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Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, second from left, celebrates with his father, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, right, and his mother, Matilda, left, after defeating Republican challenger Rob Astorino at Democratic election headquarters in New York on Nov. 4, 2014.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Kathy Willens, AP)
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Mario Cuomo speaks at the 1992 Democratic National Convention.(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)
While former Gov. Mario Cuomo served three terms as the chief executive of the Empire State, his greatest legacy to national politics may have been his 1984 keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.
The address, known as the "Tale of Two Cities" speech, was a full-throated rebuttal of President Ronald Reagan, who would go on to a landslide victory over the Democratic nominee Walter Mondale.
But in San Francisco that July evening, Cuomo, 82, who died on Thursday, offered what is widely considered one of the finest pieces of political rhetoric in recent memory.
Cuomo's speech came 10 days after Reagan referred to the USA, which wallowed in recession for much of Reagan's first term, as the "shining city on a hill."
"A shining city is perhaps all the president sees from the portico of the White House and the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well," Cuomo responded from San Francisco. "But there's another city; there's another part to the shining city; the part where some people can't pay their mortgages, and most young people can't afford one; where students can't afford the education they need, and middle-class parents watch the dreams they hold for their children evaporate."
USA TODAY
Former N.Y. governor Mario Cuomo dies at 82
The speech cemented his place as a legend in Democratic politics.
"I used to try and model speeches after him and even used to practice his cadence from the '84 Democratic National Convention speech," former New York Gov. David Paterson recalled on Twitter.
Mario Cuomo, the three-term New York governor and father of the current governor Andrew Cuomo, died Thursday at the age of 82. VPC
Two months later, Cuomo delivered another memorable speech at Notre Dame, where he defended his support of abortion rights at the capital of Catholic academia. The speech similarly won praise and was eventually ranked by 100 top American scholars as the 61st best American speech of the 20th century.
"The American people need no course in philosophy or political science or church history to know that God should not be made into a celestial party chairman," Cuomo said.
The governor toyed with the idea of running for president in 1988 and 1992, but didn't take the plunge. His reluctance to seek the highest office, despite his popularity with national Democrats led to him being dubbed "Hamlet on the Hudson." He would run for a fourth term as governor in 1994, but was defeated by Republican George Pataki.
As enduring as his two speeches at the DNC and Notre Dame were, Cuomo will be best remembered for his much repeated dictum about the realities of politics and policy.
"You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose," Cuomo said.
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