It’s sure a drag to find out that your heroes have feet of clay, but that is part and parcel of politics, God knows. The last shock I experienced like the Andrew Cuomo debacle was when the Daily Beast did its expose on Michael Avenatti, showing him up to be the crook and con man that he was. Up until that point I liked the man. What was not to like? If you bought his version of the facts, he was well educated, valedictorian of his law school class, worked for Rahm Emanuel, was a mega successful lawyer and he sure knew how to kick Donald Trump’s butt. He was the darling of the left. And then it all went to his head, he flew too close to the sun, decided to run for president, and the inevitable vetting process began — as it will for one and all — and he couldn’t stand up to the scrutiny. The lavish spending and unpaid bills pegged him as a Bond villain far more than as a steward of the public trust. One thing led to another, and the attempted extortion of Nike blew up in his face, and off to the house of many doors he went.

Andrew Cuomo isn’t in the same league — so far as we know at this time — but he is falling from grace in much the same fashion, precipitously and inexorably. The latest shockeroo in Cuomo’s sex scandal is the appearance of yet a third woman and she’s got photographic documentation. Ouch.

The resemblance to Avenatti is considerable. People fell in love with his COVID briefings — they became “Cuomo-sexuals.” Is that too cute, or what? Charlie Sykes, the Bulwark:

Maybe we should call it the Avenatti Syndrome.

We saw the phenomena of bogus celebrity play out again and again — Omarosa, Michael Wolff, Michael Cohen,the Mooch… and Andrew Cuomo, the lionized, celebrated, gushed-over New York governor who now finds himself in the meltdown stage of multiple scandals.

We should have seen it coming, but we were too busy looking the other way, because Cuomo was the nation’s bright shining hope. And he was Not Trump.

As Alex Shephard wrote earlier this month, “The media needed a Covid hero, and Cuomo fit the bill.”

In contrast to Trump, his news conferences were clear, personal, and respectful of scientific opinion. He acknowledged the severity of the situation. He did not tell people to drink bleach. He was, most importantly, something Andrew Cuomo has almost never been throughout his political career: relatable.

In effect, Cuomo’s blunders and deception sheltered under the umbrella of Trump’s incompetence and malignancy.

**

How cringeworthy was the Cuomo-mania?

While New York continued to rack up a horrific death count, media coverage quickly went far north of merely gushing. “How Coronavirus Made Andrew Cuomo America’s Governor,” US News proclaimed. “Andrew Cuomo, social media superstar,” declared Politico. There was presidential buzz as #PresidentCuomo trended.

The New York Post ran a story about Cuomo’s . . . sexiness. Andrew Cuomo’s nipples take our minds off coronavirus.”

“Help,” wrote a contributor to the feminist website Jezebel, “I Think I’m In Love With Andrew Cuomo???”

The New York Daily News reported: “Heartbroken ‘Cuomosexuals’ lament loss of daily coronavirus briefings.”

Cuomo himself wrote a book lauding his leadership skills. Entertainment Weekly swooned: “The hero that America never realized it needed until he was on our television screens every night . . . has taken his talents to the page.”

He was awarded an International Emmy for his ‘Masterful’ COVID-19 Briefings. “People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back.”

More politics in the age of television. We respond to form, not substance in this day and age. We so want to believe that what we see on the small screen is what it really is. And once again, we find out the dark doings that take place when the camera’s not there.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. I am sorry, but that picture is not incriminating in any way. Read what you want, but he could be saying ” don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re an intelligent, hard working young lady and you are pretty to boot” who knows?? Looks like the way old people do things.

    • I suppose the look on her face (and his, which kind of reminds me of a variation of Trump standing next to Epstein leering) can be interpreted differently. To me she looks uncomfortable. As a guy I’ll say this. I’ve never in my life placed my hands on a woman’s head, cradling her face in that manner unless I was romantically involved with her and wanting to have an intimate kiss. Btw, we can only see her right arm but it sure seems like she’s got her hand in a position to push him in the chest to maintain distance between them. I suggest you go back and take another look at the body language. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we learn the person who took the pic is on record (or wiling to do so) saying she was told what was going on (as in what Cuomo said) during the moment that snapshot was taken.

      Like another commenter, I’ve long had mixed feelings about both this Cuomo and his dad. I recall Mario’s pubic agonizing over whether to run for President. It seemed to me like he was trying to foment a “draft Cuomo” movement to scare away all challengers and breeze through the primaries with no scrutiny. Of course, he was no idiot and knew full well that Lee Atwater and others would pounce on him, but if there was any “there” there that the GOP attack machine would wait until well after Labor Day to strike! In any case, Cuomo has made a lot of enemies over the years including from within his own Party. So, for the good of not just Democrats in NY state but nationally he needs to step aside. New York is a blue state and if he does so right away there will be time to repair any damage to the Democratic Party there. If he refuses and digs in the costs will be significant, if not at the Presidential level then every race down ballot and the legislature there is too close for comfort.

  2. What is it with New York public figures this century? They make a name for themselves, they get a big head and then they get exposed, disgraced and crashing back to Earth. By rights, it should be called “Giuliani Syndrome”.

  3. Oh well…What a difference a day and 3 accusers make. I always said he was a liar just like treasonoustrump. I NEVER voted for Andrew Cuomo and also disliked his father Mario as governor. BOTH are/ were VERY racist and insensitive to POC in NYC and statewide. I am an African American life long NYer and I have voted in EVERY election for the last 45 years. I am glad to see this predator finally get what due him- to go up in flames!!! He needs to RESIGN- NOW!!!

  4. No. Cuomo should NOT resign. And any GOPer or “conservative” who supported Trump through the DOZENS of women who accused him of all kinds of unwanted sexual advances and contacts (not to mention Trump’s own bragging about where he could grab women) or the “good” folks who backed Fratboy Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court appointment in the face of the women who came forward accusing him of unwanted sexual advances (and, in at least one prominent case, sexual assault), I dare them to explain why Cuomo should resign based on *three* accusers.

    That “accusing” photo doesn’t seem all that accusatory to me. The woman looks like she’s SMILING. And not a *forced* smile (like the ones so many kids learn when they have to interact with grown-ups they don’t want to). She seems pretty content and pleased.

    Cuomo has already done far more than Trump ever did with regards to the accusations: He’s asked his Attorney General to investigate the allegations. There’s been nothing from him or his camp about “paying off” the accusers to make them “go away” much less send his state’s “top cop” to harass the accusers or sue them for defamation–typical Trumpian moves in similar circumstances.

    And, whatever happens, we do NOT need another Al Franken situation.

    Again–when we see GOPers facing these kinds of accusations and being pressed to resign, then I’ll accept it of Democratic politicians. Until then, OUR side needs to quit all this holier-than-thou crap because it does our side NO GOOD AT ALL.

    • You started with the the kernel of of a decent point, that Democrats hold each other to higher standards than Republicans. Then you ruined it by over-speculating on the significance of the photograph.

  5. One of the many reasons Tara Reade could not build credibility is because there is never only one woman. There may be a first woman to step forward, and it may take quite a while for subsequent women, but there are always others. To this day, Reade is the only one.

  6. “He did not tell people to drink bleach.”
    Wow, with a bar that low, you’d need to be a world-class Limbo champion to get UNDER it.

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