NO MO' CUOMO :

Cuomo Is Said to Have Decided to Quit Governor's Race (SHAILA K. DEWAN, September 3, 2002, NY Times)

Andrew M. Cuomo plans to drop out of the race for the Democratic primary this afternoon, people familiar with his plans said today. The Cuomo campaign said it would have an announcement at 1 p.m.

Senior advisers to H. Carl McCall and Andrew M. Cuomo have been talking since Monday about the possibility of Mr. Cuomo's pulling out of the race for the Democratic nomination for governor, according to prominent Democrats and people close to the talks, which were initiated by senior Cuomo aides. [...]

In the private talks, Mr. Cuomo's camp was said to have broached the possibility of dropping out of the race for governor and endorsing Mr. McCall, according to some prominent Democrats, but Mr. McCall was initially noncommittal in response to Mr. Cuomo's proposal.

Mr. Cuomo asked for Mr. McCall's support in another run for governor in 2006, for a prominent role in Mr. McCall's campaign against Gov. George E. Pataki, and to have Mr. Cuomo's withdrawal publicly presented as a deal brokered by former President Bill Clinton, people close to the talks said. Those people said Mr. Cuomo, who served as housing secretary in Mr. Clinton's administration, suggested that if his conditions were not met, he would spend much of his remaining campaign treasury — more than $3 million — on television ads critical of Mr. McCall, the state comptroller.

Isn't that called extortion? Posted by Orrin Judd at September 3, 2002 1:25 PM