Synopsis
Excerpts from radio interviews present Cuomo's views on politics, religion, and popular culture
Reviews
Chartock (political science, SUNY-New Paltz) hosted a radio show for 12 years on which he interviewed New York's thenGovernor Mario Cuomo once a week discussing whatever issue on the state and national political scene he or the governor felt was worth pursuing. Quoting extensively from the radio dialogs, Chartock looks at the complexities-and consistencies-in Cuomo's personality and political philosophies. Cuomo should be pleased with this very flattering book, for Chartock portrays the governor as a highly intelligent, insightful, and astute politician; a sensitive, devoted father and husband; and a concerned leader who feels a strong sense of civic responsibility. The governor is also strongly self-critical and always ready to laugh at himself. Cuomo, in his own highly readable and often entertaining book, shows he has been doing a lot more than munching corn chips since he left the governor's mansion. In an impassioned and articulate response to the Republicans' Contract with America, he labels the climate surrounding this Congress the "New Harshness." He characterizes Congressional Republicans as "Running Hard Backwards." And not just 60 years backward to the pre-New Deal days but to the era before the Constitution was framed. Cuomo chides GOP leaders for proposing a system that has been tried and failed-one that champions individualism and state sovereignty. He eloquently explains how the progressive government movements that began in this century and evolved through the New Deal and postwar economic boom succeeded because people worked together to solve problems. While he admits to excesses and failures in the system, he decries the GOP reaction as throwing the baby out with the bath water and advocates compromise and coordinated approaches to solving our problems. Libraries in New York State will want Chartock's volume, while Cuomo's book is recommended for political collections across the country.
Jill Ortner, SILS, SUNY at Buffalo
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
For 12 years, Chartock, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Albany, interviewed then Gov. Mario Cuomo on Chartock's weekly public radio program, The Capitol Connection. The show became extremely popular, more for revealing Cuomo's personality and Chartock's relationship with him than for providing a public affairs service. Chartock does provide a cogent discussion of Cuomo's Albany years for those who are not familiar with Cuomo's background. This book is not an essential acquisition, but where the former governor's philosophy and programs find receptive readers, this blend of radio transcripts and political analysis--including pithy exchanges about baseball as well as about budgets and bond issues--may have appeal. It would certainly complement Cuomo's recently published book, Reason to Believe, reviewed in last issue's Upfront . Mary Carroll
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