America’s Andrew Cuomo Problem

Updated at 12:00 p.m. ET on March 3, 2021.

Cable-news shows treated Andrew Cuomo like a living legend this summer, thanks to his supposedly superlative handling of the coronavirus pandemic, yet his past few weeks really have been the stuff of myth.

But which myth? Is he Icarus, flying too close to the sun in his premature attempt to claim credit for New York’s public-health prowess, only to have his wings melted by the heat of scandal? Is he Oedipus, brought low by his determination to eclipse his father? Or is he simply Zeus, a powerful man prone to wrathful outbursts and sexual misconduct?

The New York governor finds himself in a perilous claiming credit back in October seem unwise. Worse are revelations about the number of deaths in New York nursing homes, especially after a top aide that the administration had covered up the toll.