U.S. Presidents Do Lunch

Here's Video of President George W. Bush, former President George H. W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, former President Jimmy Carter, and the president-elect, Barack Obama.

The photo op took place après lunch.

Transcript

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH
AND PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA
IN PHOTO OPPORTUNITY WITH
FORMER PRESIDENT CLINTON,
FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH,
AND FORMER PRESIDENT CARTER

Oval Office

12:00 P.M. EST

PRESIDENT BUSH: I want to thank the President-elect for joining the ex-Presidents for lunch. And one message that I have and 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 to the extent we can, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. All of us who have served in this office understand that the office transcends the individual. And we wish you all the very best. And so does the country.

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: Thank you.

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.

But, again, thank you, Mr. President, for hosting us.

END 12:02 P.M. EST

What a moment! Isn't it thrilling?

I'm not impressed at all. The gathering is kind of pathetic. These men, leaders of the Free World, look like a rather motley crew to me.

Did you know that Obama suggested having the get-together?

That's what Associated Press writer Ben Feller reports.

WASHINGTON -- Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club. In an image bound to go down in history, every living U.S. president came together at the White House on Wednesday to hash over the world's challenges with the president-elect. There they stood, shoulder-to-shoulder in the Oval Office: George H.W. Bush, Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

"This is an extraordinary gathering," Obama said, looking plenty at ease in the humbling office that will soon be his.

...White House aides tried to usher the media out of the Oval Office when Bush stopped speaking. The lighting for the event even went dark.

But sometimes, there is more than one president at a time.

Obama spoke up on his own, the lights went back on, and the cameras kept rolling.

"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," Obama said. When a reporter asked Obama what he could learn from the mistakes of the four presidents surrounding him, he smiled and said he planned to learn from their successes.

The get-together was Obama's idea, and Bush liked it. The lunch lasted about 90 minutes, held in a small dining room off the Oval Office.

Feller adores Obama. This extraordinary gathering was the extraordinary Obama's idea. I can almost feel the thrill that must be going up Feller's leg.

"But sometimes, there is more than one president at a time," Feller writes.

No, Mr. Feller, there isn't.

Unbelievable.

I wonder if Carter chatted about his virtuous Hamas buddies and condemned the evil Israelis. He does it in public. I assume he did so in private.

Lunch with Jimmy Carter...

One word: Indigestion