Skip to content

People expect Byzantine, Machiavellian logic from politicians. But the truth is simple. Trial lawyers learn a good rule: 'Don't decide what you don't have to decide.' That's not evasion, it's wisdom.

— Mario Cuomo The Quotable Politician (2003)

Another quote →

More quotes by Mario Cuomo

We must get the American public to look past the glitter, beyond the showmanship, to the reality, the hard substance of things.

Democratic National Convention Address (1984)

I have no plans, and no plans to plan.

Every time I've done something that doesn't feel right, it's ended up not being right.

In God's Care : Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery (1991)

I am a trial lawyer… Matilda says that at dinner on a good day I sound like an affidavit.

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

The Nastiest Things Ever Said about Republicans (2006)

All Mario Cuomo quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Mario Cuomo (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.