Like most Americans, I knew something wasn't quite right as soon as it started. Chief Justice John Roberts and President-elect Barack Obama, both novices in this whole enterprise, did not quite mesh in the ritual dance known as the Oath of Office. President Obama jumped the gun a bit and Chief Justice Roberts completely flubbed the first line of the oath. If they get to repeat the act four years from now, I suggest that the Chief Justice read from the Constitution and not try to recite it from memory.
UPDATE: President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts redid the oath of office on January 21, just to be sure. There were no slip ups this time, except for not letting the TV networks or media photographers capture it...
Posts
2 comments:
If you watch the tape again, President Obama still did not cite the oath correctly. He still put the "faithfully" at the end of the sentence. I know he was following Chief Justice Roberts, but it is still wrong.
If he doesn't say the oath correctly, is he still president? I bet the Republicans are already investigating. How sad would it be if he actually has to do it again?
Although some Fox News pundits, Limbaugh types, and others on the extreme right will perhaps try to argue, with little effect, that Obama is not president, the evidence is that he is. If mangling the oath means someone is not president, other past presidents would have to be thrown out of the club (or exhumed & forced to recite the oath correctly...).
Check out this article for a rundown of the controversy: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5560165.ece
Post a Comment