President-elect Barack Obama visited the White House on Monday for a private meeting with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.
A black limousine brought Obama and his wife, Michelle, to the White House on Monday afternoon, as crowds lined the streets in downtown Washington cheering on their motorcade.
The Obamas were greeted by the president and the first lady at the White House's South Portico.
Soon after they arrived, the two leaders got down to business.
The meeting of the sitting president and the incoming president-elect is a long-standing tradition in American politics.
While neither leader released a statement about the face-to-face meeting, it was widely speculated that they talked about several major issues -- including the challenges facing the economy and the transition of power that will take place over the next two months.
The meeting was also Obama's first visit to the Oval Office.
Democratic strategist Peter Fenn said these types of post-election meetings are generally considered photo-ops.
"This one I think will be quite substantive and they'll be discussing what can be done in the next couple of months," Fenn told CTV's Canada AM on Monday morning.
He expected the leaders would be primarily focused on the current economic crisis.
"The effort of course will be to put a stimulus package together even before he takes office on January 20th," Fenn said.
Former White House speechwriter David Frum said although Bush and Obama were meeting with one another, the real story is happening behind the scenes.
"Barack Obama said there's only one president at a time -- that's not exactly true," Frum told CTV's Canada AM on Monday. "Power flows incrementally as well dramatically in January and they're already taking many of the reins of power in their own hands."
While the president-elect met with the sitting president, Michelle Obama went on a tour of the White House with Laura Bush. It was expected that they would be discussing the challenges of raising children in the public spotlight.
Laura Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, were 18 years old when their father moved into the White House.
Michelle Obama's daughters -- 10-year-old Malia and seven-year-old Sasha -- will be the youngest children to live in the White House since Jimmy Carter's nine-year-old daughter, Amy, lived there in the late 1970s.
The Obamas' visit to the White House reportedly lasted just under two hours.
On Monday, Michelle Obama also visited Georgetown Day School, a private school that is a short drive from the White House.
Malia and Sasha Obama currently attend a private school in Chicago.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
