SIZING UP CUOMO

To the Editors: What to make of New York State Governor Mario Cuomo (NATION, June 2)? A President, I hope. Andrew Corcoran Bradford, Mass. I have never voted for a major political candidate, only against. I hope Cuomo will give me the chance to cast my ballot for someone. Harold Freiman Berkeley Your article paints Cuomo as a man who is deeply influenced by Roman Catholicism. It attributes to the Governor a lifelong fealty to the ideals of St. Thomas More, the statesman-martyr under King Henry VIII in 16th century England. Cuomo's fealty, however, crumbles in a most crucial aspect. St. Thomas More put his faithfulness to Roman Catholic teaching ahead of his political career and even his life when he was martyred for not assenting to the King's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn. Mario Cuomo, to the contrary, has surrendered his faith to his political career by supporting a woman's right to have an abortion. Thomas Wade Moore Dallas I have been intrigued with Cuomo since his keynote speech at the '84 convention, when I considered him to have presidential potential. Now I am not so sure. Do we want another President who, like Jimmy Carter, cannot delegate responsibility or who, like Richard Nixon, reacts to criticism by feeling that he is under siege? Do we want a President who considers political conflicts to be personal affronts and responds with physical intimidation, as Lyndon Johnson sometimes did? These may be attributes of past Presidents, but presidential attributes they are not. Ward R. Hitt White Plains, N.Y. As one who worked side by side with Mario Cuomo for eight years in the cabinet of Governor Hugh Carey, and who served as commissioner of transportation in the Cuomo administration, I found much of what you wrote to be insightful and accurate. But by implying disapproval of Cuomo's management style, you missed an important part of the picture. What I find most unusual about Cuomo is his ability to be both a hands-on executive, capable of mastering a great deal of governmental detail, and a chairman of the board who sets the broad policies and agenda for his administration. Few successful executives in or out of government are as capable in both facets of management simultaneously. James L. Larocca Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. Cuomo's philosophy that there be a ''sharing of benefits and burdens for the good of all'' is just the same recycled liberal baloney we have been force-fed for decades. There is more to governing than making good speeches. William L. Aumic Guilderland, N.Y. The caricature on the cover does not befit Cuomo and misses completely his sense of caring, his warmth and charm. Carolyne Chirichello Santa Cruz, Calif. Your cover illustration of Cuomo was a joy to behold. Al Hirschfeld has been doing those fabulous line drawings since the George M. Cohan days. And, as is his tradition, he even hid his daughter Nina's name in the Governor's hair. Robert C. Southee Chief, Design and Graphics Division U.S. Department of Commerce Washington