Andrew Cuomo resignation is the coda on a mean era Joe Biden ended by beating Donald Trump – USA TODAY

I'd put Cuomo up against McConnell any day for ruthlessness.But McConnell is all about Republican power and survival. Cuomo makes it about himself.

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns after accusations of sexual harassment

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has resigned after multiple women accused the Democrat of sexual harassment.

USA TODAY

A few years ago, before Donald Trump emerged, I proposed a story with the working title, "Is New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo too mean to bepresident?" The thinking among some Democrats was hell, yes, and among others it was hell, no. There was a depressing sense of Republicans as tough as nailsand Democrats as soft touches. This was, after all, the Obama era, and the Democratic president seemed haplessin the face of GOP obstruction. Maybe Cuomo was the antidote.

An editor put the kibosh on that idea (darn editors!), but I thought about it for years as Trump demolished a 2016 primary field of conventional Republicans, some of whom tried but never succeeded in being as nasty as he was, and edged past Hillary Clinton, a conventional Democrat and a woman to boot, on Election Day.

Joe Biden's presidential win last year put a cap on the mean era. Cuomo's resignation is the coda, and an ignominiousend to his family's dominance in New York politics.

TheCuomo dynasty arguably peaked early,with New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's 1984 keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. It's considered one of the best speeches in American political history an eloquent yet bitingcritique of what he called then-President Ronald Reagan's social Darwinism.

"In many ways we are a shining city on a hill," Cuomo said, quoting Reagan. "But the hard truth is that not everyone is sharing in this city's splendor and glory."

Cuomo was 52,in his first term, and a national future awaited him. It seemed certain he wouldrun for president.

But he never did. He mulled the 1988 and 1992 races for so long and in such public view,he earned the nickname "Hamlet on the Hudson." His plane never got off the ground, literally, as he dithered in Albany about whether to compete in the New Hampshire primary. He ended his career as a three-term governor who could have seized the moment, but did not.

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That was a whimper. His son is going out with loud headlines after the release of an attorney general report that found evidence he had sexually harassed 11 women, and many accounts of his crueltyin the workplace, especially toward women. He resigned before he could be impeached, and could face charges.

Cuomo was the empathetic, authoritative voice of the COVID-19 pandemic in daily TV briefings at a time when Trump was saying the virus was nothing to worry about, suggesting we trya malaria drug or an injection ofdisinfectant, and demanding less testing so he could boast of lower case counts.

Cuomo's mistakes sending pandemicpatients to nursing homes and trying to cover up the death tollhave been exposed over the past few months. Still, he kept on writinga lucrative book called "Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic."

Andrew Cuomo resigns:He personifies abuse of power at the expense of the vulnerable.

In another irony, Cuomo hadbeen hailedfor beinga supporter of the #MeToo movement. In 2018, he called for the resignation of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman,accused of violent nonconsensual sex with women ("No one is above the law, including New Yorks top legal officer, the governor said) and before that had directed Schneiderman to investigate how Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vancehandled 2015 sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

The retribution Cuomo sought against women who complained about his harassment, the resignations among those who helped him, his counterproductivelong-running feud with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, his shutdown of an ethics commission he himself had created to investigate corruption all make clear he runs a ruthless operation.

I'd put him up against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell any day.But McConnell is all about Republicanpolitical power and survival and gains. Cuomo makes it all about himself.

He might have been better off jumping into a presidential race. Like his father, he was mentioned many times. He might have been the idealnominee to take on Trump in 2016.

Breathtaking hypocrisy:Trump sycophants have no standing to demand that Cuomo resign

But most of America has moved past that moment, and past the Cuomos. The only one still prominent in public life is Chris, the CNN anchor who is now professionally scarred for having advised his brother on how to survive a scandal he ended up not surviving.

The logical choice for saving the family political dynasty, if anyone wants it to live on, would beoneor more of Andrew Cuomo's three daughterswith former wife Kerry Kennedy (daughter of Robert).

Women. They get the job done.

Jill Lawrence is the commentary editor of USA TODAY and author of"The Art of the Political Deal:How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock."Follow her on Twitter:@JillDLawrence

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Andrew Cuomo resignation is the coda on a mean era Joe Biden ended by beating Donald Trump - USA TODAY