By USA Today

Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012, 7:52 p.m.
Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2012

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday for a one-on-one lunch.

Romney stepped out of the passenger side of a dark SUV and into the West Wing at 12:29 p.m. After a lunch that included white turkey chili and a Southwest chicken salad, Romney departed about 70 minutes later.

Romney congratulated Obama and wished him well in his second term, according to a White House read-out of the lunch.

“The focus of their discussion was on America's leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future,” the White House said in a statement. “They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney declined appeals from reporters to open the Obama-Romney lunch to the media for photos and video, as is commonly done for the president's high-profile meetings.

“Each man wanted to have a private conversation,” Carney said. “They did not want to turn it into a press event.”

Obama met with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., after beating him in the 2008 presidential election. Reporters were allowed to take photographs of the two leaders meeting.

Obama and Romney spoke on Election Night, and Obama praised him in his victory speech and in a post-election news conference.

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