Cuomo Says Talk of Presidential Bid Is Premature ALBANY - Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday publicly discussed for the first time speculation that he might run for president in 2016, describing such talk as flattering but also premature. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who took office 16 months ago, did not say whether he was interested in mounting a White House bid. But in a reference to his father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, whose tenure was at times overshadowed by his public deliberation over whether to run for president, the younger Mr. Cuomo noted that he had "seen this movie before" and would be careful about his public comments as a consequence. "Actually, in this room - there's like a whole little déjà vu going on for me," Mr. Cuomo said, in his ceremonial office at the Capitol. "In one regard, the speculation is flattering," he said. "On the other hand," he added, ""it can be totally distracting." As the popular governor of a big state, and as a skilled politician with a well-known surname and fund-raising prowess, Mr. Cuomo, 54, is an oft-mentioned prospective presidential candidate. He won national attention last year for persuading New York State lawmakers to legalize same-sex marriage. Mr. Cuomo made his remarks about the 2016 campaign after a reporter asked him whether he was concerned that his refusal to take questions on the subject could make it a distraction. The governor suggested that he would only hurt his ability to govern by talking about his future. "Once you start saying, "Let's talk political, my own politics, my own aspirations," it can become not just distracting in that it takes time, but it can become confusing and frustrating, and is this now a political agenda or a governmental agenda," he said. So, it's very important to me to honor my word to the people of the state and to preserve my relationship with the people of the state, and what I am doing is about making this state the best state I can make it and being the best governor I can be, regardless of politics. He added: "That's where I am, because that's where I am - that is really, really where I am in my heart. And that's where I'm going to stay. I'm not going to allow myself to be pushed politically. I'm not going to engage in political contests. I'm not going to start to speculate my own politics.