It's not 1927 any more

It's far more disappointing to be let down by people of whom you expect goodness than to see some dimwitted oaf behave badly.

By this I mean that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who seemed to have such skill in handling the coronavirus pandemic in his state, has been shown to be...a dimwitted oaf.

And I'm not even talking about the evidence that has come out that he bungled and fabricated stories about nursing home deaths in the Empire State. That looks bad for him, but I don't know all the particulars.

I am concerned by his reaction to allegations made by female staffers, though. In just one week, Cuomo was supposed to have sexually harassed two women he worked with, and now he comes out with acknowledgements that some of the things he said in the office "may have been insensitive or too personal" and adds he is "truly sorry" to those who might have "misinterpreted (the remarks) as an unwanted flirtation."

Backing up faster than a cha-cha dancer, Cuomo states that he never touched anyone in an improper manner (although I feel that the only proper times to touch a member of the opposite sex at work are to a) elbow bump them or b) perform CPR on them) and he never propositioned anyone.

He denied that he kissed a former aide on the mouth after a briefing attended by just the two of them.

When these allegations first came to light, Cuomo's plan was to have the state attorney general, Letitia James, and the chief judge of NY select a lawyer to  conduct "a thorough and independent review" of the claims. Ms James rejected that notion, and will file an official referral to have an outside law firm, with subpoena power, handle the investigation.

Cuomo is in his third term and had been considered the odds-on favorite to win reeletion to a fourth next year. Now he faces calls for his resignation from not only Republican opponents, but also from Democratic allies, such as New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In the latest allegations, Charlotte Bennett, 25, who was an executive assistant and health policy adviser to Cuomo, told the New York Times that Cuomo, who is 63, asked her questions about her sex life and said he was into having relationships with women in their 20s.

The original claims came from Lindsey Boylan, another former aide, who wrote on the Medium website about her own claims of sexual harassment from Cuomo. Boylan's story was that Cuomo invited her to "play strip poker" during a business flight, and that Cuomo stunned her by kissing her on the lips after discussion of economic and infrastructure projects in his New York City office. Cuomo has people on his staff who deny Boylan's claims.

In reference to Bennett, Cuomo says, "The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported," Cuomo said, saying that "she came to me and opened up about being a sexual assault survivor" and that "I tried to be supportive and helpful."

I understand that people try to explain away these things - and I can't say for sure that any of this is even true; I wasn't there - by saying that powerful successful men have overstimulated egos that need burnishing and satisfying, and that they get this satisfaction from pushing themselves on women who are uninterested in their advances. So, again, I don't know if he did these things, said these things, had improper thoughts, but here's my point: he was sent to Albany to be the governor, not to be a playboy.

There is plenty of work to be done in New York and every other state, by the governors and their staffs, so there is no time for this fol-de-rol.

Second, to be frank, Andrew, do you really think these women find you attractive?

I know this stuff used to take place in the dark ages, but son, this is 2021, and you should know that women are not office playthings, there to be abused and misused for your bizarre pleasure.

My advice: go take a cold shower and behave yourself, instead of being a dimwitted oaf.