Opinion: First Ladies transition too; Laura Bush chats with Michelle Obama

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One of the things that amazes people in some other lands is the amazingly peaceful transition between governments in Washington, even when drastically different parties succeed each other.

Yes, right, the Clinton-Gore folks pried all the ‘W’’s off the computer keyboards before leaving the White House to George W. Bush’s team on Jan. 20, 2001.

But the firing squads and imprisonments are minimal. This morning, as The Ticket reported, Bush made a gracious statement about Barack Obama’s victory. (See video below.)

Last night Bush talked with the president-elect and promised full cooperation for a smooth transition. Some key staff people had already gotten security clearances, so the briefings started today.

Also today, the outgoing and incoming First Ladies talked by phone, according to an Obama campaign spokeswoman. The stilted news release said they discussed the ‘honor and privilege of the role of First Lady,’ which must have been a fascinating chat.

Laura Bush congratulated Michelle Obama on the Democrats’ win and Michelle Obama thanked Laura Bush for ‘the grace and strength she’s demonstrated as First Lady.’

They agreed to cooperate fully and Bush invited the family to visit the White House sometime soon.

Once again in an American presidential transition, no news is good news.

--Andrew Malcolm

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