Obama To Do An "Oath of Office Do-Over"

[Chief]

Breaking News on CNN.

Link (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html)



http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/art.obama.roberts.wh.jpg

Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake

* Story Highlights
* President Obama retakes oath day after chief justice's mistake at inauguration
* Wednesday's move aimed at erasing any question Obama is president
* "Faithfully" was said out of sequence during Tuesday's oath
* Roberts makes no comment over Tuesday's oath fumble

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- 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.

"But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time," the statement read. VideoWatch Tuesday's oath »

On Tuesday, Roberts, apparently working without a copy of the oath handy on the Capitol steps, started out by reciting a six-word phrase, but Obama broke in halfway through and repeated the first three. Listen to today's do-over »

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.

All AboutJohn Roberts (Chief Justice) • Barack Obama

[The Reckoning]

maybe obama didnt want to swear to the bible? meh?

[FromWayDowntown]

Smart decision. This is a man whose detractors have taken the unprecedented step of asking him to prove something that hasn't ever really been disputed; better to fend off any arguments that Roberts' mistake created a constitutional infirmity by having him re-administer the oath and have that issue resolved.

[PixelPusher]

There was a part of me that hoped the wingnuts would take the issue all the way to the Supreme Court...just to see what Roberts would say about it.

[ClingingMars]

why is this necessary?

-Mars

[balli]

why is this necessary?

-Mars
Why not? It's not necessary, it's precautionary.


This is a man whose detractors have taken the unprecedented step of asking him to prove something that hasn't ever really been disputed.

[ChumpDumper]

why is this necessary?

-MarsBecause dumbasses like suing over stupid stuff.

This has happened twice before; Obama did exactly what the others did.

[2centsworth]

Wasn't a big deal, but better to take precaution and fend off the lunatics who would waste taxpayer money with such nonsense.

[Winehole23]

Oaths must be recited word for word. The first one was ineffective, so it had to be readministered.

Didn't Obama become President at noon on Tuesday? Can the Presidency commence without an oath?

In fact, didn't it?

[PixelPusher]

If they just let Obama and Roberts slide on the exact wording of the oath, America would have been consumed by an Army of Darkness

ox1A6CUW4W0

[Winehole23]

The bitching is already unbearable, and it hasn't even started yet.

[whottt]

I'm a detractor...I couldn't care less about this. The birth certificate OTOH...I still care about that....just because he's acted so wonky about it.

[Winehole23]

.just because he's acted so wonky about it.Link, please? Where do you get that? This sounds PFA.

In that vein: I might be willing to place a side bet it was Roberts who wanted to make up for it, and approached Obama.

[Winehole23]

I mean, it's a repeat after me situation. What is the candidate supposed to do when the judge screws up the oath? Ask him to say it right?

[Winehole23]

I suppose Obama could've ignored Roberts and said it the right way despite him. Is that what you meant by wonky, Whott?

[ChumpDumper]

Link, please? Where do you get that? This sounds PFA.

In that vein: I might be willing to place a side bet it was Roberts who wanted to make up for it, and approached Obama.I'd take that bet. There's no way any White House counsel worth his salt would let this lie. Since it has happened before, I think there was already a backup plan in place.

[Winehole23]

. Since it has happened before, I think there was already a backup plan in place.When did it happen before?

[ChumpDumper]

Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge.

[Winehole23]

They both had do-overs?

[ChumpDumper]

Yep.

[Winehole23]

Thx.

[leo_d]

"(1) The 20th Amendment provides that "[t]he terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January...."
(2) Art II., Sec. 1 Cl. 8 provides that "efore he enter on the Execution of his Office, [The President] shall take the following oath...."
(3) President Obama did not take the Oath of Office until about 12:03 pm today, after Vice President Biden took it at about 12:01 p.m. (Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman were still fiddling at noon).
(4) Therefore, there was a brief window (just after noon) when George Bush and Dick Cheney were no longer President and Vice President, but Barack Obama and Joe Biden also were not yet qualified to enter on the Execution of their offices.
(5) The Presidential Succession Act, 3 U.S.C. sec. 19(a)(1), provides: "If, by reason of ... failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President." Section 19(b) states that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall act as President (under the same terms and conditions) if the Speaker of the House fails to qualify.
(6) Neither Nancy Pelosi nor Robert Byrd actually resigned their seats in the Congress. Thus, neither of them qualified to become Acting President under the Presidential Succession Act. Plus, interbranch appointments might be unconstitutional anyhow. See Akhil Reed Amar and Vikram David Amar, Is the Presidential Succession Law Constitutional?, 48 Stan. L. Rev. 113 (1995); but see Howard Wasserman, Structural Principles and Presidential Succession, 90 Ky. L.J. 345 (2002).
(7) Section 19(d)(1) of the Presidential Succession Act provides: "If, by reason of ... failure to qualify, there is no President pro tempore to act as President under subsection (b) of this section, then the officer of the United States who is highest on the following list, and who is not under disability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President shall act as President: Secretary of State ...."
(8) Notably, Section 19(d)(1) does not condition the Secretary of State's assumption of the powers and duties of the office of President on resignation of her current office, nor does elevation of the Secretary of State raise any constitutional issue of interbranch appointment.
(9) The term of office of the Secretary of State does not automatically terminate at noon on the 20th day of January.
(10) On January 20, 2009, Condoleeza Rice was (and is) still the Secretary of State.
[B](11) Accordingly, from 12:00 noon until 12:01 p.m. (when Vice President Biden took the oath of office and became Vice President), Condoleeza Rice was momentarily the Acting President of the United States, our first African-American President.

