All sides were determined to say as little as possible about what was discussed. Presidents – new, old, incoming – like to keep their conversations private.

Without offering any specifics, Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs said all the presidents "had helpful advice on managing the office as well as thoughts on the critical issues facing the country right now. The president-elect is anxious to stay in touch with all of them in the coming years."

From the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said the discussion was "wide-ranging" but declined to comment further. Before the gathering, she had said she could not imagine the leaders would meet without discussing the Middle East, where conflict rages in Gaza, or the economy, which is sinking.

The White House would not even say what the men ate, allowing only that they ordered off the menu of the White House mess, as Bush does all the time.

Intentionally or not, Bush opened the media moment in a curious way, suggesting that he was already out the door.

"I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents for lunch," said Bush, who is in fact still the president until Jan. 20.

"One message that I have, and I think we all share, is that we want you to succeed," Bush added, a beaming Clinton at his other side. "Whether we're Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country."

White House aides tried to usher the media out of the Oval Office when Bush stopped speaking. The lighting for the event even went dark.

But sometimes, there is more than one president at a time.

Obama spoke up on his own, the lights went back on, and the cameras kept rolling.

"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," Obama said. When a reporter asked Obama what he could learn from the mistakes of the four presidents surrounding him, he smiled and said he planned to learn from their successes.

The get-together was Obama's idea, and Bush liked it. The lunch lasted about 90 minutes, held in a small dining room off the Oval Office.

Carter, Clinton and the two Bush presidents were last together at the Washington funeral service of President Gerald Ford in 2007. And presidents have gathered at other occasions over the years. But not since October 1981 – 27 years ago – had all of the living presidents gathered at the White House.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2009)