The Digital Journalist
David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
One attribute most great politicians have is a finely- honed sense of drama. Ronald Reagan had it, knew how to use it, and almost always turned it to his advantage. One laser-guided look from him was as sharp and bright as a lightning bolt, and those bolts translated vividly onto film. One example of this was the night in Reykjavik, Iceland, when Reagan walked Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev out to his car after the conclusion of their second summit conference. The meeting had lasted several hours longer than scheduled, and those of us outside freezing in the cold believed that there was more going on in there than just the pro forma get-together that had been advertised. I stood directly across from the two leaders as they bid each other adieu. Their conversation seemed anything but warm. And then Reagan fixed Gorby with that, "there you go again," expression and, at that moment, I shot the photo that appeared on the cover of Time the next day under the headline, "No Deal: Star Wars Sinks The Summit." The president could have been a great silent film actor - no words were needed to express his displeasure at a high-level conference gone awry.