> Assuming that Mao said and thought this, he was probably thinking that Republican administrations were better for China than Democratic ones. The Soviets thought Republicans were better than Democrats as well.
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That was true in that case and in other cases but not always. Khrushchev told the Politburo he would trust Eisenhower with his own grandchildren but he feared Nixon in 1960 and actively took steps he thought would help Kennedy. The Soviets were obviously terrified of Goldwater and rooted for Johnson. Brezhnev and the Soviet public didn't develop their great fondness for Nixon until around 1972, when the Moscow summit took place, during which Nixon also delivered a television address to the Soviet people. The love for Nixon rubbed off on Ford, but the Soviets came to detest Carter, who handled them incompetently. Nevertheless, they desperately preferred Carter to Reagan in 1980. But by 1986 Reagan and Gorbachev developed a very close relationship, which surprised everyone, not least American conservatives. Chris, I'm guessing the Russian public doesn't remember Reagan as fondly as Gorbachev liked him at the time?
SA