Obama to Meet with President Bush in Oval Office

In a traditional and symbolic gesture of presidential solidarity, current President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush will personally greet and welcome Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House today. The purpose of the visit is to officially discuss some of the issues surrounding the transition from Bush's Administration to Obama's, which will not officially take power until the Presidential Inauguration on January 20.

Although both men operate from opposite ends of the political spectrum, and Obama's campaign success can be largely attributed to public perception that Bush's policies have failed, both have spoken highly of the other recently in an attempt to make the transition process move forward more easily. Bush referred glowingly to Obama's victory in the presidential election as a "triumph of the American story" and Obama has been careful to reiterate when necessary that Bush is still the President of the United States -- and he will be the only one in power until January 20.

Bush and Obama will meet privately in the Oval Office to discuss issues surrounding the transition, as well as the issues currently facing the nation and the presidency. The financial crisis and the global war on terror are likely to dominate much of the discussion. There will be no press present for the talks, so we'll be at the word of each man to divulge the substance of the exchange.

MIchelle Obama and Laura Bush will also meet privately at the White House, again discussing the transition of power from one administration to the next and the various duties performed by First Ladies.

The visit will mark the first time that Barack Obama will have ever entered the actual Oval Office. He has been to the White House on various occasions, most recently at the emergency meeting to try to develop strategies to address the collapse in financial markets.