Not Wild About Mario

DEMOCRATS MAY be counting on the roar of a Mario Cuomo victory in the New York Gubenatorial election this November to help propel their party's man into the White House, but his impending victory in New York may just be so much noise from a paper tiger. Cuomo's imminent defeat of Republican Andrew O'Rourke may seem to some like a prelude to a national liberal resurgence, but it is really the product of a packaging campaign, largely devoid of a political ideology.

The man who has made the cover of Time, has, at every turn, avoided risking his own image, even for liberal causes in his state. He has not put his weight behind defeating New York's incumbent Republican senator, Alfonse D'Amato. Despite the commitment to compassionate liberalism that he exudes in every apearance, Cuomo has not used his political clout to put fellow liberals in office. Rather, he exhorted and endorsed two unknowns for state-wide Democratic nomination so as to keep himself--and only himself--in New York's liberal spotlight.

RICH AND BORING, John Dyson was the closest thing to Cuomo's man for Senate, though the governor did officially remain neutral during the primary. Dyson's claim to fame is his development of the flashy "I Love New York" campaign and a $30-million personal treasury. Lacking discernible oratorical skills, he presents no challenge to Cuomo's hold on the state's bully pulpit.

Stan Lundine is also Cuomo's man. A candidate for lieutenant governor, Congressman Lundine voted in favor of the Gramm-Rudman balanced-budget act. Lundine is also boring. Lundine is also no threat to Cuomo.

In fact, Lundine is so politically unattractive that he was in danger of losing the primary election to an eccentric multi-millionaire. Only by disqualifying Lundine's opponent through a technicality did Cuomo save his running mate's candidacy.

BOTH CUOMO, the dyed-in-the-wool Democrat and D'Amato, the conservative who gained victory on Reagan's coat-tails in 1980, peacefully coexist in New York politics. Cuomo, along with the Democratic Party, has failed to challenge D'Amato's hold over the state. Hardly a flashy speaker, the senator has used back-room politicking to amass a $7-million war-chest, and judging from Cuomo's bungled attempt to have the party nominate Dyson, the governor doesn't squirm at having New York represented by an ardent conservative.

The public's fascination with Cuomo, who is perceived as the savior of American liberalism, reveals a style-over-substance trend in modern politics. Cuomo, the most cerebral of the present Presidential hopefuls--and the one most capable of articulating a liberal political vision--represents a packaging success as much as the well-financed D'Amato does.

This shows Cuono's monumental shortcoming as a would-be presidential candidate. For him to run successfully for president he will have to stand for something ideologically identifiable, even if it cuts into his popularity. The so-called "thinking man's" candidate will have to be judged for his thoughts, not for his popular rhetoric.