American Crisis: Premature or Prescient?
By: Dr. Dion
Tags: Leadership, Andrew Cuomo, Politics, NYC, Coronavirus

Cuomo — or at least his Comms team — made an inexplicable unforced error with the announcement that he would be spending a quiet Thanksgiving dinner with three of his four favorite girls, two of his daughters and his 89-year-old mom, Matilda. There is no doubt that Mom Matilda could have been served safely and socially distantly in one of the several dining rooms of the executive mansion. It’s a bit different than hosting 25 family members in a 2,000 square foot ranch-style house on a tree-lined street upstate.

Andrew Cuomo Flickr

But amid the predictable backlash from NYers who also want to spend Thanksgiving with their favorite girls, Cuomo — or at least his Comms team — announced that the governor would be too busy to dine with Mom Matilda after all and would be working to keep NYers safe on Thanksgiving. This self-inflicted wound amounts to a serious error in judgment from the governor’s communications team, unless of course the “controlling personality” did not allow the professionals to do their jobs. Either way, it pulls Cuomo down from the “high ground” just a bit. The people will only follow you if they perceive that you are practicing whatever it is that you are preaching.

Additionally, Cuomo has taken heat from others with middling to major platforms in the state and across the country. Fox News personality Janice Dean hasn’t let up on Cuomo since her in-laws perished in a NY nursing home in the earliest days of the pandemic. A few former employees — perhaps sensing that the moratorium on Cuomo criticism has been lifted — are painting him as a dispiriting despot who leaves team-Cuomo alums with varying levels of PTSD.

And yes, as the pandemic numbers tick up around NY, those who impatiently waited in the wings back in October are on center stage now calling American Crisis a premature pat-on-the-back; a victory lap after the first stage of a 3-stage race.

Here’s the thing though — it’s not. In fact, American Crisis is anything but. Throughout the pages of the book — Cuomo demonstrates an incredible respect for the Covid-19 virus. Having been at the epicenter of the pandemic in its earliest days, no American leader appreciates the spread, the strength, the savagery of the coronavirus quite like he does. Cuomo knew that fall and winter were coming. He was so concerned about subsequent surges of the virus that he included a 29-page “Blueprint For Going Forward” with every copy of American Crisis. In it, Cuomo transitions from daily briefing heartthrob of suburban housewives to serious and methodical practitioner — laying out the gravity of the virus as well as the game plan for combating it. Cuomo has clearly shown that he appreciates the challenges he faced in the early spring of this year, (“WE WERE AMBUSHED!” he is known to painfully profess when pressed on the impact the virus has had on his state).

Beyond that, Cuomo appreciates the new and evolving challenges he now faces — covid fatigue, the impact of colder weather on high-density residential areas, vaccine distribution with virtually no federal leadership, budget holes you can drive a truck through, and high-profile battles with MAGA NYers, relatively few though they may be.

American Crisis wasn’t a victory lap. If anything, it was a call to arms. The American people are in a war — not with each other, but with an invisible enemy.

Cuomo is a politician; he’s never pretended otherwise. Beyond election results, political success is measured in media hits, photo ops, positive news stories, and yes, even book sales. But Cuomo has been incredibly disciplined in the face of his increased profile and popularity. He refused to let calls for him to run for president or join a future Biden administration gain steam. He has been modest — downright sheepish — about his recent Emmy award. He even promoted his book with restraint. A media interview here or there; a virtual speech or event from time to time. He did not flood the airwaves, though opportunities to do so were certainly there.

The rhetoric around Cuomo doesn’t match the reality. American Crisis was prescient, not premature. NY — and the nation — should be grateful for the leadership coming out of the Empire State. In a season where the federal government has all but quit, someone has to take up the mantle. For millions, Cuomo has become that someone.