To these ears, it sounded like a sophomoric line by, well, a sophomore seeking to impress classmates and perhaps his fuzzy-headed teacher. But MSNBC has proclaimed Mario Cuomo's call for a nuclear freeze because "peace is better than war and life is better than death" one of the greatest convention-speech lines ever.
In the run-up to this evening's keynote address by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Hillary's much-anticipated speech, Hardball did a segment on some of the best Dem convention speeches of the past. Now, love it or hate it, it's hard to deny that the late Ann Richards' "born with a silver foot in his mouth" about George 41 was a pretty good zinger. And even Barack Obama's "there is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America" wasn't bad either. No beef with those being included. But try out the excerpt from Maria Cuomo's 1984 speech that MSNBC selected as one of the "best of the best."
View video here.
DAVID SHUSTER: Even if you put aside the people who've been on the ticket: put them aside. There have been some incredible, incredible Democratic speeches throughout the years, usually starting on the Tuesday night when the keynote speaker starts. We went back through, looked at all the best tapes from the last forty years. Here is the best of the best . . . In 1984, New York governor became a Democratic household name with this.
MARIO CUOMO: We proclaim as loudly as we can the utter insanity of nuclear proliferation and the need for a nuclear freeze, if only to affirm the simple truth that peace is better than war and life is better than death.
Right. And arms are for hugging. Fortunately, Ronald Reagan had the sense and the courage to ignore the calls of Cuomo and his ilk, and to pursue a military build-up that—just five years after Cuomo spoke—led to the end of the Soviet Union.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Mario Cuomo
August 26, 2008 - 17:50 ET by allanfCuomo started out as a lawyer opposing a housing project in Forst Hills, Queens. He has aways been a "pol" in my view, not some glimmering idealist.
I wonder how he responds to the charge that he is pompous and bombastic.
I remember the media trying
August 26, 2008 - 18:03 ET by Chris NormanI remember the media trying to sell the notion that Cuomo's "oratory" was the Democrats answer to Ronald Reagan. They seemed determined, at that time, to shove Cuomo down our throats. Of course their efforts for Obama make their Cuomo attempt look positively anemic.
McNotObama '08
What a long time ago
August 26, 2008 - 18:33 ET by sms5217Watching that video makes me feel old, and I'm still in my 30's. I saw that pathetic four day liberal lovefest in San Fransicko in 1984 and I saw speaker after speaker spew so many socialistic, fatalistic, sophomoric, and utterly insane statements.
Nothing delivers laughs and hours of juvenile speeches quite like the Democrat party and their conventions!
Trial lawyers are the scum of the earth
at least the dude's
August 26, 2008 - 19:23 ET by TruthMongerat least the dude's pro-life now
Journalism is the opium of the liberals
As usual, Cuomo will
August 26, 2008 - 17:58 ET by ConservativeRexAs usual, Cuomo will respond in a pompous and bombastic manner. He's been a lightweight for a long time. Once again, this just shows us that the democrats keep running out these statist and time and again they keep getting what little brains they have bashed in.
Lately, I'm seeing signs that Obami is just another Dukakis. The American people will recognize a huckster in due time. Let's see after the debates. The media will try it's damnedest to get him elected, we just need to keep plugging away at Obami.
Obviously....
August 26, 2008 - 18:10 ET by zoro7957.........Cuomo attended Faber College, where "Knowledge is good".
Toga, toga, toga!
August 26, 2008 - 18:11 ET by Mark FinkelsteinToga, toga, toga!
The great "global news
August 26, 2008 - 18:27 ET by obxrayThe great "global news network" that they claim to be, why don't they preach this crap in other nuke coutries?HEY CNN,ITS CALLED PEACE THROUGH STRENTH.
These are libs we're talking about.
August 26, 2008 - 18:30 ET by JeffC...Remember--to a lib, results aren't important.
"Best" doesn't mean "right." It just has to feel good at the time.
The simple lie, rather...
August 26, 2008 - 19:34 ET by Cortillaen"the simple truth that peace is better than war and life is better than death"
It's ironic that Cuomo identified the intellectual failure most liberals make regarding war. They operate under the three-fold assumption that peace is always better than war, life is always better than death, and peace and life are never mutually exclusive. The unfortunate truth of the world is that all three assumptions have been proven wrong time and again. In a sense, life is war. Life is a constant struggle, a battle against circumstance, the people around us, and ourselves. Failure to recognize and accept this results in the insecure existence on display by most liberals. They lack any form of self-actualization, and, consciously or not, try to fill that gap through money, power, and fame. They frantically seek to immortalize themselves through these things without ever confronting the reality of their own existence.
www.rhjunior.com Great comics with a hefty dose of Christian and anti-nutjob goodness.
"With your mind as high as Mt. Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things near to you." -Miyamoto Musashi
Life
August 26, 2008 - 19:52 ET by thelahunginjeetCuomo and his ilk commit egregious hypocrisy when they proclaim that “life is better than death.” They’re all too eager to grant life to rapists, murderers, and child molesters, but to champion the superiority of “choice” or “reproductive rights” to the killing of unborn children.
Life is what?
August 26, 2008 - 20:10 ET by ammo johnLife is better than death? Well, thank you, Mario for educating me on that! Who knew! Those libs sure know everything!