Cuomo Calls Quayle Cabin Boy on Titanic : Politics: Governor tartly responds to remarks about the ‘nightmare of New York’ and what he considers to be a reference to his Italian heritage.

In a possible dress rehearsal of campaign rhetoric, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo compared President Bush Wednesday to the captain of the sinking Titanic and Vice President Dan Quayle to his cabin boy as he responded to recent Quayle remarks that Republicans will spotlight the “nightmare of New York” if Cuomo seeks the White House.

The governor, who still is pondering whether to enter the presidential race, suggested also that Quayle was seeking to call attention to Cuomo’s Italian heritage when, during a recent television appearance, he referred to him three times as Mario.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater quickly defended Quayle.

“That’s his name--Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario,” Fitzwater said. “He better get used to it.”

“Please tell Mr. Fitzwater that I am used to it,” Cuomo jabbed back. “I’ve been using it for 59 years.”

Cuomo charged that Bush has failed as “the education President,” as head of the war on drugs, as an environmentalist and in reducing the federal deficit. He said that the only remaining GOP option is to wage a negative campaign against him and condemn New York if he runs.

Cuomo then compared Bush to the captain of the Titanic and Quayle to his cabin boy, and he scorned them for allegedly attempting to blame the ship’s sinking on its seamen.

Cuomo further twitted: “Good, Danny, get him another warm milk.”

The skirmish began over the weekend when Quayle appeared on ABC-TV’s “This Week with David Brinkley.”

The vice president referred to New York’s governor only as Mario and said that conditions in New York certainly would be an issue if Cuomo runs.

Cuomo, appearing on an Albany, N.Y., radio program Wednesday, said that Bush and Quayle hardly were in a position to single out New York’s problems. He said 13 states with 39% of the American people already are in deep financial trouble this year and another 13 are “on the way to announcing trouble.”

“I don’t like this New York nightmare or the nightmare of New York,” Cuomo said. “ . . . How do you run against New York without running against California? . . . How do you run against New York without running against Connecticut and New Jersey?”

He added, “If you are going to take crime as the test, then you would have to condemn all the states with the cities that have worse crime problems than New York City.”

Cuomo was asked if his first name could be a hindrance in some states.

“It’s an old game, as old as the first society, to try to pit some people against others, almost always pitting the older people against the newer people,” Cuomo said.

” . . . Their negativism will not work this time. And every day it becomes clearer that’s all they have,” Cuomo said. “Their slogan is, ‘I won the war and the other guy’s a bum.’ And the part of that they are best at is ‘the other guy’s a bum.’ ”

When asked to respond to Cuomo, David Beckwith, a Quayle spokesman, said that he was “not going to descend to this level of discourse.”

At the White House, Fitzwater said he was willing to call Cuomo whatever he wants.

“How about ‘Mr. President?’ ” a reporter queried.

“Except that,” Fitzwater responded.