WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and erstwhile Republican opponent Mitt Romney met for a private lunch Thursday at the White House as they tried to move on from a bitterly personal election campaign. In their first encounter since the election, the former foes sat down alone in the president's private dining room off the Oval Office, which, until his defeat on Nov. 6, Romney had envisioned taking over in January. The meeting was closed to the press, and Romney, now stripped of his Secret Service detail, arrived and left an hour and twenty minutes later, in a large black Lincoln car, from a side door of the West Wing, avoiding reporters. “Governor Romney congratulated the president for the success of his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said after the rivals lunched on white turkey chili and southwestern grilled chicken salad. “The focus of their discussion was on America's leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future. They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future.” The White House also released a picture of Obama and Romney, looking at one another in a friendly way as they shook hands in the center of the Oval Office. There was a moment of drama for Romney as his motorcade approached the White House when a man approached the vehicles and was then arrested after he started arguing with Secret Service officers. “An individual interfered with a motorcade as it was entering a checkpoint at the White House,” said Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary. “The individual became combative with uniformed division officers and the individual was arrested for assault on a police officer and unlawful entry.” The meeting at the White House was likely a testing personal moment for the former Massachusetts governor, who was convinced even on election day that he would be the 45th US president, but was outwitted by Obama's political machine. Neither Romney nor Obama appeared to have any warmth or even great respect for one another, in a campaign that flared into open dislike during their contentious three presidential debates last month. “Campaigns are a tough business, debates are sharp and in this case were very substantive and important,” Carney said. The president has in the past appeared magnanimous to former foes, notably when he asked Hillary Clinton — whom he defeated in a Democratic primary — to join his “team of rivals” first-term cabinet as secretary of state. It is unclear whether Thursday's meeting was just for appearances' sake as Obama seeks to heal the political wounds of a divisive election or if he had a specific task in mind for Romney and, if he did, whether the Republican would accept. Other presidents have gotten together with their vanquished foes. Bill Clinton invited Bob Dole to the White House after their 1996 contest to award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. George W. Bush in his second term invited Al Gore to the White House to celebrate his winning the Nobel Peace Prize and the two had a private, 40-minute conversation in the Oval Office. Obama introduced his first opponent, Senator Joh McCain, at a dinner honoring him the night before his own inauguration in January 2009. Few, though, have gone as far as Franklin D. Roosevelt, who sent his 1940 opponent, Wendell Willkie, to Britain, the Middle East, the Soviet Union and China as his personal representative. — Agencies
