The WSJ has a nice editorial about Don “Sonny” Cuomo.
The stories about Sonny go back over the years. Anyone with a clue knew the Cuomos (Sonny or Fredo – take your pick) were corrupt creeps.
Unless you’re absolutely clueless.
Sonny burst on the scene in 2011 and took the brain-dead by storm.
Which, of course, made a distant experience of mine so hilarious then and now.
Once upon a time in a galaxy long long ago, far, far away, I had the misfortune to find myself reporting into a recently annointed sycophant for a (thankfully) short time.
This one was textbook: lacked domain professional training and competency, lightweight experience, impulsive judgment, and general lack of awareness (self-awareness and otherwise).
With so many telltale negatives and yellow lights blinking, it didn’t take much to isolate the “secret sauce” that made this “golden child” the team’s new potentate.
We soon learned the golden child was swept up by Sonny and a real fan – so much so as to expound in team meetings about “Sonny” (err, Governor Cuomo, not “Fredo” of CNN Fame) as an example of leadership we should all embrace and follow.
At first, I thought the comments were a joke – in fact, a very funny joke.
What idiot thought Sonny was anyone but a corrupt sociopath and a real threat to any woman within 100 FT?
I mean, maybe not “Joe Biden-creepy” with the “Scranton shtick”, the “squinty-eyed tough guy”, the naked swims in the indoor pool, and that groping thing (both random women and the very repulsive kid thing he has). THAT’s an entirely different kind of creep.
No, more like “Sonny creepy.” Right out there in the open without apology. Plus vindictive without regard to human cost.
More than unapologetic – proudly so.
Sonny.
As the lecture continued and knowing it’s inappropriate to engage in political advocacy in a corporate setting with rookies in the meeting, I was a bit uneasy.
Still, it was funny. Maybe I missed something in this barely afloat child.
Maybe I hadn’t given the annointed one enough credit – this praise of Sonny was really funny, notwithstanding breaching HR policy. Delivered with a straight face.
But as the praise continued, it became evident this absurd performance wasn’t deadpan delivery – it was serious. Sonny was to be our leadership role model.
Which made the joke funnier still.
Anyway, to that long-gone sycophant, wherever you may be and wherever you no doubt will end up, thank you for some unforgettable laughs.
And, in return, I dedicate the WSJ’s editorial and its differing professional opinion: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-andrew-cuomo-standard-new-york-letitia-james-report-sexual-harassment-11628025496?mod=opinion_lead_pos2
Best of all, we know Don Sonny is “going to the mattresses”.
I’m envisioning a replay of Al Pacino as Tony Montana in the final, operatic scene from “Scarface”.
As Orwell reminds us:
“We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. … The object of power is power.”
George Orwell, “1984”
Which promises continued great entertainment coming up.
I wonder whether Sonny is still the leadership icon with that annointed sycophant.
Econophysics2020 