Crowd and Aides Shocked : Gorbachev Leaves Car to Press Some Capital Flesh

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev suddenly stopped his motorcade on the way to the White House on Thursday, got out of his limousine and began pressing the flesh with the noontime crowd. The gesture won him rave reviews.

“Talk about the consummate public relations man!” said Leslie Kobylinski, a media relations employee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “He saw an opportunity and he took it.

“I’ve seen a lot of motorcades, but never did one stop and talk to me,” she said. “The Secret Service went crazy.”

“We were so shocked,” said John Williams, 24, executive assistant at the Council for Court Excellence. “When his interpreter asked us if we had anything to say to Gorbachev, we couldn’t think of anything.”

The brief stop was the only time Gorbachev mingled informally with ordinary Americans during his three-day visit, which saw him mostly confined to the White House or the Soviet Embassy.

Bystanders said the usually bustling foot traffic downtown was interrupted when the limousine carrying Gorbachev and Vice President George Bush came to a screeching halt on Connecticut Avenue, en route to the White House.

Bush Joins Handshaking

Bush also left the car and joined his guest in the crowd, and the two men stood side by side, waving to passers-by. Bush said later that Gorbachev told him he decided to stop because people in the Soviet Union react favorably to interaction with their leaders.

“He said he had been pushed by his people to come to a better understanding with Americans, and he had conveyed that to President Reagan and wanted the American people to know it, too,” said Lise Murphy, 31, one of about 25 passers-by who shook the general secretary’s hand.

“We didn’t know what to think,” said Murphy, who was out on an errand at the time. “Then (Gorbachev) walked over to the newsstands and started talking to us.”

She said that Gorbachev spoke in Russian and his interpreter translated.

“Then a woman whispered to him, ‘Can I shake your hand?’ said Murphy. “He broke into a broad smile and started shaking everyone’s hand. We were all startled. There was a spontaneous burst of applause.”

Security Backed Up

Julio Laboy was at the end of the block waiting for the motorcade to pass by when it stopped.

“The police cars at the front started backing up very fast. I looked down the street and saw hordes of men. I guess they were Secret Service.”

He said the police officers clutched their guns and the plainclothes agents yelled at people on the sidewalks to keep their hands out of their pockets.

Gorbachev’s KGB guards rushed to catch up and gathered around him, but he continued to shake hands. Bystanders said he lingered for about five minutes.

‘Gorbachev Was Beautiful’

Duke Zeibert, whose restaurant was on the motorcade route, said afterward: “Gorbachev was beautiful! The people just loved him. That guy has got more charisma. . . . He was like Sinatra or Barbra Streisand, just taking a bow.”

“It was a class act,” said George Purcell, an office supply store proprietor who was on his way back from lunch when he saw the action. “I know it was a public relations move, but it was great the way he orchestrated it.”

For an encore, Gorbachev stopped the limousine again nearby, opened the door and waved to other passers-by, who responded with cheers.