Just over three weeks after US President Barack
Obama won a second term over Republican challenger Mitt Romney, the
two rivals met again - this time over lunch.
The former rivals spent an hour dining on white-bean turkey chili
and Tex-Mex grilled chicken salad in a private room, the White House
said. The table was reportedly set for two, and no press were granted
access to cover the meeting.
"Governor Romney congratulated the president for the success of
his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years,"
spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.
"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."
In his first press conference following this month's election,
Obama had said he hoped to meet with Romney to to discuss some of the
Massachusetts ex-governor's ideas.
"There are certain aspects of Governor Romney's record and his
ideas that I think could be very helpful," Obama said, noting for
example that his work righting the scandal-plagued 2002 Salt Lake
City Olympics could have lessons for reforming government.
In response to reporters questions at the daily White House
briefing, Carney said there was no plan to offer Romney any post in
the Obama administration and stressed that Obama was interested in
Romney's thoughts on government efficiency.
