'' 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
Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
A Tale of Two Cities (speech)