The Nation - News from Oct. 5, 1987

New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo denied rumors that he is afraid to run for President because it could expose a skeleton in his family’s closet. “I have run in New York State for governor twice. They throw everything at you in this place, especially if you’re an Italian-American. . . . I don’t believe there is (a skeleton) or you would have known about it,” Cuomo said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” The New York Times said Cuomo had called its Washington office to ask whether reporters had heard rumors about alleged past misdeeds by his family, including his wife’s parents. He denied any wrongdoing in his family’s past but declined to elaborate on the rumors. On the TV program, Cuomo said: “I’ll never be President. I have no great desire to prove that I could to get to the top of the heap.”