Obama retakes oath at 7.35 pm.

By -

-- President Obama retook his oath of office Wednesday after Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed while delivering it at Tuesday's inauguration.

The second oath -- also administered by Roberts -- took place at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday in the White House's Map Room. Roberts asked Obama whether he was ready.

"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.

The do-over was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday's take -- in which "faithfully" was said out of sequence -- and erase any question that Obama is legally the president.

However, per the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday without taking the oath.

"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday," White House counsel Greg Craig said Wednesday in a written statement.

That seemed to throw the chief justice off stride, and he proceeded to mix up the order of the words in the next phrase.

The Constitution sets out the language that should be used in the oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Roberts moved the word "faithfully" back nine spots, and used "to" instead of "of." That threw the president off base, and he smiled and paused to collect his thoughts, then decided to follow Roberts' lead.

But the chief justice at the same time attempted to correct himself.

Here's how Tuesday's oath went:

Roberts: ... that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully ...

Obama: ... that I will execute ...

Roberts: ... the off -- faithfully the pres -- the office of president of the United States ...

Obama (at the same time): ... the office of president of the United States faithfully ...

The two got the rest correct, including the nonobligatory "So help you God?" "So help me God."

Reporters, bloggers and others weighed in on the flub. The New York Post offered this headline: "Roberts is the Oaf of Office."

A Washington Post reader complained in a letter to the editor: "What could have been a moment for the ages was marred by Mr. Roberts' thoughtlessness. News outlets will report that the first words of our new president were "confused." Whether through design or an amazing lack of preparation, Justice Roberts's behavior was a disgrace."

And Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said: "We're wondering here whether or not Barack Obama in fact is the president of the United States. They had a kind of garbled oath. It's just conceivable that this will end up going to the courts."

In a congressional luncheon after Tuesday's swear-in, Roberts and Obama exchanged words, and the chief justice appeared to tell the president, "It was my fault."

Before Wednesday's do-over at the White House, Obama, waiting on a couch, joked that "we decided it was so much fun ... "

Though a Bible was used in Tuesday's oath, one was not used for Wednesday's.

After a flawless recitation, Roberts smiled and said, "Congratulations again."

"Thank you, sir," the president replied. After a smattering of applause, Obama quipped that "the bad news for the [press] pool is there's 12 more balls."

Roberts has made no public comment on becoming tongue-tied Tuesday.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

French Female Isis Suicide Bomber Story retracted!

By -
Image
You may have heard of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, the woman who died in a  raid carried about by French police  in the days after the attacks in Paris. Or you might have seen her on the website of the Daily Mail, which said it  obtained exclusive photos of her , or the  New York Post , which dubbed her the  “skanky suicide bomber”  in a front-page story  That was the characterization those tabloids ran with: that Boulahcen was, as the Daily Mail wrote,  “a party animal with a string of boyfriends who had shown no interest in religion.”  Here is what was said to be a photo of Boulahcen lounging in a bathtub blown up onto the front page of the Nov. 20 edition of the  Post: The problem is that the woman that the  Post  confidently declared to be the “Paris suicide bomber” doesn’t appear to be her at all. That woman, pictured above, came forward today to say she is not Hasna Ait Boulahcen and has no connection to the group of people who carried out the Paris attacks. Instead, she sa
Read more

Boris Johnson has Coronavirus!

By -
Image
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating in Downing Street. He said he had experienced mild symptoms over the past 24 hours, including a temperature and cough, but would continue to lead the government. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he had also tested positive while England's Chief Medical Officer, Prof Chris Whitty, has shown symptoms. Another 181 people died with the virus in the past day,  figures showed. It takes the total number of UK deaths to 759, with 14,543 confirmed cases. The daily coronavirus news conference was led by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, alongside deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries and NHS chief executive Simon Stevens.
Read more

Morgan FreeMan's 33 year old step granddaughter killed in Exorcism ritual.

By -
Image
According to  New York Post  “police sources,” Morgan Freeman’s step-granddaughter was stabbed to death this weekend in by her boyfriend, who was allegedly experiencing some sort of drug-induced psychosis. The victim, E’dena Hines, was a 33-year-old Broadway actress who occasionally attended events and premieres with her famous step-grandfather. She was pronounced dead this weekend after a man stabbed her multiple times on a street in Washington Heights early Sunday morning. “Get out, devils! I cast you out, devils! In the name of Jesus Christ, I cast you out!” the killer yelled as he plunged a hunting knife into 33-year-old E’Dena Hines’ chest, according to George Hudacko, who witnessed the 3 a.m. attack from his apartment window in Washington Heights. Hines, an actress who had appeared on Broadway and on red carpets at Freeman’s side, was stabbed 16 times, officials said. “The girl was making a lot of noise, screaming,” Hudacko said, adding. “I called 911 — I was begging the
Read more