Cuomo lectures on future of American policy

The title of Mario Cuomo's lecture was a question in itself: "Quo Vadis America?" Cuomo translated this as, "Where is America today, and where is it headed?" Not very far without the right decisions was the answer, according to the former governor of New York.

Cuomo was critical of many of the Bush administration's decisions, in the Wilson School sponsored event Thursday night.

He lamented Bush's tax cuts, the federal budget deficit, the lack of universal health care and the persistence of poverty among the major issues still confronting the wealthiest nation on earth.

"In a lifetime we have made the surreal commonplace," Cuomo said, and yet "we have not yet become as civil or fair."

Cuomo expressed concern over the growing gap between rich and poor, the widespread job and income losses and the rising cost of healthcare in America. Those costs, Cuomo said, leave more than 43 million Americans ineligible for medical insurance.

In a country that is arguably the greatest superpower of all time, Cuomo said, children at risk in urban ghettos are "familiar with the sound of gunfire before they ever heard an orchestra play."

Cuomo urged the federal goverment to provide more money for the poor by giving back to state and local governments.

Cuomo warned that the free market isn't perfect and that we shoul not "confuse the good economy with the good society."

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Pointing to Adam Smith as evidence, he reminded his audience that the great economist wrote the "Theory of Moral Sentiments" before he began his now-famous economic treatise, "Wealth of Nations."

"The ability to increase our welfare and strength depend on how we can reconcile our instinct for individualism," Cuomo said.

He also looked ahead to the challenges facing the nation in Iraq and the Middle East.

"How do you become a liberator?" he asked. "Make them truly free," he said, by forgiving foreign debt and working with the rest of the world to build a sound democratic structure.

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Cuomo's version of a "roadmap" for the Middle East included a free market for the Arab world, and the need for "ideas good and sound, instead of ideas that just sound good."

In matters of foreign policy, "democratizing is a better force against terrorism," he said, one in which we must "bring our humanity to bear."

Cuomo also addressed questions regarding the upcoming election and the future of the Democratic party.

Though impressed by the many candidates, he argued that the state of the economy and Iraq would determine the outcome of the election more than the Democrats' choice of a nominee.

"It's Bush against Bush, and Bush is losing," he said.

Above all, he spoke of yearning for "something more" in America's political message, making apparent the need for "interdependency and interconnectedness."

The governor spoke about his own background growing up in the diversity of Jamaica, Queens.

"I didn't understand the Hebrew on Sabbath, or the Latin on Sundays." But "sharing, giving, and living together makes common sense."

Cuomo spoke about realizing our potential through the fundamental values of our nation — family, friendship, and compassion. Working "to complete the world" is a life that everyone should believe in and make the most of, Cuomo said.

Of course, humor is an essential part of that life, as Cuomo demonstrated. When asked by a student whether his contemplative nature had been a hindrance to his political career, Cuomo responded, "I don't know, let me think about it."

Cuomo was elected governor of New York in 1982, 1986 and 1990. He won by the two largest electoral victories in the history of the state, and served the longest term of any contemporary governor.

During his time in public service he balanced twelve consecutive budgets and oversaw the state's largest economic development initiative, which doubled investment and created more than half a million jobs.