In 1985, Clinton Wrote Reagan— Not That Clinton

Precocious 5-year-old Chelsea had seen 'Sound of Music,' you see
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2015 7:21 AM CDT
In 1985, Clinton Wrote Reagan— Not That Clinton
In this Jan. 20, 1991, file photo, then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and daughter Chelsea celebrate his inauguration as governor in Little Rock.   (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

Five-year-old Chelsea Clinton sat down in 1985 and wrote a letter to the inhabitant of the house where she would go on to spend her teenage years: "Dear Mr. President, I have seen the Sound of Music: the Nazis don't look like very nice people," she wrote to President Reagan in 1985, after he announced his intention to visit Germany's Bitburg cemetery. "Please don't go to their cemetary (sic)." In case her plea didn't win over the Gipper, Clinton added a rainbow heart sticker. The letter is included in Clinton's first book, a civics primer for schoolkids, and was photocopied by Bill Clinton and saved for her, reports People.

"I didn't think an American president should honor a group of soldiers that included Nazis. President Reagan still went, but at least I had tried in my own small way," Clinton writes in her book, It's Your World: Get Informed! Get Inspired! Get Going! The former first daughter says she was inspired as a kid by the book 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth. "It helped me understand climate change and what was happening in the world. But also, it was so empowering to me because it said that I could do something about it." Clinton says she hopes her book can similarly move kids to action. (More Chelsea Clinton stories.)

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