Obama lunches with Romney

>>> and then there was that lunch at the white house today, the president and mitt romney who arrived at a side door, walked in and sat down with the man who got the job he wanted so badly. kristen welker has more on the story.

>> reporter: brian, good evening to you. this lunch was really more been optics than substance. and mostly, it was striking a tone of bipartisanship after a decisive campaign. formerly bitter rivals, mitt romney and president obama , hoping to show they have put past differences to rest. in this sole picture released by the white house , you can see the private dining room where the two ate and talked for over an hour in the dining room . and boxing gloves . but aides joked there were no punches thrown at the meeting, which both sides characterized as friendly.

>> i think he is interested in some of his ideas.

>> reporter: he entered through the west executive entrance. no secret service or advisers by his side. white house officials say the men lunched on white turkey chili and salad. the governor congratulated him for the campaign and they talked about america's leadership in the world.

>> i am very happy to see this picture. it was good for the american people .

>> reporter: but there was an awkward backdrop to the snap shot. coming on the heels of controversial comments, romney saying he won because he gave gifts to his constituency. and the quote, he was an african- american president with a billion dollars, no primary and a media that often felt more all licon conned about being critical.

>> did that contribute to the comments in any way, cloud a certain backdrop to this lunch?

>> no, first of all, i think campaigns are a tough business. the debates are sharp. and in this case, they are very important.

>> reporter: now brian, the secret service says a man was arrested after interfering with the vehicle coming into the office. and also nobody was injured in that incident.

>> kristen welker at the white