Andrew Cuomo uses President Obama's Political Strategy Staff Reporter Rodney Brown After almost a year of broad speculation, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo finally went public to declare his candidacy for governor. Many suspected the day would come but the "fever pitch" was more about- when it would come. With the State of New York in fiscal crisis and colleagues in the Democratic Party including officials in the White House calling for Governor Patterson not to run again, Cuomo suddenly became the democrats' man for the job. It didn't seem coincidental that Cuomo's stump speech to become New York's next governor sounded a lot like the strategy President Obama used during his run for the presidency. Similar to President Obama's Washington, D.C. strategy, Cuomo is running as a outsider, even though he's presently the State's Attorney General and under the Clinton Administration served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and played key roles in his father, Mario Cuomo's-political career as Governor of New York from 1983-1994. Cuomo has decided to run as a Populist which pits him against the "establishment." Very similar to President's Obama's strategy, Cuomo has defined himself as, "the People's Candidate" and has pointed to Wall Street bankers, insurance companies, lobbyists, special interest groups and corruption among government officials in Albany as the problem for the State's fiscal crisis. Cuomo poignantly implied that his campaign is simple: I represent the people of the great State of New York and we want our government back. "Let my opponents play their old style politics with party bosses and endorsement deals. I will run my campaign the way I ran my office for the past three years- I work for you, directly" he said. With that assertion it is fair to say, Cuomo has memorized the script of party bosses in the White House. In a 21 minute video used to launch his candidacy Cuomo implied that, reckless bankers exploited the economy and working families are paying the price. "Now Wall Street get bonuses and taxpayers get the bill," he said. "It's just not right and it's not fair." In addition Cuomo stated, to make matters worse, Manhattan's Wall Street debacle is matched only by Albany's Street debacle. "Our State Government in Albany is disreputable and discredited," he said. During the video, he noted his plan "The New NY Agenda" is based on hard economic realities, a demand for performance, insistence on a clean government and a mobilized citizenry to make it all happen. Another striking similarity to President's Obama's political strategy is Cuomo's campaign slogan. In comparison to President's Obama's signature cliché "Yes We Can," -Cuomo's campaign chant, "I Believe," has the same imbedded inspirational euphoria. Cuomo is also entering the gubernatorial race with a commitment to reach out to opposition parties in a bipartisan manner. "I will reach out to people of all parties and stripes to sign on to my "New NY Agenda," he said. "I will reach out and engage with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We are first New Yorkers and we must act that way." Cuomo was elected to be New York's Attorney General on Nov. 7, 2006. He was born in Queens, NY; attended Fordham University and received his J.D. from Albany Law School. In 2002, Cuomo ran unsuccessfully for the democratic nomination for governor. His running mate was Charles King. During his first gubernatorial run many in the African American community felt betrayed by the Attorney General because he challenged then Democratic Party favorite, State Comptroller H. Carl McCall. McCall is an African American. Cuomo withdrew from the race on the eve of the State Convention. He ended his campaign under the assumption that he could not overcome the many supporters of the favored candidate. According to the latest Marist Poll, the numbers indicates that 2010 is the year for Cuomo. To this date there are three Republicans in the running: Former Congressman Rick Lazio of Long Island, Suffolk County, Executive Steve Levy and Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino. Out of the three Republicans- Lazio is Cuomo's strongest opponent but trails in the polls- 25 percent to 65 percent. "Andrew Cuomo has been a central figure in Albany for thirty years and bears responsibility for the worst four years in the history of New York government," said Lazio. Why should we give him another four?" Cuomo leads Levy by a similar margin and crushes Paladino by more than 50 points. Surprisingly, Governor Patterson has come out early to support Cuomo's run for governor. During Cuomo's video announcement he spoke passionately about his failed run for governor in 2002. He noted that it was a very difficult time for him in his personal life after withdrawing from the race. "My failure left me feeling humiliated in the eyes of the public," said Cuomo. But with out missing a beat Cuomo began sounding like the governorship has been promised to him when he proudly thanked New Yorker's for their compassion and empathy for giving him a second chance. After noticing such a quick transition from sounding emotionally torn to sounding outright energetic and jubilant, I seriously began to contemplate if the Obama camp haven't arrogantly told the attorney general that- the governorship is his or maybe it's just another page out of the Presidents book. |