(Updates with statement from White House press secretary Dana Perino)
By Henry J. Pulizzi
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Putting aside any tension left over from the bruising presidential campaign, President-elect Barack Obama and the man he will replace in January, George W. Bush, met at the White House Monday, Obama's first visit since his historic election.
The meeting was high on symbolism, as Bush and First Lady Laura Bush welcomed Obama and his wife Michelle to their new home. But it was also an important business session, as one administration hands over an economy in peril, two wars and an exploding federal budget.
All substantive issues were discussed behind closed doors, with the White House providing scant access to the media, beyond two brief photo opportunities. The first was a shot of the Bushes greeting the Obamas on the South Lawn. Photographers then captured the two men walking along the colonnade that skirts the Rose Garden on their way to the Oval Office.
They met in the Oval Office for slightly more than an hour. The Obamas were at the White House for just under two hours in total.
"They had a broad discussion about the importance of working together throughout the transition of government in light of the nation's many critical economic and security challenges," Obama-Biden transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said in a statement. She said the Obamas were welcomed "very warmly" by the Bushes.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said "The President and the President-elect had a long meeting, described by the President as good, constructive, relaxed and friendly. They spoke about both domestic and international issues.... The President also showed President-elect Obama the living quarters, including the office the President uses, the Lincoln Bedroom, and the rooms for the Obamas' two young daughters."
She added "The President enjoyed his visit with the President-elect, and he again pledged a smooth transition to the next administration."
Just two-and-a-half months before Obama takes the oath of office and with the world facing a steep economic downturn, a range of issues were likely on the agenda for their Oval Office session. Bush has promised a smooth transition process, and Monday's meeting was a rare one-on-one chance for the men to discuss the day's hot-button issues.
The president-elect has called for a economic stimulus package to be enacted later this month, including an extension of unemployment benefits. If it isn't, he says it will be his first order of business as president. The Bush White House doesn't like Congressional Democrats' stimulus ideas though, opposition that could doom the prospects for action in a lame duck session.
The stimulus is one of a host of potential sources of tension. The Obama team has suggested that it intends to roll back some Bush administration executive orders soon after Obama takes office. "There's a lot the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action," John Podesta, head of Obama's transition team, said on Fox News Sunday.
In their brief public appearance at the White House Monday, the two men appeared comfortable in each other's company, masking any residual awkwardness from the campaign. Bush, while keeping a low profile, was a central focus of the campaign, with Obama capitalizing on the president's unpopularity and Republican nominee John McCain keeping a healthy distance from the incumbent.
As recently as last Monday, Obama assailed "eight years of failed policies from George Bush," a well-worn line from his stump speech.
That tone wasn't evident Monday, and White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said earlier Monday that Bush has no scars from the campaign.
"It's always amazed me how President Bush is able to let heated rhetoric like that just slide off his back and move forward and do what he thinks is right," Perino said.
While the president and president-elect were meeting in the Oval Office, Laura Bush showed Michelle Obama around the living quarters at the White House, including the bedrooms used by the children of past presidents.
The women would talk about how the Obamas "will make their life here and how they will make the house a home and all the help that will be at their disposal in order for them to do that," Perino said.
Neither Obama's daughters nor his mother-in-law Marian Robinson, who reportedly will live with the first family in the White House, were in Washington for Monday's visit. Cutter said the women discussed raising daughters in the White House, noting that Jenna and Barbara Bush were similar in age to Malia and Sasha Obama when they visited their grandfather, President George H. W. Bush, during his presidency.
For Obama, it was the first visit to the White House since September, when he and McCain arrived for a hastily called meeting to hash out the financial-market rescue legislation. The meeting played a major role in how voters perceived the candidates' responses to the economic crisis, a potential turning point in the election.
The president-elect's approach to what is likely a global recession will be tested further in the days ahead. Though he won't attend this weekend's emergency meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 countries, he is expected to quickly assemble his economic team and continue to push for a stimulus package.
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=IDbR9DERIRN9iLRqXQUEig%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 10, 2008 17:55 ET (22:55 GMT)

Publié le 10 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones