SOUTH PORTLAND (AP) – Former President Bill Clinton appeared at a book signing Monday and said he was looking forward to meeting in Kennebunkport with his one-time political foe, former President George H.W. Bush.

About 70 people were already in line when the Borders bookstore next to the Maine Mall opened and the line snaked around three sides of the building by noon. The first 500 were permitted to meet Clinton and have him sign their copies of his memoir, “My Life.”

Customers cheered when Clinton arrived in the store wearing a burnt-orange golf shirt and slacks.

“I feel great. I’ve been working hard,” Clinton said in his brief remarks to reporters, saying his tsunami mission included visits to a dozen countries in 15 days.

Those who came away with their signed copies of the Clinton memoir and the memory of a handshake with the ex-president said it was worth the wait.

That was doubly true for Betty Pomroy of Portland, who also got Clinton to sign a photo of Clinton and her son Colin, a Verizon employee, that was taken at the White House.

“It was like a dream,” she said. “It’s like a dream come true.”

After learning that Clinton would be in Maine for the book signing, Bush had invited him to his summer home at Walker’s Point. The 1992 election rivals became friends earlier this year when they led fund-raising as part of the relief effort for victims of the Asian tsunami.

Clinton joined Bush for a boat ride on the Atlantic Ocean after the book-signing.

Clinton was seen kneeling to pet a dog when he arrived at Walker’s Point, the summer home of George and Barbara Bush on Maine’s rocky coast.

Later, Clinton and Bush waved to onlookers early Monday evening as they boated up and down the river that separates Kennebunk and Kennebunkport before roaring into the ocean for a short ride in Bush’s three-engine boat, the Fidelity III.

Copy the Story Link