Mario Cuomo (No Nixon)



Mario Cuomo is a former governor of New York and served as the 40th President of the United States from 1989-1997. He is famous for his agressive policy in regards to the Cold War and for signing the Albert A. Gore Regulatory reform act of 1990, which was one of the most intense pieces of regulatory legislation in history. In addition, he is famous for his strong anti-gun policy and environmental policy, which included naming Al Gore, an environmentalist and the senator who wrote the Regulatory reform act, as head of the American Conservation Administration (a role he also assumed in the Bill Clinton administration).

On July 9th, 1987, Cuomo announced his candidacy for President. He fought his way through a bitter primary against former Vice President Jimmy Carter, who fought him from the center and former Vice Presidential Nominee Jerry Brown, who fought him from the left. Cuomo won the nomination in March of 1988, and in June of 1988 he named Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, a southern moderate, as his Vice President, believing that he would help him capture key victories in the midwest and south.

Cuomo won the general election easily, due to President Arlen Specter's unpopularity. Upon entering office, he named several notable officials to his cabinet, including Secretary of State Joe Biden, and Secretary of Agriculture George McGovern. He began his term as a relatively popular president, but in December of 1989 his approval ratings were down to 45%, due to the failed passage of a Universal Health Care bill and a still sluggish economy. In the 1990 midterm elections, Democrats lost control of both the House and the Senate.

Cuomo's popularity rebounded in September of 1991, when Mikhael Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would "Consider" a disarmament policy. Furthermore, the economy had begun to rebound, and by the 1992 general election, he had a 61% approval rating. He easily defeated the Republican ticket of Newt Gingrich/John Ashcroft, by a margin of 453 to 105 with Democrats regaining the Senate.

His second term has been praised for the taking down of the Berlin Wall and for the first ever ban on Assault Weapons. He is also noted for officially allowing openly gay troops to serve in the military. The economy continued to fare well in his second term, and he left office with an approval rating of 68%, the highest in history. He was succeeded by Vice President Bill Clinton.