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.

Keywords

autobiography/self-therapy Cuomo discourse analysis hermeneutic inquiry narrative psychology narrative self-construction political behavior psychoanalytic interpretation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allport, G. (1942) The Use of Personal Documents in Social Science Research. New York: Social Science Research Council.

Bruner, J , (1986) Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Cuomo, M.M. (1984) Diaries of Mario M. Cuomo: The Campaign for Governor. New York: Random House.

Epstein, S. (1985) `The Implications of Cognitive-experiential Self-theory for Research in Social Psychology and Personality', Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior 15(3): 283-310.

Festinger, L. (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.

Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.

Goffman, E. (1967) Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face to Face Behavior. Garden City, NY: Anchor.

Loch, W. (1976) `Some Comments on the Subject of Psychoanalysis and Truth', in J. Smith (ed.) Thought, Consciousness and Reality, pp. 217-255. New Haven: Yale University Press.

McElvaine, R.S. (1988) Mario Cuomo: A Biography. New York: Scribner's.

10.

Polkinghorne, D. (1983) Methodology for the Social Sciences: Systems of Inquiry. Albany: State University of New York Press.

11.

Polkinghorne, D. (1988) Narrative Knowing and the Human Sciences. Albany: State University of New York Press.

12.

Potter, J. , Stringer, P. and Wetherell, M. (1984) Social Texts and Context: Literature and Social Psychology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

13.

Rosenwald, G. (1985) `Hypocrisy, Self-deception, and Perplexity: The Subject's Enhancement as Methodological Criterion', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49: 682-703.

14.

Sarbin, T.R. (1986) `The Narrative as a Root Metaphor for Psychology', in T.R. Sarbin (ed.) Narrative Psychology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct, pp. 3-21. New York: Praeger.

15.

Schaefer, R. (1980 autumn) `Narration in the Psychoanalytic Dialogue', Critical Thinking: 29-55.

16.

Sherwood, M. (1969) The Logic of Explanation in Psychoanalysis. New York: Academic Press.

17.

Spence, D. (1982) Narrative Truth and Historical Truth: Meaning and Interpretation in Psychoanalysis. New York: Norton.

18.

Steele, D. (1986) `Deconstructing Histories: Toward a Systematic Criticism', in T.R. Sarbin (ed.) Narrative Psychology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct, pp. 256-275. New York: Praeger.

19.

Trilling, L. (1974) Sincerity and Authenticity. London: Oxford University Press.

20.

White, H. (1973) Metahistory. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

21.

Wyatt, F. (1986) `The Narrative in Psychoanalysis: Psychoanalytic Notes on Story-telling, Listening and Interpreting', in T.R. Sarbin (ed.) Narrative Pscyhology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct, pp. 193-210. New York: Praeger.