Bush to Host President-elect and First Lady-designate

The election is over, and it's time for the transition to begin.

The shift in power marks an critical moment in US history--a momentous occasion after the selection of the first African American, two expansive wars, and a dramatic and critical financial meltdown all necessitate a smooth and thorough Presidential transition. In response to this, President Bush has invited the President-elect to the White House less than one week after the historic election, an unprecedented early visit.

The meeting is expected to be cordial, but may also be slightly awkward. Before and during the campaign, President-elect Obama never missed an opportunity to discuss the 'failed policies' of the Bush Administration. His criticism of the current President was particularly harsh concerning the war in Iraq and the expansive tax policies that granted relief and breaks to major corporations. Running a campaign founded in relief for the middle-class, Obama successfully painted the President as one of the main causes of the economic meltdown.

According to The New York Times , the President-elect does expect to have a "substantive conversation between...the President." The mood of the conversation might be relatively cool however; the President-elect has continually criticized the President's decisions and temperament, most especially in his book, 'The Audacity of Hope' where he writes of Mr. Bush, "as I watched my Republican Senate colleagues hang on his every word, I was reminded of the dangerous isolation that power can bring."

The meeting today may be reminiscent of the disdain with which President Bush was received in 2001 by the then-Clinton/Gore administration. After the long, bitter battle in Florida in 2000, Vice President Gore was not surprisingly chilly to the President-elect at the transitional conference at the White House.

While the meeting between the leaders could be tense, it also presents an opportunity for Bush to restore a piece of his legacy and image. The swelling support of President-elect Obama offers a chance for President Bush to ride the coattails of the new administration without aligning himself with Obama or compromising his conservative beliefs. A successful and progressive policy discussion between the President and President-elect will showcase the fading-image of Bush as a uniter; an idea that was central to Bush's campaigns.

While today's meeting is highly anticipated, Obama continues to separate himself from the Bush legacy: he declined an invitation to attend President Bush's economic summit this Friday. Obama's expected economic stimulus package proposal is a top-priority for the new administration, and his fledgling economic team is working independently from the President's office. Even so, the President-elect is supporting a congressional move to push this legislation through in a lame-duck session next week.

The President has reached out to the future inhabitants of the White House calling the future move a "stirring sight." The legacy of the Bush years are sure to be tempered in the image of today's meeting, and no one is more aware than the President