WASHINGTON — All smiles and compliments, President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called on President Bush and first lady Laura Bush Monday in a White House visit that was part political ritual, part practical introduction and a striking symbol of the historic transfer of power to come.
The president and Obama talked war and financial crisis. Laura Bush and Michelle Obama talked about raising daughters in the nation’s most famous house.
Then Obama flew back to Chicago to work on setting up the new administration that will take over on Jan. 20.
Mrs. Obama went out hunting a new school for the kids, visiting two of the capital’s best-known private schools.
If first impressions matter, the president-elect and his wife displayed one similarity to the super-punctual Bushes, pulling up to the White House’s South Portico 11 minutes early. The couples traded warm and easy greetings in the autumn sunshine, with the wives exchanging pleasantries about the fall hues each wore — Mrs. Bush in a brown dress and Mrs. Obama in a red one.
The 43rd president and the man who will be the 44th met alone in the Oval Office, with no handlers or staff. It was Obama’s first time in the storied workspace.
Neither the Bushes nor the Obamas spoke to reporters, and details about their meetings were few.
Setting a gracious tone
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the two men “talked extensively” about the economic situation and foreign policy.
“Obviously the topics that came up are what you’ve seen and heard about in the news recently and about what a number of transition officials spoke about on the Sunday (TV talk) shows,” he said.
Topics included “the need to get the economy back on track,” Gibbs said, and “what’s going on in the auto industry.”
The discussion on the auto industry wasn’t limited to just one of the nation’s three largest car makers, he said. “It was a discussion about the broad health of the industry, and they also spoke about the housing industry and foreclosures.”
As for Obama’s first glimpse of the Oval Office: “He said it was a very, very nice office,” Gibbs said.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said that Bush described the meeting as “constructive, relaxed and friendly,” covering problems at home and abroad, and that he personally pledged a smooth transition. Bush gave Obama a sneak peek at White House highlights, such as the Lincoln Bedroom and the president’s office in the residence, after their hour-plus in the Oval Office.
Parallel discussions
While Bush and Obama talked, parallel confabs went on all around the building.
Bush chief of staff Josh Bolten and Obama transition manager John Podesta, himself a former White House chief of staff under President Clinton, held their own talks after standing off to the side together in the Rose Garden watching their bosses walk by.
Obama’s likely White House press secretary, Gibbs, got a glimpse of the West Wing digs he probably will occupy — including a fancy bank of television screens on one wall.
Outside, crowds built throughout the day with people pressing their noses through the fencing around the White House complex in hopes of getting a glimpse of the first family to be. Street vendors operating nearby were already stocked with Obama-related merchandise.
Both Bush and Obama have set a tone of graciousness and cooperation that has surprised — and pleased — many observers.
Obama has shown no inclination for gloating. And Bush has been notably generous in his comments since the election.
