我不知道现在还有多少人把周恩来当明星崇拜。不把他看成大奸似善的恶魔，就一定把他当成明星？对待历史人物，为什么一定要持这种非此即彼的极端看法？
真的要反思，避免文革式的悲剧重演，还是要从制度上找原因。人性都是差不多的。不能认为共产党内部个个都是恶魔，洪洞县里无好人(除个别人如彭德怀以外)，这从概率分布上也说不通。但是，不好的制度，确实使好人无法办好事，甚至办坏事，这也是不争的事实。我看把尼克松、基辛格、切尼、拉姆斯非尔德、卡尔-罗夫这些西方政治人物放到文革时的中共高层，他们的作为也不会好到哪里去，甚至有可能更坏。
读Walter Issacson写的基辛格传，里面提到尼克松在1972年访华前夕曾经专门写过一个memo，把自己跟周恩来相比，要求基辛格把这个memo作为talking points:
July 19, 1971
To: Henry Kissinger
From: The President
One effective line you could use in your talks with the press is how RN (Richard Nixon) is uniquely prepared for this meeitng and how in many ways he has similar character characteristics and background to Chou. I am just listing a few of the items that might be emphasized:
1. Strong convictions
2. Came up through adversity
3. At his best in a crisis. Cool. Unflappable.
4. A tough bold leader
5. A man who takes long view
6. A man with a philosophical turn of mind
7. A man who works without notes...
8. A man who knows Asia...
9. A man who is subtle and appears almost gentle. The tougher his position,
usually, the lower his voice..
You could point out that most of these attributes are ones that you also saw in Chou-Enlai.
(后来，基辛格按尼克松的旨意，把周恩来和尼克松作如下一对一地比较：Kissinger found many similarities between the chinese permier and the President. Chou did not nitpick, a diplomatic device that Nixon scorns too. Chou expounded his ideology with fervor, but it never overwhelmed realism. Nixon does the same. Chou did not have to use a note in 20 hours of conversation. That's the way Nixon talks.)
尼克松这样一个反共老手、自由世界的领袖，却写这样一个简直象laundry list的memo，把自己和一个共产党人物相比，他的立场到哪里去了？
大概是让地缘政治的树叶屏障了双眼吧？(不仅如此，尼克松后来在他写的“领袖们”一书中，专门花一章写周恩来。)
