Quotes from Mario Cuomo

The problem is that you can't impose the church's teachings on all Americans as a matter of law.

The American people need no course in philosophy or political science or church history to know that God should not be made into a celestial party chairman.

Religion is extremely important in this democracy - so important that it occupies a prime position in the Bill of Rights.

I had not even thought of running for president until one day in 1991, at a small fund-raiser, completely unanticipated, someone stood up and said, 'Hey, Mario, in all the years we've supported you, we've never heard you talk about the presidency, and we want to know why not.'

A lot of my stories about the old days, they're delicious and funny. But every time I recall the early days, it's painful. With every anecdote, it's painful because you're summoning up the terribly, terribly difficult life of my parents. And it's painful because I didn't realize at the time how hard it was for them.

You can't ever make serious progress against terrorism unless you deal with Israel.

The biggest aggravation in the Arab world, the biggest reason for their anger toward us and the creation of those suicide terrorists, is Israel and the difficulty with the Palestinian issue.

I guess a psychiatrist would say there's some good to the venting process, but it does also promote an attitude of saying, 'Hey there's nothing wrong with being filled with hate; there's so much of it around.' I don't like that.

Nobody has ever gotten a bigger push than Bill Clinton gave to Obama.

The Mafia is a question every time an Italian raises his head.

If you can manipulate news, a judge can manipulate the law. A smart lawyer can keep a killer out of jail, a smart accountant can keep a thief from paying taxes, a smart reporter could ruin your reputation- unfairly.

The mugger who is arrested is back on the street before the police officer, but the person mugged may not be back on the street for a long time, if ever.

I don't ever recall having a political argument with Bob Grant. I've known him a long time. I've always liked him.

I think - something I learned recently looking up the meaning of ideology. If you look in American encyclopedias, it says, you know, 'Rules for - basic rules for a system of economics or politics.' If you look in the Oxford, it says that, and then it says... 'Despite - and people will hold these propositions despite events.'

My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.

If I made a mistake in terms of running for president, the mistake was not in refusing to run in '91.

There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community.

There's something about rhetorical violence that is ugly and worrying.

I did once answer the question 'What would you say on your tombstone?' I know what I would say: 'Mario Cuomo, 1932 - dash,' and, 'He tried.' That's it.

There are few things more amusing in the world of politics than watching moderate Republicans charging to the right in pursuit of greater glory.

You want calamities? What about the Ice Age?

My parents were immigrants.

In 1980, in 1984, millions of middle-class Democrats became Reagan Democrats, and more of them drifted toward the Republicans with Bush in 1988.

Sometimes comforting the afflicted does require afflicting the comfortable.