"To: #44, From: #43..."

Obama reads note from Bush left in Oval Office.

Published January 21, 2009 5:07PM (EST)

In his first morning on the job, President Barack Obama arrived in the Oval Office at 8:35 a.m., according to a statement from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

The new POTUS reportedly spent his first 10 minutes alone in the office. During that time, he read a note left for him by former President Bush in an envelope marked "To: #44, From: #43."

The tradition of the outgoing president leaving a letter for the incoming one in the Oval Office dates back to Ronald Reagan, who scribbled some words of wisdom to George H.W. Bush on a notepad with a turkey graphic. The august advice that No. 40 wrote to No. 41? "Don't let the turkeys get you down." Since then, each outgoing president has left a missive to his successor.

Unfortunately, the official White House statement this morning gives no clue as to what the juicy contents of No. 43's presidential letter to No. 44 were. And, aren't we all dying to know? If any facts about the note emerge, we'll be sure to post them in War Room.

In the meantime, we leave it to you, dear War Room readers, to offer your own creative speculations on what Bush said to Obama in his Oval Office missive.

Weigh in with your thoughts in letters. Don't hold back!


By Katharine Mieszkowski

Katharine Mieszkowski is a senior writer for Salon.

MORE FROM Katharine Mieszkowski


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