. You need specific answers, not sweet speeches. You need to say how you're going to put ((people)) to work, and the hard part, how you're going to pay for it. What we need is a dose of plain truth."

What now? Cuomo's fans see none of the six major candidates emerging decisively. They hope for a fractured result and dream of a second season, when Cuomo enters late or is drafted at the July convention in New York City. "It doesn't work that way," says Cuomo, being more truthful than modest. Well, what about 1996, when Cuomo, who is now 59, will still be six years younger than Ronald Reagan was on Inauguration Day 1981? In politics, says Cuomo, 1996 "is an eon away, perhaps an eon and a quarter." Of course, it is really only four years away, and unless Bush or his successor gets a grip on the nation's problems, well, who knows?

Meanwhile the race for the Democratic nomination is now truly wide open.