Talk:Tear down this wall

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	Tear down this wall has been listed as one of the Social sciences and society good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can delist it, or ask for a reassessment.
February 20, 2008 Good article nominee Listed

	Tear down this wall is part of the Cold War WikiProject, an effort to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to the Cold War on the Wikipedia. This includes but is not limited to the people, places, things, and events, and anything else associated with the Cold War. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
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Contents 1 Comma 2 Criticism 3 Clarification 4 Colin Powell 5 Pink Floyd 6 "finest in world history"? 7 Gorbachev allowed Berliners to destroy the wall? 8 Successful good article nomination 9 New Image of President Ronald Reagan being presented a now obsolete checkpoint sign

[edit] Comma

I inserted a much needed comma in:

the 40th US president credited by his supporters with winning the Cold War. :) Junes 6 July 2005 19:34 (UTC)

I dunno, there are some pretty rabid James K. Polk supporters who credit him with winning the Cold War. — Phil Welch 6 July 2005 20:32 (UTC)

[edit] Criticism

Was there any criticism at the time of Reagan's speech? People concerned that the speech was too hard-line? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.170.67.92 (talk • contribs) 07:12, November 14, 2005 (UTC)

Grandstanding nonsense. I doubt such a speech would have seen the light of day had a hard-liner been in the Kremlin. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.72.148.102 (talk • contribs) 03:50, March 24, 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Clarification

The article certainly needs to explain why State and the NSC were opposed to the speech. Cited sources are definitely needed here. The bit about "credited by his supporters with winning the Cold War" seems to have been removed since the above comment was made, and it's a good thing too. Reagan had about as much to do with winning the Cold War as James K. Polk did. Angr (talk • contribs) 09:35, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Colin Powell

Why is Colin Powell's criticism of Reagan's speech relevant? He was neither connected with the State Department, nor National Security Advisor at the time. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by TheGroon (talk • contribs) 07:12, November 16, 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pink Floyd

I wonder if the phrase had any inspiration from Pink Floyd's song "The Trial" (1979), which ends with the line "Tear down the wall!". :-) --Itub 10:50, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "finest in world history"?

"The speech is remembered as one of the finest in world history."

Should this be backed up? Remembered by whom? Remembered when? Amongst which speeches is it remembered?

Some people fail to realize that Ronald Reagan simply was grandstanding, being "Hollywood," taking advantage of a great photo opportunity. There was nothing particulrly noteworthy in his making his comment about the wall when he did. Dismantling the Soviet Union was already in the works, the powers in the Kremlin could see it was failing and had long before planned to take the USSR down. Reagan's privileged position as U.S. President gave him some inside information and allowed him to know their timeframe, so he simply was taking advantage of that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by repubsdrivel12.155.13.9 (talk) 02:31, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

This statement appears to be very US centric, from the European point of view Reagan has been a follower trying to catch up with the rapid pace of reforms imposed by Mikhail Gorbachev. If you check the French page and the German page, there is not even a mention of that speech.Sfoucher (talk) 03:44, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gorbachev allowed Berliners to destroy the wall?

Was he in any position to "allow" it, esp. when the leadership of the GDR would have opposed him? Lars T. (talk) 10:32, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Successful good article nomination

I am glad to report that this article nomination for good article status has been promoted. This is how the article, as of February 20, 2008, compares against the six good article criteria:

1. Well written?: Quite well written

2. Factually accurate?: Reliable sources well cited in the text.

3. Broad in coverage?: For one phrase, the article contains an extraordinary amount of detail.

4. Neutral point of view?: Pass

5. Article stability? Fairly stable.

6. Images?: The one image included is excellent.

Off to the Ronald Reagan featured topic we go… If you feel that this review is in error, feel free to take it to Good article reassessment. Thank you to all of the editors who worked hard to bring it to this status, and congratulations.— Kakofonous (talk) 04:35, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Wow - I literally listed this about a half hour ago on the GAN page, if that. Thanks for the quick pass! Happyme22 (talk) 04:37, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Already?! All I did was go over to play some Fantasy-Impromptu and I come back to find another GA. Thanks! bibliomaniac15 05:15, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] New Image of President Ronald Reagan being presented a now obsolete checkpoint sign

President Reagan was presented obsolete checkpoint sign about leaving the American section of Berlin while at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin Germany on Sep 14 1990. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain. Thought it maybe a good addition to the article. (Halgin (talk) 03:23, 29 February 2008 (UTC)).

I'm not sure what the relevance of it is. Yes, it is an interesting photo, but why and where? Happyme22 (talk) 03:49, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm also unsure why this would belong in this article. bibliomaniac15 03:51, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Talks to the legacy of the speech. The sign was used at Checkpoint like Checkpoint Charlie when leaving West Berlin. When the Berlin wall was taken down the checkpoint sign became obsolete. Presenting it to Ronald Reagan talk to legacy of the speech in helping to tear down the Berlin wall.(Halgin (talk) 01:18, 4 March 2008 (UTC)).

That is a clarification. My problem with the image is that Reagan isn't well-visible and only in the background. I'm willing to give it a shot, but let's see what other users think. Happyme22 (talk) 01:57, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

It's too shadowy, and Reagan isn't very clear. I don't think it would be of very much illustrative use. bibliomaniac15 I see no changes 05:31, 4 March 2008 (UTC)