I was struck with a comment made on one of the Fox interviews today that but for Reagan Putin would likely still be only a KGB officer rather than head of that nation.
Gorby is the appropriate choice. One thing interesting about Gorbachev. Before he and Reagan met in Geneva for the first time, most of the commentators here were saying that Gorby would eat Reagan alive. What really happened is that Gorbachev became completely enamoured of Reagan. I remember seeing the video pictures of Gorby and Reagan in Geneva after they had been there for a while and there was an absolute look of love in Gorby's eyes as he looked like an entranced pussycat in Reagan's presence. Anybody else remember that?
Anyway, here is my theory about what happened. You have to remember that during all of Gorby's adult life he was involved in a constant power struggle with other Communist party members. They were all struggling and plotting against each other. In such a situation Gorbachev had NO friends. He might not even have known what friendship was all about. So along in 1985 he meets Reagan who the the most amiable and kindly of men. Since Gorby at heart wasn't totally ruthless like a lot of commies were, he was completely enchanted by Reagan. Ronald Reagan was most likely the FIRST friend he ever had so that explains the look of adoration (and some surprise) on Gorby's face when they first met.
If you can see videos of that Geneva meeting, you will see what I mean.