On this 20th anniversary of the day Ronald Reagan dared Mikhail
Gorbachev to “Tear Down this Wall” while standing at the
Brandenburg Gate, one needs only to read a few headlines from
the week that followed to capture the angst of some in the Cold
War press. Much of that angst was directed at Reagan, who by
June 12, 1987, had been written off as a cold warrior. “A
Potemkin President: Reagan is losing the air of authority,”
declared one column in The New York Times, before the writer
went on to announce that the presidency was “ceasing to
function” and predict, “19 months of a surreal Presidency to go.
If it lasts.” Perhaps one could call it a generation gap. Reagan
and his peers were the “Greatest Generation,” one that
confronted the enemy directly and won, one that rebuilt the
world after winning a world war. Many emerged with an enduring
optimism. By contrast, some in the Cold War press reported the
world through gloom-and-doom eyeshades. Mutually assured
destruction was a constant threat. The best that coul