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US News and World Report
March 24, 2002
DAILY WHISPER
Moscow's Vlad and Gorby show
He's not pitching Viagra yet, but Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, is riding a successful return from political failure that rivals that of Republican Bob Dole. Pushed aside by Boris Yeltsin, then boxed away for several years, Gorby is once again a Kremlin regular, often chatting about world affairs with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two have become close, with Putin lifting some of Yeltsin's restrictions on Gorby—like a ban from appearing on tv. And Gorbachev, who always had a special touch when it came to Western politics and pr, has been tapped as an official emissary, even to the White House. The Bush team welcomes Gorbachev's new role, but the administration looks at the Putin-Gorbachev relationship a little differently. "Putin," says a Bushie, "taps folks from the old regime who might have a skill or special access in the West. He makes them feel good, and it gets them to stop pestering him." And, the Bush aide adds, "it's just good politics. It's like Bill Clinton tapping Bob Dole to go on a mission for him."
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