Fuente: Volokh"

[Bartleby]

(11) Accordingly, from 12:00 noon until 12:01 p.m. (when Vice President Biden took the oath of office and became Vice President), Condoleeza Rice was momentarily the Acting President of the United States, our first African-American President.

First woman president, too.

[The Reckoning]

[B](11) Accordingly, from 12:00 noon until 12:01 p.m. (when Vice President Biden took the oath of office and became Vice President), Condoleeza Rice was momentarily the Acting President of the United States, our first African-American President.



:rollin

[DarkReign]

Is that true? That Condi was technically President for 12 hours?!

:lmao ...just cant be.

[ploto]

You know Obama voted against Roberts confirmation.

[The Reckoning]

Is that true? That Condi was technically President for 12 hours?!

:lmao ...just cant be.


actually for one minute, which makes it more hilarious.

talk about a technical scoff.

CONDI

[Wild Cobra]

I'm a detractor...I couldn't care less about this. The birth certificate OTOH...I still care about that....just because he's acted so wonky about it.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that if he is not a US citizen, then everything he signs is invalid!

Wouldn't that be a mess?

[DarkReign]

actually for one minute, which makes it more hilarious.

talk about a technical scoff.

CONDI

doh! I am used to working in military time as odd as that sounds (i prefer it).

[Wild Cobra]

doh! I am used to working in military time as odd as that sounds (i prefer it).

The 24 hour clock makes so much more sense to me too.

[2centsworth]

Is that true? That Condi was technically President for 12 hours?!

:lmao ...just cant be.

so she was technically the very first african american president:lol

[doobs]

Actually, I think Biden took the oath before noon.

[2centsworth]

Actually, I think Biden took the oath before noon.


you're right 11:58

[whottt]

So Joe biden was the first plaigerist President?

[2centsworth]

So Joe biden was the first plaigerist President?

what do the resident constitutional lawyers say?

[Darrin]

Thespis was on stage! So I don't have the swearing-in on tape. Damn.

[doobs]

So Joe biden was the first plaigerist President?

That would be JFK.

[Blake]

cool.

More worthless trivia for me to help continue my dominance at Trivial Pursuit

[The Reckoning]

so actually the oath was obama's fault. if he wouldnt have waited so long to swear in, he wouldnt have iced the judge.

[ploto]

I do not know where you got that info from but both times are wrong. Biden was done being sworn in at 11:58 AM. Obama finished his oath at 12:06 PM.


President Obama did not take the Oath of Office until about 12:03 pm today, after Vice President Biden took it at about 12:01 p.m. (Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman were still fiddling at noon).
Yo Yo Ma played AFTER Biden was sworn in.

[FromWayDowntown]

The oath has nothing to do with one's service as President. At noon on Tuesday, by law, Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States. That he took the oath several minutes later doesn't change that fact in any manner. At most, the swearing of the oath of office vests the person taking the oath with executive power ("the Execution of his Office," in Article II terms), but it doesn't affect whether or not that person is President (in terms of the 20th Amendment).

Otherwise, Section 1 of the 20th Amendment would be meaningless, since it expressly provides that George W. Bush left office at noon on Tuesday and that Barack Obama assumed office at precisely the same moment:

"The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January . . . . and the terms of their successors shall then begin."


Now, the fact that Obama hadn't taken the oath might have rendered him incapable, momentarily, of acting as President and in that instance, the power to act in that capacity followed the line of succession. But the incapacity of the President doesn't change the identity of the President -- for instance, when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, nobody believed that Vice President Bush (or even Alexander Haig) had become President; at most, the Vice President had assumed the power to act on the President's behalf, but that hadn't made the Vice President into the President.

[DarkReign]

Now, the fact that Obama hadn't taken the oath might have rendered him incapable, momentarily, of acting as President and in that instance, the power to act in that capacity followed the line of succession. But the incapacity of the President doesn't change the identity of the President -- for instance, when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, nobody believed that Vice President Bush (or even Alexander Haig) had become President; at most, the Vice President had assumed the power to act on the President's behalf, but that hadn't made the Vice President into the President.

Perfectly explained. :tu

[2centsworth]

The oath has nothing to do with one's service as President. At noon on Tuesday, by law, Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States. That he took the oath several minutes later doesn't change that fact in any manner. At most, the swearing of the oath of office vests the person taking the oath with executive power ("the Execution of his Office," in Article II terms), but it doesn't affect whether or not that person is President (in terms of the 20th Amendment).

Otherwise, Section 1 of the 20th Amendment would be meaningless, since it expressly provides that George W. Bush left office at noon on Tuesday and that Barack Obama assumed office at precisely the same moment:

"The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January . . . . and the terms of their successors shall then begin."


Now, the fact that Obama hadn't taken the oath might have rendered him incapable, momentarily, of acting as President and in that instance, the power to act in that capacity followed the line of succession. But the incapacity of the President doesn't change the identity of the President -- for instance, when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, nobody believed that Vice President Bush (or even Alexander Haig) had become President; at most, the Vice President had assumed the power to act on the President's behalf, but that hadn't made the Vice President into the President.

thanks to you and doobs for ruining all the fun.

[FromWayDowntown]

thanks to you and doobs for ruining all the fun.

Glad to oblige!! You asked for it (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3047040&postcount=36), you know. :)

[leo_d]

Glad to oblige!! You asked for it (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3047040&postcount=36), you know. :)

thanks for the info

the article seemed to be a little bit of a long shot.

[PixelPusher]

I do not know where you got that info from but both times are wrong. Biden was done being sworn in at 11:58 AM. Obama finished his oath at 12:06 PM.


Yo Yo Ma played AFTER Biden was sworn in.

So Yo Yo Ma was the interim President.

Sweet.