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In Washington, there was a discernible sense of skepticism about whether a new age was dawning in East-West relations. Many analysts felt that Gorbachev, however young and personable, could ultimately prove to be a supremely talented apparatchik, but one without the breadth of vision to carry out far- reaching internal reforms or a reassessment of the Soviet Union's relations abroad. Calendar age does not necessarily equate with political outlook, nor is new necessarily better. Said one State Department official: "Gorbachev's energy will vitalize his office, so the possibility of progress is greater. But at the same time his ability to exploit our vulnerabilities is greater." President Reagan offered his own assessment of the Soviet leader who might eventually face him at the summit table: "I do not think that there is any evidence that he is less dominated by their system and their philosophy than any of the others, but it is not true that I do not trust anyone under 70."
Reagan's quip touched on a blind spot in outside perceptions of the Soviet Union. The world has dealt for so long with a gerontocracy in Moscow that it knows next to nothing about the men of Gorbachev's generation who will move forward now that he has breached the generational dividing wall. Will better education and greater exposure make them more flexible in their thinking and more accommodating in their dealings with foreigners? Or will they master the ways of the West, but only to pursue better the Soviet Union's long-standing interests?
Clearly it was much too early to take more than a quick measure of Gorbachev. First impressions, whether of new U.S. Presidents or new Soviet General Secretaries, have proved too often to be false impressions. Given the many promises made and broken, the aborted starts and wrong turnings in the tortuous history of U.S.-Soviet relations, there seemed little reason to hope that Moscow and Washington would be any more likely to take advantage of the present period of change to put their relationship on a new footing.