To Be Or Not to Be . . . a Supreme

New York Governor Mario Cuomo seems to delight in playing games of semantics with the press — with particular relish when the subject is talk of his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. The answer, it seems, is no. But getting there was more than half the fun. Some excerpts from his protracted soliloquy:

11/17/92:

“If an offer were made, I would answer the question so swiftly that every one of you in the media would write, ‘This, surely, is the most decisive man in America.”

3/12/93:

“You know what a judge does? You wear a robe. You don’t have to have a cocktail party. You never have to give a speech. All you have to do is listen, study and write.”

4/7/93

(from a letter to President Clinton):

“I do not wish to be considered.”