Reply #26: Right.

[H2O Man]

I used to find Senator Moynihan irriatating. He could be either very good, or very bad. There wasn't a lot of middle ground with him. Moynihan was the best and worst in the party, sometimes in the same day. No coincidence that Russert worked for him.

Working for Cuomo represents something even more important, to me, than Moynihan. It's not like I never disagreed with Cuomo, but far less often than Moynihan or Russert. Obviously, Cuomo saw something very good in Tim Russert. I think that good side came through in the Plame scandal.

At Onondaga, when a person dies, you don't speak ill of them for ten days. You either focus on their good side, or just be quiet for ten days. Chief Waterman explained to me that it is even better if you can do this while a person is alive, rather than waiting for them to die. I don't think it's "wrong" to point out the negative attributes of people who are damaging others, be they a domestic abuser or a murderer. But in general, there are advantages to appreciating peoples' strengths.