Harry Truman once compared "Uncle Joe" Stalin with Tom Pendergast, the Kansas City political boss: both were wily machine politicians who could be bargained with. Every President since then has been tempted to personalize America's unwieldy struggle with the Soviet Union. Even Ronald Reagan. Before dealing with Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva, the former president of the Screen Actors Guild said he was reminded of his days dealing with the old studio moguls. Last week, awaiting the arrival of the world's most unlikely new superstar, Reagan came up with an even more fitting personal analogy. "I don't resent his popularity," the President...
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