TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. In our politics lead today, the death of a political giant. Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, passed away from heart failure Thursday evening at the age of 82. The son of Italian immigrants, Cuomo rose to the state's highest office, serving three terms in Albany from 1983 to 1994. He first drew national attention at the 1984 Democratic Convention when his keynote address underscoring the tenants of liberal politics during the Reagan era brought the capacity crowd in San Francisco to its feet.</s>THEN-GOV. MARIO CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: We must get the American public to look past the glitter, beyond the showmanship to the reality, the hard substance of things, and we'll do it not so much with speeches that sound good as with speeches that are good and sound.</s>TAPPER: The Democratic ticket got stomp that had year. But the speech catapulted Cuomo into a presidential contender. He flirted with a White House run in 1988 and again in 1992. And then, he suggested he'd be interested in a possible Supreme Court nomination after that. But in the end, in all these instances, Cuomo always demurred. Just hours before his death, Cuomo's son Andrew was sworn in for his second term as governor and he paid tribute to his father's legacy.</s>GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: He couldn't be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room. He's in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He's here and he's here.</s>TAPPER: Mario Cuomo died just a few hours after that. He is survived by his wife and his five children, including our friend, colleague and the anchor of CNN's "NEW DAY," Chris Cuomo, who named his son after his dad. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cuomo family on this very difficult day. In other politics news, it's New Year's, so it's time for resolutions. Eat right. Go to the gym. Quit smoking.
Former NY Gov. Mario Cuomo Dead at 82