President-Elect Obama Joins Former and Current Presidents for Luncheon

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) meets with President-elect Barack Obama (2nd-L), former President Bill Clinton (2nd-R), former President Jimmy Carter (R) and former President George H.W. Bush (L) in the Oval Office in Washington, DC. (Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

President-Elect Barack Obama joined current and former presidents for lunch at the White House on Wednesday, the first time all living presidents have been together in 27 years.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter, and current President George W. Bush, joined the President-elect for lunch, the meeting lasted 90 minutes.

The Presidents also took the opportunity for a group photo in the Oval Office, where President Bush reached out to the incoming Democrat and expressed his support of the President-elect. Bush spoke of how the office of the presidency “transcends the individual.“
“I want to thank the President-elect for joining the ex-Presidents for lunch. And one message that I have I think we all share is that we want you to succeed.”

“Whether we’re Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country… and we wish you all the very best. And so does the country.”
The President-elect, who campaigned on changing the business of politics in Washington D.C. made a suggestion to President Bush in November requesting the meeting of Presidents prior to his taking office.

“I just want to thank the President for hosting us. This is an extraordinary gathering. All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office. And for me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary. And I’m very grateful to all of them,” said President-elect Obama.

The current and president-elect also met in private for 30 minutes, the topic of their conversation has not been disclosed.
“President Bush and President-Elect Obama have developed a good relationship, and I’m sure that it will be deepened today. But one of the reasons that they’ve developed that good relationship is that they’ve been able to keep their conversations private, and I leave that, as well,” said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

However, Perino did express a likelihood of conversation regarding the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid the Presidential Luncheon.

“I can’t imagine that there would be a meeting today where they don’t talk about the challenges in the Middle East. Every one of these Presidents has dealt with the challenges there as they’ve evolved over time. ?And given that the economy is number one on everyone’s priority list, as well as here domestically, I’m sure they'll talk about, as well.”