In Photos: How Past Presidents Have Turned Over the Keys to the White House

In the last few days, a vintage photograph of a young Sasha and Malia Obama being shown a sloped passageway at the White House residence by Jenna and Barbara Bush, with former First Lady Laura Bush in the background, has been making the rounds on social media. It’s a joyful scene—Sasha is sliding down an uncarpeted section while Laura looks on beaming. It was taken shortly after the Obamas’ father ran a months-long and furious Presidential campaign that placed in its crosshairs pretty much all of the Bushes’s father’s policies. There are so many scripted elements to the handing of responsibility from one U.S. President to another—speeches, ceremonies, the inauguration—all meant to ensure a peaceful transfer of power. But some of the most reassuring moments in recent memory can be seen in photographs of former Presidents and their families choosing to be more than just civil to each other. Are the hatchets completely buried? It would be maudlin to think so. But it's hard to fake fun.