U.S. president-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush discussed issues of presidential transition at the White House Monday.
It is Obama's first time to the White House since he won last week's presidential election and it is also the first time he was in the Oval Office.
Obama and his wife Michelle Obama were greeted by Bush and first lady Laura Bush on the South Portico shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time (1900 GMT).
After that, Obama and Bush started a private talk in the Oval Office while Laura Bush is guiding Michelle Obama around the residence.
No public announcement about the meeting, which is expected to last 90 minutes, is expected.
The meeting between the president and president-elect is a historic formality, but it's also a time for serious talks.
What's unusual, though, about the meeting, is that such a meeting occurred earlier this year than after past presidential elections.
For example, after Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, he visited the White House in December after the Electoral College cast ballots to complete the presidential election process.
When the meeting is going on, latest opinion polls show a sharp contrast between the public perception of Obama and Bush.
A USA Today/Gallup survey released Monday indicates 68 percent of the voters view the president-elect favorably.
In contrast, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey show Bush' s job approval rating went down to a new low of 24 percent.
FOCUS ON ECONOMY
Though no announcement will be made after the Obama-Bush meeting, they are expected to discuss "a broad range of issues," focusing on the economy.
"It's clear that we need to stabilize the economy, to deal with the financial meltdown that's now spreading across the rest of the economy. The auto industry is really, really back on its heels," Obama's transition team leader John Podesta said.
The president and president-elect also are expected to talk about national security and the war in Iraq.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday that Bush and Obama were going to have a "private meeting" in which they would discuss "a range of issues."
"I don't think any of us can understand what it's like for two people ... who understand what it's like to be the commander in chief, to be the leader of our great country," she said.
"And so they'll have a private conversation. I'm sure they'll talk about a range of issues," added Perino.
Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, beat his Republican opponent John McCain in the presidential election on Nov. 4, becoming the first African American elected as U.S. president in history.
Bush has pledged to do everything he can to make sure the transition is smooth, and Obama's team said cooperation with Bush administration officials has been "excellent" since last Tuesday's election.
Before the meeting, Obama said he does not anticipate any problems Monday, adding that he is "gratified by the invitation" to meet with the president and his wife.
"I'm sure that, in addition to taking a tour of the White House, there's going to be a substantive conversation between myself and the president," he said last Friday.
"I'm going to go in there with a spirit of bipartisanship and a sense that both the president and various leaders in Congress all recognize the severity of the situation right now and want to get stuff done," he said.
POLITICAL GAPS
The fact that the presidential transition is taking place between a Republican president and a Democratic president-elect highlights the huge political gaps between the two people.
During the election season, Obama frequently campaigned against what he called Bush's "failed policies."
Given their drastically different views on foreign policy, one can expect an "uncomfortable meeting at best," said Mark Preston, CNN's deputy political editor.
"Let's not forget that Barack Obama ran against President Bush every day when he was taking on John McCain. While they will be cordial, I bet you it will be uncomfortable."
Republican strategist Ed Rollins predicted the meeting would take on a serious tone.
"It's the real passage. You go through the election, what have you, but all of a sudden it's real. You see that office -- that's where you are going to sit for the next four years or eight years. It becomes very, very serious," he said.
"I think to a certain extent, President Bush certainly will expect him to undo a lot of stuff that he's done, and that doesn't ever feel good, but that's the reality," said Rollins.