Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama and former rival John McCain pledged to work together on the economic and national security challenges facing the country in their first face-to-face meeting since the election.

“At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time,” the two men said in a joint statement issued after their hour-long meeting in Chicago.

The statement identified the “critical” issues for the next administration and Congress as “solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation’s security.”

Before they sat down together at the president-elect’s transition headquarters, Obama said they expected “to have a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country.”

McCain, asked whether he’d be helping Obama, replied, “obviously.”

The two men took no other questions.

Areas of Agreement

The meeting was arranged by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is one of McCain’s closest allies, and Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who Obama, 47, selected as his chief of staff. They also attended the session.

The Obama-McCain meeting, their first since Obama defeated the Republican senator from Arizona in the Nov. 4 presidential election, was intended to map out areas where the Obama administration and McCain can work together.

Going into the meeting, aides said possible topics included climate change, government ethics rules and building a system of national service, areas where the two men have similar views.

Obama, who relinquished his Senate seat yesterday, is scheduled to remain in Chicago today and has no other public events planned. During the transition period, Obama is putting together his White House staff and holding discussions about choices for his Cabinet.

He met last week with his former rival from the Democratic presidential primaries, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who has emerged as a leading candidate for secretary of state. A top transition official said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who also ran in the primaries, and Senator John Kerry, of Massachusetts, also are under consideration.

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” program broadcast last night, Obama said putting together a national security team is a top priority.

Obama also has set up teams to advise him on policy, personnel and budget issues for Cabinet departments and agencies, such as state, defense and Treasury.

The two leaders of the Obama group reviewing the State Department discussed the transition today with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She told the two, former Fannie Mae Executive Vice President Tom Donilon and former Clinton administration adviser Wendy Sherman, in the 30-minute meeting that the department will work closely with them to assure a “smooth and professional transition,” department spokesman Gordon Duguid said in an e-mailed statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Chicago at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 17, 2008 18:47 EST