Recently in Washington DC there was an extraordinary gathering at White House. Pres. Elect Barack Obama hailed a rear oval office gathering of all living US presidents as an extraordinary event as the current occupant, Pres. George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successors to the office transcends the individual. I just want to thank the president for hosting us, the president elect said, flanked by Pres. George H. W. Bush on one side and his son on the other. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both smiling broadly, stood with them. All the gentlemen here understand the pressures and possibilities of this office, Obama, said. For me to have the opportunity to get in fights, the Council and fellowship of these individuals is extraordinary. In a swift photo opportunity, the current president wished Obama well before all five men headed to a private lunch. I want to thank the president elect for joining the ex-president for lunch, Bush said. Even though he's not quite a member of that club yet. One message that I had and I think we all share is that we want to succeed. Whether we are Democrat or Republican we care deeply about this country, Bush said. That statement has to ring clearly right now to influence the "US" in the U.S.A. to help improve Lake Norman NC Real Estate, Charlotte NC Real Estate, Rock Hill SC Real Estate, Downtown Charlotte NC Real Estate, and to correct the Foreclosures.

All of us who have served in this office understand that the office itself transcends the individual. He added, we wish you all the very best, and so does the country. Bush & Co. also met privately for roughly 30 minutes. That one on one meeting, coming just 13 days before the inauguration, likely focused on grim current events, with war and the Gaza Strip to the economy going into recession. It had been an entire generation since the nation last saw the table full of every US president together at the White House. The presidents have gathered at other locations over the years, most recently for the funeral of Pres. Gerald Ford in Washington. Obama suggested holding the gathering when he met Bush at the White House in November. Obama has sought to strike a balance as the power curve leans his way. Before taking office, he is publicly rallying Congress behind a massive economic stimulus plan. But he remains deferential to Bush on for years and would not comment on Israel's deadly conflict but, with Hamas on grounds that doing so would be dangerous for the United States. You can't have two administrations running for policy at the same time, Obama said at a news conference earlier in the day. VP elect Joe Biden also held a private meeting with former president Bush at the White House also. Considering the bond they hold in US history, US Presidents get together frequently, and particularly at the White House. And when they are in the same room, it is usually a milestone or somber event like a funeral of a world leader, and the opening of a presidential library, or a commemoration of history.

It's going to be an interesting lunch, which Carter told an interviewer recently. When asked what the five men would talk about, Bush said I don't know. I'm sure Obama's going to ask us a lot of questions, I would guess. If not we'll just share war stories. They have plenty of those, political and otherwise. Their paths to power have long been inclined. Jimmy Carter lost the presidency to Ronald Reagan, whose running mate was George HW Bush. Bush later won the election but lost after one term to Clinton. Then Bush's son, the current president, defeated Clinton's Vice President, Al Gore. Then Obama won after linking his opponent, John McCain, to Bush. Those campaign robberies tend to soften over time as presidents leave the White House and try to adapt the role of state. Although Carter, even as an X. president, has had some critical public words for the current president for policy. All five men were to pose for a group photo in the Rose Garden But, a rainstorm scrapped that plan. So the noontime photo opportunity, comedians only glimpse of them, was moved indoors to the oval office.

The presidents and Obama were having lunch in a private dining room off the Oval Office, where no one else was expected to join. All of us would love to be flies on the wall and listen to that conversation, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said. The presidential joint appearance also offers Bush, who ends his two terms deeply unpopular, to again show he is rising above the

fray. The last White House event to draw the former presidents was in November 2000 celebration in honor of the White House's 200th anniversary. But one of the former presidents, Ronald Reagan who is afflicted with Alzheimer's was unable to attend. All the presidents were at the White House last in 1981. Richard Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan was president then. The three former presidents were there before leaving as part of the US Delegation to the funeral of Anwar Sadat., who had been assassinated.