Obama heads to White House for Bush talks
Barack Obama will meet President George Bush for key talks at the White House for the first time since becoming the first black US president-elect in history today.
The two leaders, who have both stressed the need for a smooth transition of power in a time of war and global economic crisis, will discuss the serious challenges facing America during the Oval Office talks.
Mr Obama and his wife Michelle are also expected to be shown around their future home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue by the president and first lady Laura Bush.
During his first press conference since last week’s historic election, Mr Obama said now was a good time to “set politics aside” and “think practically about what will actually work to move the economy forward”.
“It’s in that spirit that I will have the conversation with the president,” he said on Friday.
“I’m not going to anticipate problems.
“I’m going to go in there in a spirit of bipartisanship and a sense that both the president and various leaders in Congress all recognise the severity of the situation right now and want to get stuff done.
“Undoubtedly there might end up being differences... The critical tone that has to be struck by all of us involved right now is the American people need help, this economy is in bad shape and we have just completed one of the longest election cycles in recorded history.”
The 47-year-old Democrat added: “We only have one president at a time and I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole that I am not the president and I won’t be until January 20.”
Earlier last week, with his eyes welling up, Mr Bush told members of his executive staff: “All of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running.”
Speaking on the South Lawn of the White House, the outgoing president said: “This peaceful transfer of power is one of the hallmarks of a true democracy.
“And ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency.
“We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in.
“This will also be America’s first wartime presidential transition in four decades.
“We’re in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us – and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people.”
The president said work was already under way on “an unprecedented effort to ensure that the executive branch is prepared to fulfil its responsibilities at all times”.
