January 08, 2009	Thursday	Muharram 10, 1430

WASHINGTON, Jan 7: Barack Obama said on Wednesday he hoped to learn from his predecessors as he met outgoing President George W. Bush and all the living former presidents at the White House.

Obama said he welcomed the insights of his predecessors as Bush wished him well when he takes over on January 20.

“All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office,” said Obama, standing next to Bush and three former occupants of the White House, ex-presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

“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,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Bush, with less than two weeks to go before he steps down after entering the White House in 2001, said regardless of party differences he wanted Obama to succeed.

“One message that I have and that I think we all share is that we want you to succeed,” Bush told Obama before the men went into a private lunch. “Whether we’re Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country. And to the extent we can, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you,” Bush said.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino called it “a historic gathering,” saying Bush was “happy to welcome President-elect Obama to lunch today, because he will soon be a member of this small group.”

“And although they may disagree on some policy prescriptions in order to solve problems in America, they’re obviously all rooting for the same team,” she said.

Obama, who on January 20 will inherit wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a dire economic recession and more conflict in the Middle East, met Bush one-to-one for a scheduled 20-30 minute session earlier.

Then the two men sat down with their predecessors, the 39th, the 41st and 42nd presidents, Jimmy Carter (1977-81), the father of the current president, George H.W. Bush (1989-93) and Bill Clinton (1993-2001).

It was the first such meeting at the White House since October 8, 1981, when the death of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat gathered Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter with then US president Ronald Reagan, Perino said.

She said the conversation at the luncheon would remain private during a transition to power that has been described as the most difficult since the Great Depression of the 1930s or even the Civil War era when Abraham Lincoln entered the White House in 1861.—AFP