Listen to Episode 19 of Whistlestop:
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Whistlestop is Slate’s podcast about presidential campaign history. Hosted by our political correspondent and Political Gabfest panelist John Dickerson, each installment revisits a memorable (or even a forgotten) moment from America’s quadrennial carnival.
On December 20, 1991, a plane sat waiting on the Albany tarmac to whisk New York’s governor to New Hampshire so that he could officially kick off his White House bid. Instead, Gov. Mario Cuomo announced that he would not be entering the presidential race. It was the final act of an epic waiting game for Candidate Cuomo that stretched all the way back to the early 1980s.
To run or not to run—that is the question running through this episode of Whistlestop. Dickerson recounts the blow-by-blow of Cuomo’s agonizingly long and drawn-out decision-making process and reflects on its impact on the 1992 presidential contest.
Whistlestop is sponsored by The Great Courses, now offering the lecture series The Modern Political Tradition: Hobbes to Habermas. Order from eight of their best-selling courses at up to 80 percent off the original price by visiting thegreatcourses.com/whistlestop.
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Email: whistlestop@slate.com
Podcast production by Tony Field.
