President George W. Bush met with President-elect Barack Obama at the White House on Monday at the Oval Office as the nation prepares for a transition to a new leader.
The meeting comes at a time where Bush’s job approval ratings are in the gutter and Obama’s popularity is high and rising, according to recent polls by Gallup. Only a quarter of Americans approve of president Bush, while Obama’s favorability has climbed up to 70 percent.
The vivid contrast in popularity between the two figures complements a not-so-friendly rapport. Over the campaign season that saw Bush endorse Obama’s opponent John McCain, who is also his longtime Republican friend, Obama and the Democrats capitalized on Bush’s low approval ratings by comparing McCain to the current president and made the jab into an effective attack. McCain ended up losing the election to Obama in a landslide.
But when the two men met in Washington, they and their wives greeted each other warmly with smiles all around. After Obama and his wife Michelle arrived at the South Portico, the President-elect shared a handshake with Bush, who displayed no tension.
After strolling together along the Colonnade, gesturing to cameras on the way, the two met in closed quarters in what White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called a “private meeting.”
The meeting was Obama’s first-ever visit to the Oval Office, where he will reside for the next four years. Obama had little time, however, to get a taste of his surroundings and to enjoy his visit, as Bush and Obama went straight to work discussing a slew of issues that a large majority of Americans say are steering America in the wrong direction.
The U.S. faces wars on two fronts, a gloomy economy, global terrorist threats, climate change and the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. President-elect Obama will have much on his hands to deal with and to most Americans, President Bush bears much of the blame for the country’s downturn. Chief of the Obama Transition Team John Podesta has already said that Obama is perusing all of Bush’s executive orders to assess which ones he wants to quickly reverse after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Bush will be handing over the reins in about 70 days, but before then he’ll have to brief and prepare Obama over what many have deemed the toughest job in the world.
Perino maintained that Bush was “committed” to the transition process, which has already begun quickly as Obama has already named both his Chief of Staff (Rahl Emanuel) and the Press Secretary (Robert Gibbs).
But something that Obama hasn’t announced yet is the Treasury Secretary position. With the current economic crisis, Bush and Obama are sure to discuss economic stimulus plans and other ways to shore up the hurting economy.
Obama visited the White House earlier this year when Bush called an emergency leadership session and invited both him and McCain. However, Obama has never been to the Oval Office, a spokeswoman told AP.
Built more than two hundred years ago and home of all American presidents except George Washington, the White House has seen its share of history-making presidencies. But Obama’s presidency ends a long era of white presidents who, centuries ago, owned slaves.
The meeting comes at a time where Bush’s job approval ratings are in the gutter and Obama’s popularity is high and rising, according to recent polls by Gallup. Only a quarter of Americans approve of president Bush, while Obama’s favorability has climbed up to 70 percent.
The vivid contrast in popularity between the two figures complements a not-so-friendly rapport. Over the campaign season that saw Bush endorse Obama’s opponent John McCain, who is also his longtime Republican friend, Obama and the Democrats capitalized on Bush’s low approval ratings by comparing McCain to the current president and made the jab into an effective attack. McCain ended up losing the election to Obama in a landslide.
But when the two men met in Washington, they and their wives greeted each other warmly with smiles all around. After Obama and his wife Michelle arrived at the South Portico, the President-elect shared a handshake with Bush, who displayed no tension.
After strolling together along the Colonnade, gesturing to cameras on the way, the two met in closed quarters in what White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called a “private meeting.”
The meeting was Obama’s first-ever visit to the Oval Office, where he will reside for the next four years. Obama had little time, however, to get a taste of his surroundings and to enjoy his visit, as Bush and Obama went straight to work discussing a slew of issues that a large majority of Americans say are steering America in the wrong direction.
The U.S. faces wars on two fronts, a gloomy economy, global terrorist threats, climate change and the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. President-elect Obama will have much on his hands to deal with and to most Americans, President Bush bears much of the blame for the country’s downturn. Chief of the Obama Transition Team John Podesta has already said that Obama is perusing all of Bush’s executive orders to assess which ones he wants to quickly reverse after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Bush will be handing over the reins in about 70 days, but before then he’ll have to brief and prepare Obama over what many have deemed the toughest job in the world.
Perino maintained that Bush was “committed” to the transition process, which has already begun quickly as Obama has already named both his Chief of Staff (Rahl Emanuel) and the Press Secretary (Robert Gibbs).
But something that Obama hasn’t announced yet is the Treasury Secretary position. With the current economic crisis, Bush and Obama are sure to discuss economic stimulus plans and other ways to shore up the hurting economy.
Obama visited the White House earlier this year when Bush called an emergency leadership session and invited both him and McCain. However, Obama has never been to the Oval Office, a spokeswoman told AP.
Built more than two hundred years ago and home of all American presidents except George Washington, the White House has seen its share of history-making presidencies. But Obama’s presidency ends a long era of white presidents who, centuries ago, owned slaves.
