A poll
came out last week showing that Gov. Cuomo's job performance approval rating is
71%. Two months ago it was 36%. So I'm not the only one who has had an abrupt
change of heart.
It's
easy to see why. The Governor is delivering
a master class in crisis communications before our very eyes. When we locked
down on March 12, I was in a state of absolute panic. I had stopped eating and sleeping, lost focus
and couldn't stop obsessing about the news.
And with Trump babbling about hoaxes and drinking Lysol, watching the
news was not helping.
But
then I started tuning into Gov. Cuomo's daily briefing, and I could breathe
again. He starts his briefing with the
most recent statistics. Then he cheerleads,
cajoles and scolds depending upon which is called for as he guides us through
the pandemic. He also spends a great
deal of time trying to explain to Federal officials what they should and could
be doing. And sometimes they even take
his advice.
Kudos
also goes to his uber-competent staff.
When someone asks them a question during the Q&A that they don't
have an answer to, they follow-up with the answer the next day. Once when an expert explained something,
Cuomo turned to the audience after and said "Did you understand that? Because I sure didn't." The expert rephrased.
The governor is very careful to distinguish facts from opinions, and points out that
opinions are not facts and that while people are entitled to their own opinions
they are not entitled to their own facts.
No fake news allowed here.
But he
also spends a considerable amount of time talking about his own family and how
this crisis is affecting them and their relationships. And when he does, his love for them shines
through. Because "his mother is not
expendable" he created Matilda's Law to protect seniors. And I am not surprised that when his brother
Chris was hallucinating during his bout of Covid-19, he saw his big bro as a
good fairy trying to make the virus disappear.
Because at the end of the day,
what Governor Cuomo has done is to reassure me and
everyone else at the epicenter of the pandemic, that we have a steady, competent leader at the helm who can get
us through this difficult time. And
that's why 78% of people surveyed said they trusted the governor to determine
when it will be safe for businesses to reopen.
(Vielkind, 2020)
Others
would do well to follow his example.
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