Welcome to the White House, Mr. President-elect
President-elect Barack Obama and his beautiful wife and future First Lady Michelle Obama were welcomed to the White House today by the current residents (GWB and his wife Laura) less than one week since he was elected as our nation’s 44th President. Here are a few pics of the Obamas and the Bushs posing for pics in front of the White House just a couple of hours ago and some info from the New York Times about their meeting today:
President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were welcomed at the White House shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time by the current occupant, President George W. Bush, a man with whom he expressed a sea of differences during the just-ended election campaign. Broadcast images showed Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama strolling along the colonnade toward the outer entrance to the Oval Office. Mr. Obama walked just at Mr. Bush’s shoulder and appeared to be speaking animatedly, gesturing with both hands. Each of the men waved several times to reporters and others off camera. Mr. Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, are expected to take the Obamas on a tour of the White House, and then Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama are expected to split off for about 90 minutes of formal talks concerning the transfer of power from Mr. Bush’s conservative Republican administration to a presumably much more liberal Democratic leadership. Mr. Obama will be seeing the Oval Office in person for the first time, just 10 weeks before he will make history by returning as its first black occupant, a spokesman for Mr. Obama said earlier in the day … Josh Bolten, the president’s chief of staff, said on Monday morning that the president and president-elect will be alone in the Oval Office when they meet, without aides present. “I’m sure each of them will have a list of issues to go down,” Mr. Bolten said during a televised interview with reporters from The Associated Press and The Washington Post. “But I think that’s something very personal to both of them. I know the president will want to convey to President-elect Obama his sense of how to deal with some of the most important issues of the day. But exactly how he does that, I don’t know, and I don’t think anybody will know.” Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama have had relatively little personal contact before now, and by some accounts, when they have met, there has been some awkwardness … For his part, Mr. Obama and his aides have missed no opportunity to remind Americans that they have only one president at a time. Even so, Mr. Obama and his team are moving expeditiously to plan the transition and a post-Inauguration agenda that aides said would probably include the quick reversal of some Bush policies, such as his restrictions on stem-cell research and on oil and gas drilling. One thing is certain: The body language between the Obamas and the Bushes will be widely scrutinized and assessed, to see whether they appear to be comfortable working together or, as was the case with some past transition meetings, are straining just to appear polite. Mr. Obama flew to Washington Monday morning from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago aboard a chartered American Airlines Boeing Super-80 jetliner. Ms. Obama flew to Washington separately, a spokeswoman for her said. Having had a chance to size up their new accommodations, and those who have occupied them for eight years, the Obamas are scheduled to return immediately afterward to Chicago, where the work of transition will continue. Aides to Mr. Obama said that no Cabinet nominees would be announced this week.
LOL! I’m surprised the Obamas didn’t show up with a bunch of moving boxes to present to the Bushs. I can think of about 65 million people in this country who would love to help the Bushs pack up their shizz in the White House ;)
All kidding aside, tho, I think it’s very admirable that GWB has been so open to starting the transition of power process so soon after the election. This is the first transfer of power since 9/11 and it looks like they want to ensure that there are no gaps that might be exploited by our nation’s enemies. I also think is great that the Obamas are allowed to tour the White House so early before the Bushs move out … that way they can take stock on the home’s inventory so they can make sure the Bushs don’t take nothing with them when they go back to Texas :)
[Source]
RSS
Feedburner
