I have a new fascination that is taking my mind off the chaos that the Coronavirus has brought to our world. This is not related to ultra running, Ironman or hiking in New Hampshire. I’m turning my attention, for a while anyway, to the acting president of the United States: Andrew Cuomo because watching his press conferences seriously makes me happy.
I accidentally started watching the Andrew Cuomo press conferences on Thursday. Or watched parts of it. As I listened, half watching and half working from my sofa, he made so much sense. He talked statistics and used graphs that I understood. He was inspiring, comforting and I couldn’t take my eyes of him – this almost never happens to me when watching the news.
Friday I watched more and then I started Googling: Who is this Andrew Cuomo? I’ve never even heard of him.
I lived in New York State from age 3 to 12. I remember hearing about Mario Cuomo, maybe, once I moved to New Hampshire but I was young. Living in New England as an adult and later moving out west I didn’t hear much about New York or even really cared about what happened there – I was a mountain girl. And not into politics.
But now I’m bit obsessed about learning about Andrew Cuomo. I’ve read articles about how he becoming very popular lately with his press conferences. I learn that he is bold and brash, a bit of a bully – characteristics I typically don’t like like in people or my politicians. I like people who calls it like they see, are intelligent and understands how things really work. Politics aside, I really like him.
Then I read this story by Maureen Down, Let’s ‘Kick Coronavirus’s Ass’. I’ve read the entire piece online six times now and bought the Sunday New York Times so I have it in hard copy, too. I have clicked on all the links within the story to learn more about Cuomo.
Dowd writes, “Often in the past, when people called Cuomo patriarchal, it was not meant as a compliment. It was a way to describe his maniacally controlling behavior, his dark zeal to muscle past people and obstacles to get his way.”
She writes, “To the surprise of many who did not associate the name “Andrew Cuomo” with the word “empathy,” the governor has become a sort of national shrink, talking us through our fear, our loss and our growing stir-craziness.”
She detailed his history, family, kids, political fights and I began to learn about Cuomo. She added a link to Rebecca Fishbein’s story about how Fishbein thinks she is falling in love with him.
I really liked Fishbein’s story and feel the same except that I’m not trapped in New York, but nonetheless I am being trapped, like we all are right now with this virus.
Like her, I see next week looking a lot like this:
“my day’s two bright spots: 1) My afternoon run, and 2) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily streamed press conference.”
Cuomo just makes me feel better.
I liked Fishbein’s honesty in that she’s not really a fan of Cuomo and detailed her disappointments with his decisions as governor such as not legalizing marijuana and not enacting bail reform. Despite it all, she watches his press conferences and is happier: “comforted”
My favorite line: “And yet, in this time of crisis, with little concrete information available, I need Cuomo’s measured bullying, his love of circumventing the federal government, his sparring with increasingly incompetent city leadership.”
And then Cuomo called her about her story:
Another link from Dowd’s story is an article written by Ben Smith, Andrew Cuomo Is the Control Freak We Need Right Now is excellent, too. I’ve read it at least three times and clicked (and read) on all the links to other stories.
Hmmm. Cuomo doesn’t seem all the endearing after reading Smith’s article. He writes, “Mr. Cuomo has governed New York for more than nine years without inspiring much love. He wins elections by grinding opponents into dust before they can make it to the ballot box. He governs by transaction, not inspiration, as a dispenser of favors and destroyer of insurgents’ dreams, the purest master of the machine since Lyndon Johnson in his prime.”
Smith explained why we love Cuomo so much now: “Mr. Cuomo holds news conferences filled with facts and (accurate) numbers almost every day. He explains systems and challenges and decision-making with a command that Mr. Trump lacks. He even models social distancing by having speakers stay six feet apart from one another.”
Today’s conference that started at noon was a good one. Cuomo stated the facts, inspired New Yorkers and quoted Roosevelt. Then there were questions and that is when I could see the politician, the man the Maureen Dowd talked about in her story as he answered questions.
However, when his powerpoint is displayed on my TV and he speaks I just feel better.
I think he’s very interesting and I want to learn more about him. He makes me love New York and New Yorker’s because they are a tough bunch. I definitely think he should run for president.
