A class act – finally!

In January 2001, when Bill Clinton left the White House, the Clintons took with them a certain amount of White House furnishings and fixtures that weren’t theirs, and which they had to quietly return shortly afterwards. Clinton White House staffers systematically removed the W key from keyboards throughout the Executive Mansion, and there were other rather childish and vindictive actions, plus of course the rush of highly controversial last-minute pardons. All in all it wasn’t a very dignified exit for the President of the most powerful nation on earth.

This time seems, thank goodness, to be much different. President Bush, recognizing the seriousness of the current international situation and the American economic crisis, has gone far further than any previous president in facilitating a smooth transition. High-level joint Bush-Obama teams have worked to prepare joint crisis plans for possible incidents that might occur during or shortly after the transition. President Bush hosted a private luncheon last week for Obama and all the living former presidents, which was apparently a pretty cordial affair. And Obama and Bush have clearly been coordinating their public responses to the international and economic crises, Obama not to undercut Bush in the last few weeks of his term (“we only have one president at a time”), and Bush not to constrain Obama’s options when he takes office. And it was announced today that on the eve of his inauguration, Obama is hosting a series of dinners to honor, among other people, his former Republican opponent Senator McCain.

By all accounts President Bush and President-elect Obama have developed a good, and even warm working relationship over the past month or so.

I have disagreed with a good many of President Bush’s decisions over the past eight years, but despite the accusations of the more rabid Bush-haters, I have never doubted (a) that he was a good, principled man, or (b) that he really cared about this nation. And it has been clear throughout the campaign that President-elect Obama is a decent man who also cares deeply about America.

Both are class acts. What a relief.