Saturday, February 10,

US Ready to Elect Italian American President?

The ANNOTICO Report

 

The Real Question is : Is US Ready to Elect Someone "Connected" to Mafia?

 

And since 84% of all Americans believe that ALL Italian Americans are "connected" to the Mafia,

(that is directly or by relatives or friends), that seems like a tough road to hoe.

 

Cuomo was rumored to be unwilling to be "smeared" in considering a presidential bid.

 

Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 as a VP candidate with Mondale, was plagued by unfair rumors about some of her husbands associates.

 

Rudy Giuliani, with a strong reputation as a prosecutor, and a popular hero of 9/11, still had to endure  the Village Voice, digging deep and revealed that Giuliani's father spent 16 months in Sing Sing for robbing a milkman. It isn't clear whether or not Giuliani knew about his father's crime, which happened before he was born. In the USA Network movie version, Woods-as-Giuliani is shocked by the news about his father, and calls Barrett, the editor,  a "panty-sniffer."

 

Ready to elect Italian American?

The Journal

Martinsburg Journal - Martinsburg,WV,USA

John McVey
Saturday, February 10, 2007


Everyone is asking if Americans are ready to elect a woman president or a black president. I wonder if Americans are ready to elect a president whose name ends in a vowel.

Remember Mario Cuomo? The very popular governor of New York was the Democrats golden boy back in the 1980s. His name was on everyones lips after he gave a rousing keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

But he never sought the Democratic nomination. Why not? He probably could have won the nomination. Well never know if he could have been elected president. He would have gone up against Ronald Reagan or George H. Bush.

Maybe Cuomo didnt want to challenge such a popular president in Reagan, who had defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and annihilated Walter Mondale in 1984.

George H. Bush easily defeated Michael Dukakis in 1988, carried to victory at least in part because of Reagans overwhelming popularity. If Reagan could have run for a third term, I think he probably could have been elected.

By the way, the first Bush was the first sitting vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1833 and was only the fourth sitting vice president to be elected president. In addition to Van Buren, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the only other sitting vice presidents elected president.

When it came time for Bush to run for a second term, he was coming off the resounding defeat of Saddam Hussein in the first Iraq war. His approval ratings were among the highest ever recorded. No Democrat wanted to take him on, except some little known guy from Arkansas.

By the time the election rolled around in 1992, Bushs ratings had plummeted to some of the lowest points ever recorded. He was perceived as not being able to relate to ordinary folks. You might recall the grocery store checkout fiasco where it seemed like Bush had never been to a grocery story before.

Could Cuomo have beaten Bush in 1992? Maybe.

Running for his fourth consecutive term as governor of New York, Cuomo was swept out of power and the national limelight in the 1994 Republican revolution led by Newt Gingrich and his contract on ... I mean with America.

Also, 1994 saw the final nail in the coffin of the classic liberal wing of the Democrat Party of which Cuomo was a member in good standing. By then, he was out of step with mainstream America; his time had come and gone.

Did his Italian American heritage play any role in Cuomos decision not to run for president? Did he feel that Americans were not ready at that time to elect an Italian American president and he didnt want to run and lose? It was the subject of political punditry at that time.

So, 14 years later, could Americans be ready to elect someone whose name ends in a vowel like Rudy Giuliani?

Just by running for the nomination, the former New York mayor and hero of 9/11 will be the first Italian American to run for president or any kind of American other than someone of northern European descent. Geraldine Ferraro, Mondales running mate in 1984, was the first Italian American and the first woman to run for national office on a major party ticket.

Are we ready to elect a Hillary or a Giuliani? How about a Garcia or Yamaguchi or Kowalski? Or will we feel more comfortable with the Anglo-Saxon Edwards or Scottish McCain?

Of course, Barack Obama just blows this whole hypothesis all to heck.

 

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