Chamorro: More Than Just a Name?

The President-elect was called to the telephone in her elegant home Monday night just as the guard at the front door admitted a visitor. On the line was Ronald Reagan. In the foyer was Daniel Ortega Saavedra. Both wanted to congratulate Violeta Chamorro on her stunning upset, though clearly Reagan was the happier of the two. With the charm and diplomacy bred by her patrician upbringing, Chamorro told Reagan that she would have to call him back. Then she turned and embraced the Sandinista chief.

That these two antagonists sought out Chamorro at precisely the same moment was appropriate. Seven weeks...