MY FAVORITE MARIO CUOMO SPEECH.

MY FAVORITE MARIO CUOMO SPEECH. Governor Mario Cuomo has died, and there have a number of memorial articles which praise his great speeches. His speech which made the greatest impression on me has—understandably—not been mentioned. Understandably, because of its subject matter. He was presenting his budget to the state legislature, and the talk was carried on C Span. We came across it by accident, heard a little of it, and kept listening for over an hour. He was explaining what the budget meant, how it worked, and the priorities that it reflected. A dull subject, perhaps, but he captured and held our interest. I was surprised that I understood it all, at least while he was speaking. I have kept that talk as an example of what an official (or a journalist) could do, but in the almost 40 years since, I have not encountered a speaker who came close to matching him.