Editorial: We’ve come a long way

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Monday, Feb. 16, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

During the Cold War it would have been inconceivable for a president of the Soviet Union to be welcomed in Nevada, where nuclear bombs were being tested for their readiness in case the two nations went to war.

On March 22, however, we will get a chance to see and hear how far we've come since the days when our two nations were poised for World War III. Mikhail Gorbachev is scheduled to speak that day at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as part of the Marjorie Barrick Lecture Series. He will be in town to meet with former President George H.W. Bush. The two former world leaders have agreed to be spokesmen for a tourism venture in the new Russia. The venture, brainchild of Tom Tait, the former director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, is centered on turning a stretch of highway in Russia into a cultural tour.

As the United States now welcomes a president of the former Soviet Union, Russia welcomes American tourists. There is hope for world peace yet.