President Clinton Meets, Greets Crowds at Chappaqua Book Signing

During the past month former President Bill Clinton has made regular appearances around the country and on the talk show circuit to stump for his new book. On Friday, he returned home to Chappaqua to sign copies for local residents.

In his latest work, the 196-page “Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy,” Clinton assesses the state of the American economy and what he thinks will help the nation get back on track.

“The whole point of this book is is to say that just being viscerally anti-government or anti-tax won’t work because if you look at all the successful economies they have lower unemployment rates than we do, they have an aggressive private sector working in partnership with an effective government,” Clinton said during a brief break at his signing at the Chappaqua Public Library to talk with local media. “It you look at all the places in America, some of which I detail in the book, that are doing really well economically, they have good partnerships.”

Admirers stood in line for up to two hours to buy one of the 500 copies provided by The Village Bookstore in Pleasantville, which organized the event. By 3 p.m., shortly before Clinton was scheduled to begin signing for the crowds inside the library’s theater, the line snaked outside the front door and into the parking lot.

Dressed semi-casually in an open collar shirt with a sweater and plaid blazer, Clinton shook hands and chatted briefly with each person who had taken the time to meet him. He also took about 10 minutes to address issues of the day and trumpet some of his contributions while in the White House.

Since 1980, the only time there’s been shared prosperity was during his second term, when the bottom 20 percent of earners saw their income grow by the same percentage as the top 20 percent, he said. Clinton mentioned the best important aspect of the Occupy Wall Street movement was to make the expanding income inequity part of the political agenda.

In order to solve that inequity, the country needs to create jobs and invest in infrastructure, he said. Not just traditional road and bridge construction, pointing to the recently completed Route 120 bridge replacement project in Chappaqua, but also to invest in high tech and green jobs.

“We in America, we don’t move these projects fast enough, we don’t do enough in modernizing the bridges, the roads, the water system,” Clinton said. “Keep in mind, the infrastructure is not just that stuff, infrastructure is also how accessible broadband is and how fast it is. If you wanted to build small business in rural and more isolated areas, then you’ve got to account for the fact that South Korea’s download speed is four times higher.”

Recently, Clinton was tabbed by President Obama to help the current administration launch a $4 billion program using public and private funds to make energy efficient upgrades in commercial space throughout the country. He said the program will create 7,000 new jobs but is only a fraction of what is needed. If it were expanded to $100 to $150 billion “we can basically eradicate unemployment in the construction industry when we can’t build new houses.”

Clinton said he was happy to support local bookstores such as The Village Bookstore and another independent business in Darien, Conn. where he had spent Friday morning signing books. He also said he shops local businesses as much as possible and was pleased in downtown Chappaqua while missing the shuttered Borders book store in Mount Kisco.

“I just like to patronize the stores in the area, the small businesses because they have a lot to do with the character of a community,” Clinton said.

People standing in line said they wouldn’t miss the chance to get an autographed copy of Clinton’s book and to meet him–even if it was for a fleeting moment.

“I think it’s always a great experience to get a chance to see and meet an ex-president of the United States and we’re just lucky enough that President Clinton is in our community and he’s got a new book so we’re out supporting him,” said Millwood resident Harlan Weinberg.

Devra Sirot drove about 40 minutes from her home in Weston, Conn. to realize her dream of meeting Clinton. She heard this morning he was signing in Darien but needed to buy the book yesterday to gain admittance. However, security there told her he was making an appearance at the Chappaqua Library so Sirot made the trip.

“I admire him, I think he’s one of the brightest, most wonderful, biggest hearted presidents we’ve ever had and I always looked forward to an opportunity to say hello to him and shake his hand,” Sirot said.

Pleasantville resident Karen Kim brought her two young children for the moment. Although they only know of President Obama, Kim said they will appreciate it more when they get older.

“My kids don’t really understand yet but someday they’ll understand they had an opportunity to meet someone very special,” she said.