Obama hosts Romney for lunch

President Barack Obama and erstwhile Republican opponent Mitt Romney held a private lunch yesterday at the White House as they tried to move on from a bitterly personal election campaign that divided America.
In their first encounter since the election, the former foes sat down alone in the president's private dining room off the Oval Office, which, until his defeat on November 6, Romney had envisioned taking over in January.
The meeting was closed to the press, and Romney, now stripped of his Secret Service detail, arrived and left an hour and twenty minutes later, in a large black Lincoln car, from a side door of the West Wing, avoiding reporters.
The encounter was likely a testing personal moment for the former Massachusetts governor, who was convinced even on election day that he would be the 45th US president, but was outwitted by Obama's political machine.
Neither Romney nor Obama appeared to have any warmth or even great respect for one another, in a campaign that flared into open dislike during their contentious three presidential debates last month.
It is unclear whether the meeting was just for appearances' sake as Obama seeks to heal political wounds of a divisive election or if he had a specific task in mind for Romney and, if he did, whether the Republican would accept.