--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who remember Washington's cold war…" description: "\"Those who remember Washington's cold war culture in the 1980s will recall the shocked reactions to Reagan's intervention. People interested in foreign ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/russell-baker-2930_cold_those-who-remember-washington-s-cold-war_1350252.png" --- # Those who remember Washington's cold war culture in the… ![“Those who remember Washington's cold war culture in the 1980s will recall the shocked reactions to Reagan's intervention. People interested in foreign policy were astonished when in 1985 he met alone at Geneva - alone, not a single strategic thinker at his elbow! - with the Soviet Communist master…” quote by Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/russell-baker-2930_cold_those-who-remember-washington-s-cold-war_1350252.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/russell-baker-2930_cold_those-who-remember-washington-s-cold-war_1350252.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/russell-baker-2930_cold_those-who-remember-washington-s-cold-war_1350252.png) > “Those who remember Washington's cold war culture in the 1980s will recall the shocked reactions to Reagan's intervention. People interested in foreign policy were astonished when in 1985 he met alone at Geneva - alone, not a single strategic thinker at his elbow! - with the Soviet Communist master Gorbachev.” [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The piece recalls shocked reactions to Reagan's solo meeting with Gorbachev, highlighting unexpected diplomatic moves. **In simple terms:** People were surprised by Reagan meeting Gorbachev alone. Key Takeaway Unexpected diplomatic actions can reshape perceptions. Themes politics history surprise Mood thoughtful critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - international relations - policy analysis - historical study - media commentary Key Concepts Cold War diplomacy leadership Questions to Reflect On - What does this event reveal about leadership styles? - How do surprise diplomatic moves affect public opinion? A Different Perspective Such meetings may overlook broader strategic contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) [Communist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communist/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Elbows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elbows/) [Foreign policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-policy/) [Geneva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geneva/) [Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gorbachev/) [Intervention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervention/) [Master Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master-gorbachev-4590128/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Mets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mets/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reactions/) [Reactions Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reactions-reagan-4590126/) [Reagan Intervention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reagan-intervention-4590127/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Shocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shocked/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Strategic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategic/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I cannot imagine how any diplomat, or any dramatist, could improve on (Ronald Reagan's) words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva summit: 'Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-cannot-imagine-how-any-diplomat-or-any-dramatist-could-improve-on/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [A man writing a letter is a man in the act of thinking, and it was an exercise Reagan obviously enjoyed. After his first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/a-man-writing-a-letter-is-a-man-in-the-act-of-thinking-and-it-was-an/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Those who warned that Gorbachev was being put under too much pressure were wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/those-who-warned-that-gorbachev-was-being-put-under-too-much-pressure/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [I like Mr Gorbachev, we can do business together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-like-mr-gorbachev-we-can-do-business-together/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Mr. Gorbachev initiated Glasnost, Perestroika, so he was already, you know, way disenchanted with the rigid Communist ideology, and he was looking to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/mr-gorbachev-initiated-glasnost-perestroika-so-he-was-already-you/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Mr. Gorbachev has apparently stumbled onto one of the best-kept secrets in recent Soviet history: Communism doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/mr-gorbachev-has-apparently-stumbled-onto-one-of-the-best-kept/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [I love art. I used to have a painting of Gorbachev that was given to my family by Gorbachev.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armie-hammer/i-love-art-i-used-to-have-a-painting-of-gorbachev-that-was-given-to/) [Armie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armie-hammer/) > [It is a great honor for me to be presented the award by Mikhail Gorbachev and also to be acknowledged with the World Actress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-hatcher/it-is-a-great-honor-for-me-to-be-presented-the-award-by-mikhail/) [Teri Hatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teri-hatcher/) > [I can't imagine here would be a Chinese Gorbachev. But the party will gradually open up. For instance, it has already set a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-xiaobo/i-can-t-imagine-here-would-be-a-chinese-gorbachev-but-the-party-will/) [Liu Xiaobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-xiaobo/) > [“Very often the test of one's allegiance to a cause or to a people is precisely the willingness to stay the course when things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/very-often-the-test-of-one-s-allegiance-to-a-cause-or-to-a-people-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Stalin, of course, never went on trial, but his legacy did. In 1956, three years after his death, he was denounced by Nikita Khrushchev.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/stalin-of-course-never-went-on-trial-but-his-legacy-did-in-1956-three/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [I left Gorbachev's office thinking that everything about him was outsized: his achievements, his mistakes, and, now, his vanity and bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/i-left-gorbachev-s-office-thinking-that-everything-about-him-was/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [ I couldn't help but say to \[Mr. Gorbachev\], just think how easy his task and mine might be in these meetings that we held… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-couldn-t-help-but-say-to-mr-gorbachev-just-think-how-easy-his-task/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [ He \[Mikhail Gorbachev\] has, as many great leaders have, impressive eyes…There's a kind of laser-beam stare, a forced quality, you get from Gorbachev that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/he-mikhail-gorbachev-has-as-many-great-leaders-have-impressive-eyes/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [If we talk about changes of power in Russia, that has occurred several times in the past century. After Stalin came Khrushchev, who implemented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-khodorkovsky/if-we-talk-about-changes-of-power-in-russia-that-has-occurred-several/) [Mikhail Khodorkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-khodorkovsky/) ## More by Russell Baker > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [The people who are always hankering loudest for some golden yesteryear usually drive new cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-people-who-are-always-hankering-loudest-for-some-golden/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/in-writing-punctuation-plays-the-role-of-body-language-it-helps/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Kingsley Amis was one of a trio of brilliant comic novelists who made English literature sparkle in the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/kingsley-amis-was-one-of-a-trio-of-brilliant-comic-novelists-who-made/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Life seemed to be an educator's practical joke in which you spent the first half learning and the second half learning that everything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/life-seemed-to-be-an-educator-s-practical-joke-in-which-you-spent-the/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [I gave up on new poetry myself 30 years ago when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/i-gave-up-on-new-poetry-myself-30-years-ago-when-most-of-it-began-to/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [After two years studying what rewrite men did with the facts I phoned them, I knew that journalism was essentially a task of stringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/after-two-years-studying-what-rewrite-men-did-with-the-facts-i-phoned/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [American foreign policy had still not recovered from its victory over communism when George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice took over at the White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/american-foreign-policy-had-still-not-recovered-from-its-victory-over/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Anything that isn't opposed by about 40 percent of humanity is either an evil business or so unimportant that it simply doesn't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/anything-that-isn-t-opposed-by-about-40-percent-of-humanity-is-either/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [When you're the only pea in the pod, your parents are likely to get you confused with the Hope diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/when-you-re-the-only-pea-in-the-pod-your-parents-are-likely-to-get/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Serious journalism need not be solemn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/serious-journalism-need-not-be-solemn/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Ireland really is my problem; the breaking point of the huge suppuration which all British and all European society now is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/ireland-really-is-my-problem-the-breaking-point-of-the-huge/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Journalism talk is part of the nonstop background noise of American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/journalism-talk-is-part-of-the-nonstop-background-noise-of-american/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [An educated person is one who has learned that information almost always turns out to be at best incomplete and very often false, misleading,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/an-educated-person-is-one-who-has-learned-that-information-almost/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [The best discussion of trouble in boardroom and business office is found in newspapers' own financial pages and speeches by journalists in management jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-best-discussion-of-trouble-in-boardroom-and-business-office-is/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) [Explore all 145 Russell Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) [Jimy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimy-williams/) > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) [Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/) > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who remember Washington's cold war culture in the 1980s will recall the shocked reactions to Reagan's intervention. 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