Word: pragmatist
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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European diplomats were delighted to find that grim Grom's avuncular-looking successor was pleasant, modest and easy to deal with, even on tough questions. Shevardnadze described himself as a pragmatist: "The Soviet Union is firmly in favor of a solid and honest dialogue," he said. "We are interested in results...
...plays the complex game of Middle East politics by the bareknuckle rules of the region. Says another diplomat: "He does what he thinks is expedient. He is not driven by ideology or whim. He coldly calculates every move. He is simply a brutal and very clever pragmatist." Adds TIME correspondent Dan Goodgame: "On meeting him, a visitor is first struck by his eyes, crackling with alertness and at the same time cold and remorseless as snake eyes on the sides of dice. They are the eyes of a killer...
Described as "the most pessimistic idealist," or as an "optimistic pragmatist" by acquaintances, Romano seems to understnad that the secret to a moral philosophy lies in its contradictions and occasional inconsistencies. He firmly holds that the guide to the right often depends more on one's heart and turn of mind than on doctrine and sometimes even reason--and that in any case hands-on experience refutes feelings of helplessness or passivity...