252 THE END OF THE COLD WAR
‘Perhaps I should have stayed in Hollywood.’ Shevardnadze replied:
‘But then there would be no treaty on intermediate- and short-range
rockets.’^24
The Americans pushed for signed agreements. In autumn 1987,
when they thought Gorbachëv was dragging his feet, Shultz was
brutally candid with Shevardnadze. If Gorbachëv failed to comply, he
would have to deal with whoever next occupied the White House –
the implication was that this would not be suit the USSR’s interests.^25
On their side, Soviet leaders worried that Reagan’s health might give
out. One of Shevardnadze’s aides noted on 15 September: ‘Ronnie was
exhausted. He lasted only fifteen minutes. His mouth gaped, his eyes
lost their brightness and he looked piteously.’^26 Reagan grew visibly
tired and inattentive if a meeting ran over three-quarters of an hour.
His way of coping was to tell jokes or to hand over to Shultz.^27 In later
years there was to be speculation about whether Alzheimer’s disease
had already begun to affect him. Weinberger believed him hale and
hearty when in office.^28 Richard Allen could recall no signs of memory
loss till 1991.^29 Martin Anderson suggested that a horse-riding fall in
Mexico in 1989 could have caused the mental decline – the former
President suffered a bang on his head and needed a cranial operation
to relieve the swelling.^30
Both sides wished to be on better terms. The friendliness between
President and General Secretary was enhanced by the care that Reagan
took never to crow over the concessions he extracted from Gorbachëv.
Once he achieved a victory, he kept his pleasure to his diary. Results
were what counted for him.^31
Reagan peppered Shevardnadze with questions about Soviet his-
tory. This led to some interesting exchanges. When Shultz referred
to Shevardnadze’s remarks on American ignorance about the USSR,
Reagan mentioned the American War of Independence and said: ‘We
too began with an armed uprising!’^32 Reagan quizzed Shevardnadze
about the connection between Lenin and Stalin. Shevardnadze vaguely
admitted that Lenin had not achieved everything he wanted. He
acknowledged that agriculture in the USSR was ‘ineffective’, but then
changed the subject by claiming to be a better wine-grower than any
other foreign minister. Reagan recommended the introduction of
private farming. Having read reports of internal opposition to Gor-
bachëv, Reagan asked whether this was akin to the situation that he
himself confronted in the American Congress. Shevardnadze denied
any similarity. He said that Gorbachëv faced a problem in changing