Mario M. Cuomo Decides to Run: The Construction of a Political Self

Abstract

This report is based on a hermeneutic, or interpretive investigation of a portion of the diary of Governor Cuomo of New York State, published in 1984, under the title Diaries of Mario M. Cuomo: The Campaign for Governor. The study, which was undertaken as a doctoral dissertation project, analyzed the role of his diary as narrative, in giving form and substance to Cuomo's inner and political selves. It investigated two propositions: (a) that narrative was used to create a convincing, even compelling political self that the author claimed represented his authentic self, and (b) that the writing of the narrative was therapeutic in reconciling the political self on display to his inner self.

Systematic analysis revealed a `shadow' story, a subtext that told the story of Cuomo's self-serving and intentional undermining of Governor Hugh Carey, to whom he was publicly connected, but whom he wanted to replace. The contrivance found in Cuomo's narrative undermined acceptance of both the authenticity of his self-representation and the evidence of its self-therapeutic use. The notion is discussed that narrative may have served Cuomo as a medium for embodying an emerging self, a transformative means for him to instantiate the personal-social identity he claimed.

The implications of the use of interpretive review to produce data-supported claims of `truth' about human activity are elaborated. The clues the study offers to understanding Cuomo's future political behavior are noted.