At long last, Mitt Romney made it to the White House on Thursday, though not in the way he once imagined.

The defeated Republican presidential candidate was driven up in a black sport utility vehicle and greeted outside the gate by a heckler who yelled at him through the passenger-side window. Romney opened his own door. He disappeared into the West Wing through a side entrance.

President Barack Obama was waiting for him, playing host to his election rival in a one-on-one luncheon in the presidential dining room. There was no pomp and little circumstance, at least publicly, with reporters and photographers barred from the hourlong event.