This week’s Liberal Media Scream features Jane Pauley’s love fest with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on CBS Sunday Morning.
Pauley didn’t mention deaths in nursing homes that stemmed from his decisions on the coronavirus nor his demand for 40,000 ventilators when a fraction of that number were ever needed.
But she found time to celebrate his “unattached” marital status when he’s “having a moment,” yet being unable to exploit it because of the lockdowns: “Is your social life in a Phase 1 relationship, possibly? Is that an unfortunate set of circumstances?” she asked him.
Pauley, who campaigned for Barack Obama in Indiana in 2008, even urged the governor to aim for a presidential run in 2024. When he demurred, she expressed disappointment: “What is it with the Cuomo’s? The fact that your father never ran for president is still, you know, one of the great mysteries of political life. What does your mother say?”
From the June 21 CBS Sunday Morning:
JANE PAULEY: Cuomo was married for 15 years to Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. And until last year, was in a long relationship with author and TV chef Sandra Lee, but he’s unattached now.
PAULEY TO ANDREW CUOMO: You are a bachelor, you’ve got a nice house here, having a moment, and you can’t do a thing with it. Is your social life in a Phase 1 relationship, possibly? Is that an unfortunate set of circumstances?
CUOMO: Well, I think —
PAULEY: I know you’re a bachelor. I know. I know you’ve talked about being available.
CUOMO: Yeah. The house isn’t mine [referring to the governor’s mansion in Albany], sort of like a rental. I will move out one day. I can reopen the economy, but dating, that’s a whole different thing beyond my control.
PAULEY: Pity, isn’t it?
PAULEY: I find it really hard to accept, after decades in government, you don’t have a political agenda in your future that’s on the back of your mind. Four years from now, either Donald Trump will not run for reelection, or Joe Biden will be 82, and probably there will be a search for a Democratic nominee. And I cannot believe that Andrew Cuomo won’t be on that stage.
CUOMO: Joe Biden is going to be the president of the United States, I believe that. I believe Joe Biden will run for a second term.
PAULEY: At 82?
CUOMO: Yes. And I hope to be the governor of the state of New York. I have something to contribute. This is my home. I love it. And I’m happy.
PAULEY: What is it with the Cuomo’s? The fact that your father never ran for president is still, you know, one of the great mysteries of political life. What does your mother say?
CUOMO: We haven’t had that conversation.
PAULEY: Really?
CUOMO: Really.
Media Research Center Vice President of Research Brent Baker explains our weekly pick: “It’s good to be a liberal Democrat. It means when you mess up and send infected people into nursing homes, which substantially increased the number of coronavirus deaths in your state, you have friends in the news media who ignore that and look at you with goo-goo eyes, more interested in your dating life and future political stardom.”
Rating: Three out of five screams.
