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Nation: Fans line up for Bill Clinton
trading cards 
By BRIAN SKOLOFF,
Associated Press HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (August 10,
2001 9:56 p.m. EDT) - Fans began lining up Friday at 6 a.m. so they could be
among the first to own a Bill Clinton trading card.
When the doors to the convention center opened seven hours later, 1,200
people had gathered to watch the former president's stepfather, Dick Kelley,
accept the first baseball-style card.
"I want to tell ya, I'm one of the proudest guys that ever came down the
pike," Kelley said.
The cards depict Clinton in three poses, describe the former president's ties
to Hot Springs and include a sales pitch for the town.
"These will be collector's items one of these days," said Ed James, 76, while
waiting in line.
Clinton said he's delighted.
"Hot Springs is very special to me and I'm proud to support the city,"
Clinton said through a spokesman. "I've always loved baseball cards, too."
Steve Arrison, executive director of the city's Advertising and Promotion
Commission, headed the plan to print the 300,000 Clinton cards. But even Arrison
was shocked at how fast the $8,000 project snowballed through media interviews.
"The bottom line is 2.4 million people heard about this yesterday ... We've
already had over $7 million in free advertising," he said.
Arrison is considering printing at least one more batch of cards. A
self-addressed, stamped envelope is the only payment necessary to get the free
cards by mail.
"People made fun of me for comparing Clinton's popularity to people like
Princess Di, but I think he's definitely in that class," Arrison said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ D I V E R S I O N Z To Sign Up for Daily Updates or to Learn
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