A Tale of Two Cities (speech)  A Tale of Two Cities was a speech delivered by New York Governor Mario Cuomo on July 16, 1984, at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California. The speech galvanized the convention; it was watched on television by nearly 80 million people and received copious attention in the media. Less than halfway through his first term as governor, Cuomo was widely celebrated for the speech, and he took on new political cachet as a Democratic leader on a national scale. Mario Cuomo was elected Governor of New York on a Democratic Party ticket in 1982. In his inaugural address, he constructed Democratic values metaphorically as caring for a family. The speech was well received by members of both the Democratic and Republican parties and displayed Cuomo's skill as an orator. Throughout his first year as Governor Cuomo supported numerous liberal policies even as conservatism was growing in popularity, garnering him national attention. A presidential election was scheduled to take place in the United States in November 1984. President Ronald Reagan was a popular conservative and was widely projected to win reelection. Though the country had endured economic hardship early on in his term, by 1984 the situation had begun to improve. In March 1984 Gary Hart, a senator seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidential election, openly citing inspiration from Cuomo, stated, "I'd like to talk about the family of America." The governor, however, had endorsed leading candidate Walter Mondale. Mondale inquired as Cuomo's interest in joining his campaign to seek the Vice Presidency. Cuomo stated that he had promised to finish his four-year term as governor, but indicated that he would not be opposed to delivering the keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in San Francisco, California. Mondale thought he was the best choice for the role, as he believed Cuomo could win him the support of Italian Americans as well as the so-called "Cuomo majority", a coalition of black, Hispanic, white liberal, and labor unionist voters that supported his gubernatorial campaign. Others hoped Cuomo could win over Democrats who had voted for Reagan in 1980 as well as independent voters. The governor had promised former President Jimmy Carter that he would assist Mondale (Carter's Vice President) any way he could, and Mondale told him, "If you want to help me, you'll give the speech." Cuomo did not believe he had a high enough national profile for such an event and felt that Senator Edward M. Kennedy would make for a better speaker. Mondale expressed disdain towards the suggestion.