For the first time in a generation one of the world's most elite clubs met yesterday: all the former living US presidents, together with Barack Obama, the man soon to join them as the Oval Office's next occupant.

The idea, first hatched by Mr Obama during a meeting with President Bush last month, saw the outgoing and incoming commander-in-chief line up before the cameras with Jimmy Carter, George Bush Senior and Bill Clinton, before a private lunch.

In a gesture of sartorial bipartisanship, the Republican attendees - Mr Bush and his father - wore Democrat blue neckties; the three Democrats sported Republican red. Mr Bush said to Mr Obama: "One message I have, and I think we all share, is that we want you to succeed. Whether we're a Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country.

"And, to the extent we can, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. All of us who have served in this office understand that the office itself transcends the individual. We wish you all the very best - and so does the country."

Mr Bush spoke at a time when he hopes history will view him in a better light than the way the US public looks on him today. A new poll revealed the presidents' current approval ratings: Mr Obama, 82 per cent; Bill Clinton, 69; Jimmy Carter, 64; Mr Bush Snr, 60; and his son, 12 days before he leaves office - 27 per cent.

Mr Obama responded: "This is an extraordinary gathering. All of the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office. And for me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary."

It was the first time all the living presidents have gathered at the White House since 1981, when the dominant foreign policy topic centred as it does today on the Middle East. Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Mr Carter met then, together with Ronald Reagan who was in his first year in office, as part of the US delegation to the funeral of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who had been assassinated.

Before yesterday's lunch, Mr Obama met with Mr Bush privately for 30 minutes, when the current crisis in Gaza was believed to have been one of the subjects discussed. At an earlier press conference in Washington, Mr Obama again declined to be drawn on the issue.

"We can't have two administrations running foreign policy at the same time. We simply can't do it," Mr Obama said. But he added: "I am doing everything that we have to do to make sure that the day I take office, we are prepared to engage immediately in trying to deal with the situation there." He said his silence on the Gaza crisis "is not a consequence of lack of concern".

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