Mario On Their Minds

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By Ned Zeman

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Which Democratic presidential candidate does the White House fear most? NEWSWEEK has learned that the majority of George Bush's top campaign strategists, including Fred Malek and Robert Teeter, think New York Gov. Mario Cuomo would be the president's toughest opponent in '92. They worry, administration sources say, that Cuomo's skills as an orator, his willingness to go on the attack and his stature as a national politician would give him a stronger edge against the president.

White House chief of staff John Sununu disagrees, the sources say. In his view, Cuomo's lack of foreign-policy experience, weak gubernatorial record and liberal leanings would make him an easy target. He also thinks that the thin-skinned Cuomo would be easily rattled by a GOP attack strategy. "It would be the Opposition Researchers Full Employment Act," says one Bush adviser. But the latest word from the Cuomo camp is that Mario won't run in '92.

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