PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. "BILL" CLINTON - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/24/1991 - HFSID 286180

BILL CLINTON

TLS to a supporter in Albany, New York, on letterhead of the Clinton for President Exploratory Committeee (1991), matted to 11x13. "Thanks for being with us at the start."

Typed Letter signed: "Bill", single 8x10 page, matted to 11x13. Little Rock, Arkansas, 1991 September 24. On letterhead of the Clinton for President Exploratory Committee to Paul Carey, Albany, New York. In full: "A brief note to let you know how very much I appreciate your giving of your time, friendship and brain power at our get together in Washington last weekend. Both Hillary and I are grateful for your confidence and encouragement and we also appreciate your candor and advice. Right now we feel really good about going forward, but we know that to be successful we'll need your continued support and help. Thanks for being with us at the start. Warmest regards".  Clinton, born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas in 1946, was Governor of Arkansas (1979-1981, 1983-1992) before taking this Oath twice, as the first Democrat re-elected President since FDR. Clinton formally announced his candidacy on October 2, 1991, 8 days after he signed this letter. However, the language of the letter ("…we feel really good about going forward … Thanks for being with us at the start") left little doubt that he had already decided to throw his hat in the ring. The only elected U.S. President to be impeached (Andrew Johnson was impeached, but he had not been elected to the office), Clinton was acquitted in 1999 on both articles of impeachment brought against him: charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton's popularity stood at 67% at the end of his trial, however. Obviously, many Americans were willing to overlook his personal failings in an era of peace and prosperity. His accomplishments in office included a waiting period for gun purchases (the Brady Law), the Family and Medical Leave Act, the North American Free Trade Agreement, welfare reform and balancing of the federal budget. Clinton had previously co-written (with Al Gore) Putting People First (1992), and he would publish his autobiography, My Life, in 2004. Clinton's wife, former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, was US Senator from New York and a 2008 Presidential candidate before accepting the post of Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Bill Clinton himself remains an important public figure, whose initiatives include many humanitarian led jointly with the man he defeated in 1992: George Bush. Signature light but legible. Fine condition.