Obama's Team Cites Bush Cooperation With the Transition

Supporters of President-elect Barack Obama are pleased with the level of cooperation he is receiving from George W. Bush and the current White House staff.

Obama is delighted, for example, that Bush has invited all three living ex-presidents—Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—to the White House on January 7 for a special meeting with him and Obama. Obama's predecessors plan to share their insights about the toughest job in the world—with the objective of helping Obama make a smooth transition to power. 

The president-elect requested the meeting during his Oval Office session with President Bush on November 10 and Bush readily agreed, Washington insiders say. "It's a magnanimous gesture," says a high-profile Obama supporter who notes that it's "absolutely the way the American people want our government leaders to act"—with mutual respect and a spirit of cooperation.

The Bush White House has been similarly helpful in arranging meetings between incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and a dozen of his predecessors and in having Press Secretary Dana Perino meet with her successor Robert Gibbs.

• Read more about the Obama transition.