CHICAGO – No longer foes but not yet allies, President-elect Barack Obama and John McCain buried their bitter campaign in public smiles and searched for common ground in private on Monday, discussing possible collaboration on climate change, immigration, Guantanamo Bay and more.
The 40-minute session at Obama's transition headquarters, their first meeting since Nov. 4 when Obama handily defeated McCain, was just the latest effort by the president-elect to heal wounds from the long and bitter campaign and seek help from his former rivals. On Thursday, he quietly met here with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his toughest rival for the Democratic nomination and now a possible choice for secretary of state.
McCain's meeting with Obama was less furtive, and aides to both men said no Cabinet post is envisioned for the Arizona senator. Obama has said he plans to invite at least one Republican to join his Cabinet.
Like Clinton, McCain knows that returning to the 100-member Senate will impose limits and frustrations after the heady two years of the presidential campaign. For both, a friendly relationship with the new president might open new opportunities in Congress or elsewhere, though they exchanged harsh words with him not long ago.
