The ‘Leadership Lessons’ of Andrew Cuomo: Use Emotional ‘Vulnerability’ to Hide Policy Failure
Via National Review
Asolid majority of New Yorkers approve of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. This is true even though the state has seen more deaths from COVID-19 than any other, and despite the governor’s disastrous handling of outbreaks in the state’s nursing homes.
New York residents in fact do not approve of Cuomo’s management of nursing-home outbreaks, according to polls from May and October; but those same surveys show that around 70 percent of residents approve of the governor’s overall coronavirus response. So, what explains the disconnect?
The number of nursing-home residents who died of COVID-19 in New York is still unknown, because the state’s health department has stonewalled requests (including by National Review) for more exact data. This has not stopped Cuomo from capitalizing on his newfound popularity by releasing a book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Exciting news: Gov Cuomo’s new book American Crisis has debuted on the [New York Times] best seller list at #7,” Cuomo posted on his Twitter account last week. “Let’s learn the lessons of the Spring to be smart in fighting back this virus now. Thank you for reading.”
Cuomo, doing his best Trump impression, coos about his book’s “ratings” mid-pandemic. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter: Cuomo can get away with it because of his popularity. That last fact is key to assessing the true “leadership lessons” conveyed in Cuomo’s book.
Looking at American politics as a kind of television series can help us understand some of the events of the past several years. (As Bruno Maçães noted in a book released just as the pandemic hit the U.S., in this day and age, “democracy may be redefined as the ability to get the show we want.”) The coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. during the term of the first “reality TV star” presidency. In March, with the coronavirus threatening to overrun New York City, there were two leading shows Americans could tune into: the Trump show, or the Cuomo show. The kind of show Trump put on at his coronavirus briefings — making fun of reporters, lashing out at political opponents, dismissing the severity of the pandemic — may have achieved high ratings, but it wasn’t the spectacle Americans needed in the midst of a once-in-a-century crisis.
Not so with the Cuomo show. In the darkest days of March, the governor of New York made the remarkable decision to speak with unflinching honesty about his own feelings as the state geared up for a possible Italy-like disaster. Cuomo’s briefings became events in their own right, with commentators on both sides of the political aisle praising his performance.
Those who genuinely wish to read the book will also be treated to Cuomo’s hokey observations about his family. There are cringe-inducing sentences that could have been crafted by a ghostwriter for Selina Meyer, such as, “I was raised at a kitchen table where my father talked about improving society in the teachings of Matthew 25 and tikkun olam: building community dedicated to doing justice and improving life for all.” While he’s at it, the governor also makes several references to Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, taking care to remind the reader that each of those esteemed presidents also served as governor of New York.
Cuomo has no reason to alter his political strategy for the foreseeable future. During a briefing on October 21, the governor once again acknowledged the magnitude of the pandemic, but this time in relation to its mental-health ramifications.
Voters will in all likelihood reward Cuomo for simply talking about these issues forthrightly. If state residents can forgive the nursing-home issue, they can forgive his more Trump-esque statements on possible future girlfriends or doubting the efficacy of an FDA-approved vaccine. When the available options for New Yorkers are the Cuomo show or the Trump show, it’s clear which program residents will follow. ... Full Article By Zachary Evans @ National Review
Cuomo Deserves No Plaudits for His Handling of Corona Crisis
Facts prove that Cuomo put his state, and yes, the country as a whole, in danger with his last-minute disaster planning
During a press briefing on Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo admitted that closing schools and colleges in his state was a spur-of-the-moment decision based on a health crisis for which he was not prepared. “What we said at a moment of crisis is ‘isolate everyone,’” Cuomo told reporters while seated in front of boxes of medical supplies. “Close the schools, close the colleges, send everyone home, isolate everyone in their home. [It] wasn’t even smart, frankly, to isolate younger people with older people.” It was a stunning confession. Read More