[Excerpt from "Disaster; the 1992 Democratic Campaign"]
Blair watched in 1992, as Cuomo cruised through the primaries. Blair continued to be distrissed by the ease at which Cuomo earned delegates. Iowa caucuses? 80% New Hampshire? 77%. However, he had his own distractions. The now senior Senator from Ohio was focused on his own reelection. Despite the battleground status of the state, the Republican party was unable to draft any viable candidates to challenge Blair. In a similar parallel to Blair's opening to Voinovich in 1986, the Republicans could not find a viable challenger to Blair. Without any traditional candidates, only the inherited owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Brown, choose to run against Blair. Despite the team's on the field success, upsetting the Cowboys in Super Bowl 27, Blair was ahead by as much as 35 percent going into the summer.
Cuomo briefly considered choosing Blair as his running mate, however, the questionable long term status of the Ohio governorship meant the possible loss of a Senate seat. Bush, dealing with a sagging economy was beatable, but still had a sterling foreign policy record. Despite the suggestion from aids that the top of the ticket gains the vote, Cuomo became fixated on the idea that a running mate with strong foreign policy credentials was need. Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE), a self made millionaire many times over and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient was the clear choice for running mate. Cuomo's aides poured into all available public data on Kerrey's service. Having lost a limb in Vietnam, the sometimes mercurial Senator seemed to be an obvious choice.
On July 17, 1992, at Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska Cuomo named Bob Kerrey his running mate. It would take months for the implication of this decision to take hold. In Washington, GOP researchers began to dig into the war hero's past.
Blair watched in 1992, as Cuomo cruised through the primaries. Blair continued to be distrissed by the ease at which Cuomo earned delegates. Iowa caucuses? 80% New Hampshire? 77%. However, he had his own distractions. The now senior Senator from Ohio was focused on his own reelection. Despite the battleground status of the state, the Republican party was unable to draft any viable candidates to challenge Blair. In a similar parallel to Blair's opening to Voinovich in 1986, the Republicans could not find a viable challenger to Blair. Without any traditional candidates, only the inherited owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Brown, choose to run against Blair. Despite the team's on the field success, upsetting the Cowboys in Super Bowl 27, Blair was ahead by as much as 35 percent going into the summer.
Cuomo briefly considered choosing Blair as his running mate, however, the questionable long term status of the Ohio governorship meant the possible loss of a Senate seat. Bush, dealing with a sagging economy was beatable, but still had a sterling foreign policy record. Despite the suggestion from aids that the top of the ticket gains the vote, Cuomo became fixated on the idea that a running mate with strong foreign policy credentials was need. Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE), a self made millionaire many times over and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient was the clear choice for running mate. Cuomo's aides poured into all available public data on Kerrey's service. Having lost a limb in Vietnam, the sometimes mercurial Senator seemed to be an obvious choice.
On July 17, 1992, at Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska Cuomo named Bob Kerrey his running mate. It would take months for the implication of this decision to take hold. In Washington, GOP researchers began to dig into the war hero's past.
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