Transcript: Chapter 22

Narrator: Three months later Ronald Reagan would have another summit, in Geneva. Ronald Reagan had warned that the Soviets cheat and lie. He had opposed every arms deal American presidents had made with the Soviets in the l970s. But he arrived in Geneva in November 1985, confident that he could handle the new leader of the evil empire.

Smith: Conservative Republicans for 50 years had tended to denigrate the importance of personal diplomacy. It's the legacy of the Yalta Conference and they thought FDR had sold us out and then we sold out China -- we were always selling out someone, and the sale was usually by a president who thought that, if only he could get in a room with his Soviet counterpart that his charm and his arguments would prevail. That's the conservative tradition and yet, Reagan clearly believed that he could do that that the force of his personality and of his arguments and above all, of his sincerity, would impress themselves upon the Soviets.

Narrator: Secretary Weinberger was less sure. His letter urging Reagan not to hamstring SDI was leaked to the press and seen as an effort to sabotage the summit. Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party, came to Geneva to negotiate with the man Yuri Andropov had considered impossible, called mad, compared to Hitler. The vigorous 54 year old whose charming smile was said to hide teeth of iron had come to meet the 74-year-old president who had railed against Communism for almost forty years.

Morris: I felt a strong fear, a palpable sense of fear throughout the delegation that this young, formidably intelligent, aggressive Soviet leader was going to run rings around our, gentle, slow, slightly doddery, aging president. The American delegation was afraid that he was going to be outsmarted, outmaneuvered and diplomatically perhaps destroyed.

Reporter: What's the first priority, Sir?

Reagan: Peace.

Narrator: Reagan had lots to worry about, including a chore at the Aga Khan's villa where he stayed.

Nancy Reagan: My friend Sally said to me, "Now there's just one thing. My son has some goldfish that he adores and would you mind feeding the goldfish in the morning. And Ronnie of course right away 'well, of course, absolutely.' And one morning he went into the little boy's room, and one goldfish was dead. Well, I thought Ronnie was going to die. He called everybody in there and said "You've got to get, take this goldfish out and find one that looks exactly like it so that we can replace this."

Narrator: The goldfish replaced, it was time to meet Mikhail Gorbachev.

Morris: And I see it now in memory in slow motion. It was supremely dramatic. This great, gleaming, black Zil comes whispering around the corner on the gravel, crunches to a halt. Down the stairs comes this great, gliding, blue suited unbelievably self-confident and calm president, without a coat on, in the freezing air. And out of the big black Russian limousine comes this awkward, short, rather dumpy, heavily overcoated, heavily scarfed, hated Communist leader, who fumbled with his scarf and fumbled with his coat as he approached this great benign presence. And they met at the foot of the stairs. Reagan towered over Gorbachev. Gorbachev looked up into Reagan's face, looked at him very intensely. Reagan smiled down at him and then gently choreographed him up the stairs.

Tarasenko: Gorbachev's in standard Politburo hat, standard Politburo overcoat. It reminds me of KGB agent from bad American films. (laughs) So, I said to myself that that we have lost this photo opportunity. We have lost this first round.

Narrator: When the delegations met, Reagan recalled, "I took Gorbachev through the long history of Soviet aggression ... I wanted to explain why the free world had good reason to put up its guard against the Soviet bloc."

Morris: His language was brutal. He would say things like "Let me tell you, Mr. General Secretary, why we fear you and why we despise your system." Now that in a diplomatic meeting is extremely confrontational language.

Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary USSR: The president from the very start started to speak in a kind of lecturing tone as though I was a suspect or maybe a student. And I cut him short. I said, "Mr. President, you are not a prosecutor. I am not the accused. You are not a teacher. I am not a student."

Morris: But Reagan somehow was able to say things like that, but at the same time he seemed to have a sweetness and a benign quality about him that neutralized or at least took the edge off of what from Richard Nixon would seem like a declaration of war.

Narrator: To ease the tension, Reagan suggested they talk in private. As they walked to a less formal house by the lake, they chatted about Reagan's movie career -- the first time they had talked as human beings.

Bessmertnykh: Gorbachev immediately started to like Reagan. That was a very surprising thing. I think Reagan had something which was so dear to Gorbachev and that was sincerity.

Tarasenko: This human vision and human touch. And when he talked with our leaders, he talked very emotional. And he came across. This is a human being. He is trying to explain himself to you.

So maybe for the first time our leaders started to think that on the other side it's not a machine. It's not some robot.

Ronald Prescott Reagan, Playboy Correspondent: I think that people don't reckon with the power of charm and just personal persuasiveness. And, you know, when my father kind of turns the high beams on even somebody like Gorbachev tends to melt.

Narrator: As they walked back to rejoin their delegations, Reagan invited Gorbachev to Washington. Gorbachev reciprocated with an invitation to Moscow. On the second day Reagan found Gorbachev ready to talk about "building down" their arsenals. But determined to kill SDI. Reagan resisted.

Tarasenko: Gorbachev was visibly irritated. He said, why you are repeating the same and the same thing to me. I've heard that many times. Stop this rubbish. Tell me something more. It was literally so, it was a harsh discussion.

Narrator: But at the end, the mood was warm. Reagan left Geneva with SDI intact. And an agreement: a "nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." The world breathed a sigh of relief. There was another communiqué; to Hussein Aga Khan and his parents: "Dear Friends, On Tuesday I found one of your fish dead in the bottom of the tank. I don't know what could have happened but I added two new ones, same kind, I hope this was alright. Thanks for letting us live in your lovely home. Ronald Reagan."

House Sgt. At Arms: Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States.

Narrator: "I haven't gotten such a reception since I was shot " Reagan would quip. The image of Ronald Reagan as a trigger happy cowboy had begun to fade.

[Congress applauds]

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