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Bush Meets With Gore, Clinton
In an Oval Office rite of passage masking their sharp differences, President-elect Bush listened to the litany of world problems he'll face from the man who has wrestled with them for the last eight years. President Clinton advised that Bush ''get a good team and do what he thinks is right.
'' Sitting where his father led the nation until his defeat by Clinton, Bush said Tuesday, ''It's such a huge honor to come as the president-elect. I don't think I'll really, fully realize the impact until I swear in'' on Jan. 20.
Bush seemed tense, sitting straight in a wing-backed armchair, his hands clasped in his lap as he rubbed his thumbs and tapped his foot. Twice he thanked the president for his hospitality and said, ''He didn't need to do this.'' Bush told reporters, ''I'm here to listen'' and said it was ''a high-energy moment.'' White House officials described the talks as very serious and frank.
Clinton and Bush talked by themselves for more than two hours, first in the Oval Office and then over lunch in the family dining room in the residence.
They dined on curried squash soup, filet mignon and Greek salad. Their discussions covered trouble spots such as the Middle East, the Balkans and North Korea, officials said.
Bush paid a 15-minute call on defeated rival Al Gore at the vice president's mansion. Stepping outside in a light snow without an overcoat, Gore greeted Bush at his limousine with a long handshake and a pat on the back. ''We're going to have a private discussion,'' Gore said.
White House press secretary Jake Siewert said foreign policy was the primary focus of the Bush-Clinton talks. He said Clinton ''talked about some of the hot spots around the world and some of the challenges the new administration will face and the state of play in some of those places that make headlines in the news here in America.''
He said Clinton, who got a rocky start to his presidency, also talked about''how to run an effective operation here, some of the lessons we had learned over the last eight years.''
Clinton also said he had not decided whether to make a ground-breaking visit to North Korea. Bush, asked if Clinton should go, said he hadn't talked with the president about it yet.
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