First reported by The Washington Post, the meeting sparked a lot of discussion about what it could indicate about O’Rourke’s next political move.  But we’re stuck imagining what a conversation between the two might’ve entailed.  Here are five important issues that might be interesting to hear them chat about if they have any other hangouts planned:

It certainly was not standard practice to separate families at the border, as it became under Trump’s “zero tolerance policy,” though.  In June, Obama posted an emotional Facebook message decrying the policy, writing in part, “To watch those families broken apart in real time puts to us a very simple question: are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents’ arms, or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together?” 

O’Rourke, meanwhile, was a very vocal opponent of the policy; he took a break from the campaign trail to help lead a protest at a tent city where migrant children were held, also in June. 

A conversation between O’Rourke and Obama might address Trump’s latest claims and allow the two men to discuss their ideas for immigration reform that focus on more than enforcement.  After seeing how the system has been used by the Trump administration, there might be room to discuss how to keep the next Democrat to win the White House from relying so heavily on deportation. 

Obama famously commented on the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2013, saying, “When Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son.  Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.” 

The duo of exceptional orators could discuss their ideas for police reform, including what did and did not work under the Obama administration — and what has happened since Obama’s successor has taken office. 

Both Obama and O’Rourke have been targeted by the president.  A conversation between the two about Trump could go far beyond how to run against him in 2020; it could include a discussion on the nature of the presidency moving forward. 

When the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was originally passed, there was some consideration for a single-payer system that would be similar to universal healthcare.  But as NBC News reported, one of the bill’s chief architects, former Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), didn’t believe the country was ready for it at the time. 

But the 2018 midterms saw Medicare for All — another name for a universal healthcare system — gain currency in Democratic political spaces, as Business Insider documented.  A discussion on healthcare between O’Rourke and Obama could address how that shift has taken place and what it could mean moving forward. 

The Future of the Democratic Party

During the 2008 campaign, Obama represented a new face for the Democrats.  With poise and youth, his election included record voter turnout as energized voters seized the opportunity to vote in a historic election. 

O’Rourke has compared to Obama a lot this year, as Vanity Fair and Politico noted.  He enters at a time when Democratic outliers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have made breaking from party orthodoxy a little more common than it may have been when Obama surged onto the national stage. 

What does the future of the Democratic Party look like and how does the political party move forward?  How does the party reach communities that feel they’ve previously been ignored by politicians?  O’Rourke and Obama could have an enlightening conversation on what their political party needs to do to galvanize voters moving forward. 

Punk Rock

This one’s just for fun.  O’Rourke was famously in a punk band in the 1990s, as Vox reported.  Turns out he still has a lot of respect for the punk scene all these years later. 

“They started their own label, they pressed their own records, they wrote their own songs, they booked their own tours and they set conditions, like: you’re not gonna pay more than five bucks to come into this show,” O’Rourke told Rolling Stone as he expressed his admiration for the DIY ethics of indie label Dischord Records.