Former W.H. communications chief recalls fight over speech
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — As Ronald Reagan is remembered and praised for bringing an end to the Cold War, a former White House communications chief recalls an insider fight over the line: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
Tom Griscom, publisher and executive editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, said the memorable line from Reagan’s June 1987 speech in West Berlin survived objections by top administration officials.
Griscom said in an interview Tuesday that those objectors included then-Secretary of State George Shultz and Colin Powell, the president’s deputy national security adviser.
Griscom had been working in a public relations firm with former President Carter’s press secretary, Jody Powell, when he left to take the Reagan administration job in February 1987.
Griscom said he took the job at the prodding of fellow Tennessean Howard Baker when the Republican Senate majority leader replaced Donald Regan as White House chief of staff.
As White House communications director, speech writers answered to Griscom, who previously worked as press secretary for Baker.
Griscom said that in advance of Reagan’s trip, speech writer Peter Robinson traveled to Berlin to mingle with people and get ideas for the president’s remarks.
“While in Berlin, Peter one night has dinner with a small group … and talks to Berliners about what is on their mind,” Griscom said.
The group told Robinson they had family on both sides of the wall, in many cases relatives they had not seen in a long time.
“That was the beginning,” Griscom said.
After seeing Reagan’s reaction to the line in a draft of the speech, Griscom decided “it was right.”
Griscom said there were six or seven drafts circulated to top presidential advisers.
“From the very beginning, every draft that came back … the more direct approach, was dropped out,” Griscom said. “They didn’t take the whole reference out totally. It got watered down to `At some point maybe this wall ought to come down.'”
Griscom said the line would then “be put back in the way it was.”
Griscom said he was in West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate when Reagan delivered the speech and “when it came time he hit that thing just right on the button and the audience just exploded.”
In the speech, Reagan said: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate.”
“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
In November 1989, East Germany opened the wall under pressure from pro-democracy protests. On Oct. 3, 1990, the communist East merged with the capitalist West.
Griscom said Reagan’s speech was risky.
“Was there a little apprehension? Yeah, I mean I had a lot of apprehension because I was sort of hanging out there and you know it is the president of the United States … and you’ve been told by the secretary of state that you might end this universal relationship between the president and Gorbachev and the president and the USSR — that is something you don’t take lightly,” he said.
“And to his credit, at the end of the speech the secretary of state came up to me and did say `It was right to leave it in,'” Griscom said.