A White House tour of trouble spots

Bush provides Obama with an early briefing

President Bush and Barack Obama walked to the Oval Office at the White House yesterday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama took another significant step toward assuming power yesterday when President Bush greeted him at the White House, then gave Obama an extended, private briefing on the myriad of challenges awaiting him when he takes office in January.

The highly-anticipated symbolic meeting - Obama's first visit to the Oval Office - came as Bush's public approval sank to a record low and as Obama benefits from a hopeful public that believes he can put a troubled nation back on track.

Neither Obama nor Bush made any public statements as they took the traditional stroll past the columns on the White House portico, pausing to pose for news photographers before going into the president's office for an hour. As they talked, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama toured the White House living quarters and discussed the role of the first lady.

The visit - the earliest in recent presidential history - was not as tense or awkward as previous meetings between sitting presidents and their successors, or as might be expected after Obama won a resounding victory by tying Republican challenger John McCain to an unpopular president and his policies.

Obama, who carefully avoided personally attacking Bush during the campaign, has emphasized that Bush is still in charge until the inauguration on Jan. 20, while Bush has been gracious, acknowledging Obama's historic win and ordering his staff to help the president-elect make a seamless transition.

Nevertheless, Obama has urged Congress and the president to approve a second economic stimulus package to help the staggering economy, and aides have said he is considering whether to use his executive authority on his first day in office to change some of Bush's policies, including closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center and overturning limits on stem cell research.

Though the Obamas' visit to the White House largely took place behind closed doors, for many it was a sneak preview of history: the nation's first black commander in chief, surrounded by the trappings of the presidency and entering the seat of national power, a building constructed in part by slaves.

On a sunny, brisk afternoon, dozens of journalists from across the country and around the world crowded the White House grounds, while hundreds of people pressed against iron gates, straining for a glimpse of Obama's motorcade, which now that he is president-elect includes a full police motorcycle escort, several Secret Service vans, and an ambulance. Crowds cheered as the motorcade arrived.

"I flew in from Dallas last night, just for this," said Karen Collins, 42, an accounting firm employee who stood a few feet from the White House driveway, waiting to take a snapshot with her cellphone camera. "When I got here, I could feel the love."

Shortly before 2 p.m. on the South Portico of the White House, Obama and Bush exchanged smiles and a handshake while their wives greeted each other warmly. As the cameras clicked and whirred and the two couples entered the Diplomatic Reception Room, Obama put his hand on Bush's back.

About 3:45 p.m., Bush escorted Obama to his limousine; Michelle Obama left before her husband to attend meetings in Washington and visit her second private school of the day. They flew back to Chicago separately.

Obama's office issued a statement that said the meeting was "productive and friendly."

"They had a broad discussion about the importance of working together throughout the transition of government in light of the nation's many critical economic and security challenges," spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.

She said that Laura Bush and Michelle Obama toured the first family's private residence and "discussed raising daughters in the White House, as Jenna and Barbara Bush were similar in age to Malia and Sasha Obama when they visited their grandfather, President George H.W. Bush, during his presidency."

White House press secretary Dana Perino said that the president described his get-together with Obama as "constructive, relaxed and friendly" and said they covered problems at home and abroad and that Bush personally pledged a smooth transition. Bush gave Obama a sneak peek at White House highlights, such as the Lincoln Bedroom and the president's office in the residence, after their hour-plus meeting in the Oval Office, she said.

The president and president-elect talked about the automotive industry, the mortgage meltdown, and the prospect of a second economic stimulus package, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could speak candidly about a private conversation, the Associated Press reported.

The meeting had an air of gravity about it. Obama will inherit from Bush a nation grappling with a staggering economy at the same time it is engaged in two wars - one in Iraq that is highly unpopular, the other in Afghanistan that is in danger of spiraling out of control.

The challenges Obama will face led the president and his successor to meet unusually early, according to Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia.

"This stunned me when I heard they were getting together less than a week after the election," said Sabato. "It's usually a good month after the election - usually late November or early December. It's never been days."

Yet given the wars and the economic crisis, cooperation between an incoming and outgoing administration "lets America and the world know that [Bush and Obama] are working together on the transition," Sabato said. "It's a good signal to send - stability amid crisis."

Americans are giving high marks to Obama's performance as president-elect so far and are hopeful for his administration, a new poll suggested. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released yesterday found that 64 percent have a positive view of what he has done since the election and that 75 percent believe he will do a very good or fairly good job as president.

Black respondents were significantly more optimistic, with 90 percent having a positive view of Obama's actions.

While there's hope about Obama, he faces deep pessimism about the country. The same poll found that only 16 percent of respondents say things are going well, while 83 percent say things are going badly.

Despite Obama's efforts to detail his remedies for the economy in the latter part of the campaign and since the election, only 40 percent of respondents said they had a "clear idea" of his plans to improve the economy, while 60 percent said they didn't.