A politician bounds energetically up to the crowd of factory workers, smiles broadly, lets loose with a colorful anecdote. He listens intently to what the laborers say about work conditions, inefficiency, corruption. He promises to change things.
A Democratic senatorial candidate looking toward November? No. Mikhail Gorbachev. Since he began ruling the Kremlin in March 1985, the 55-year-old Gorbachev has dramatically altered the face of the Moscow leadership, from the superannuated, lumpish look of Brezhnev, Chernenko, et al. to a relatively dynamic and expressive visage. With his fashion-conscious wife, Raisa, at his side, Gorbachev is leading the Great Communicator a merry chase in the world of public opinion.
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