'W' leaves note for Obama in Oval Office desk

Continuing a White House ritual, President George Bush left a note in the Oval Office for President-elect Barack Obama today, wishing him well as he takes the reins of the executive branch.

The White House declined to provide specific details of the message left, saying only that Mr Bush wrote it yesterday and left it in the top drawer of his desk.

"The theme is similar to what he's said since election night about the fabulous new chapter President-elect Obama is about to start, and that he wishes him the very best," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

During his last moments in the Oval Office, former President Ronald Reagan scribbled a note for his successor on a notepad with a turkey insignia that said "Don't let the turkeys get you down." He, too, slipped the note in the presidential desk for his successor, President George H.W. Bush.

Four years after that, the elder Bush left a note for President Bill Clinton. And eight years after that, Mr Clinton wrote a note for Mr Bush, and included a copy of the message he had received from his father.