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

[ploto]

You know Obama voted against Roberts confirmation.

[The Reckoning]

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

...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?!

...just cant be.

so she was technically the very first african american president

[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 cons utional 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 iden y 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 iden y 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.

[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 iden y 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, you know.

[leo_d]

Glad to oblige!! You asked for it, 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.