Czechoslovakia: Smiling Mike Wows 'Em in Prague

Smiling Mike Wows 'Em in Prague 19 years after the tanks, Gorbachev comes calling

The crowds in Prague last week could have been greeting a rock star or a movie idol. "I can see him! I can see him! He has on a hat!" cried one woman. "We're all his supporters. I was so close, I could look at him eye to eye." Swooned another: "My heart was thumping!" The object of their affection, though, was not the U2 band or Television Star Harry Hamlin. It was none other than Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was making his first official visit to Czechoslovakia.

The ironies of the trip were lost on few visitors. Nearly two...

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