Obama Stumbles Over Presidential Oath
Chief Justice John Roberts Deviated from Tradition
The proceedings, however, did not go as smoothly as planned.
As Joe Biden completed his oath and a moving performance of a unique John Williams piece completed. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, prepared to administer the oath of office to senator Obama. With his left hand on a bible last used by Abraham Lincoln and his right hand in the air, Obama repeated after Roberts' recital of the presidential oath:
"I, Barack Obama, do solemnly swear..."
Then, though, something went wrong. The incoming president stumbled over his words, appearing to have difficulty repeating the oath. With hundreds of millions of people looking on, and standing opposite the highest judicial officer in the country, Obama appeared to forget his lines.
Did he really forget his lines, though, or was some other factor in play?
Apparently, there was a misstep on the part of Chief Justice Roberts, not Obama, that caused this presidential blunder. Roberts, it appears, botched the delivery of the oath by saying, "that I will execute the office of President of the United States faithfully." Despite its utterance by the highest ranking judge currently serving on the Supreme Court, this line wasn't quite in keeping with tradition... or the Constitution.
Article II, Section I of the United States Constitution sets forth the official Presidential Oath as: "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."
Certainly, there can be no doubt that the incoming Obama spent considerable time rehearsing, practicing, and reciting these lines. Committed to memory, Obama indisputably stood ready to deliver the official oath. Then, though, came the deviation and, within minutes, Internet forums were flooded with off-color and politically charged observations.
Is Obama really to blame for this presidential snafu? Stumbling through some of the most honored and revered-and, quite possibly, famous-words in history because of his own nerves, or because they were administered out of order? As with all things presidential, history will undoubtedly be the judge.
Published by G. Keith Evans
Born in the mountains of East Tennessee, G. Keith Evans now pursues the ideals of Responsible Liberal Journalism from his office outside of Orlando, FL. His book, Appearances: The Art of Class, can be purcha... View profile
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20 Comments
Post a CommentExcellent comment, Donna. I agree 100%. I'm not sure why CPs need to personally attack like that. *shrugs*... Great article!
My opinion is that headlines garner readers and whether it was a tad sensationalist or not is both debatable and certainly not out of the media norm. I found the content of the article to be quite level and fair, lacking sensational qualifiers and so on - as well as giving Obama the benefit of the doubt. Nice work.
Your title stinks and so does your article!
If you think Obama doesn't make mistakes, you should do a little search on YouTube, search for "Obama is stupid: 57 States" and watch him talking about how he's been to 57 states in the union, and has one to go, and his staff couldn't justify him visiting Alaska and Hawaii. Face it folks, you elected the black George W. Bush. Nothing will change, only the family in the White House.
We really should set this aside. I think the thing was that the Chief started before Obama was really ready. If you watch it, you can see that Obama literally just stepped up from his chair and was kind of still getting adjusted. When the Chief Justice asked Obama, I think he probably thought he started way too early , that he should have waited. This probably distracted him and led him to blunder the 35 word oath. Also, he tried to recite it from memory. He should have considered the drama and the nervousness of the situation (which everyone was probably subject to up there) and brought the words with him, like almost any other Chief Justice. But it's OK we should look at the historical moment, not the verbal mishap.
Look at you butt-kissing Obama worshipers. You can't even admit when the man makes a simple error! How can anyone be expected to take you seriously? What happens when Obama makes REAL errors in his presidency? Will you just pretend that those never happened either? Or blame them on someone else?
I'd have stumbled if I were Obama, too. He is obviously familiar with what was to be said, and I am sure he was a bit confused, and maybe miffed. Not to mention the fact that if it were at all Obama's fault, I'd have done more than stumble over words on the very day I would take on the position as President of this great country! I mean sheesh...we stumble over words every day. I do not, however, see this as Obama's fault, not even a little.
Some conservatives may have been unfair in blaming Obama, but at the same time, the liberal media has been blaming the Chief Justice just as much. I think both made a mistake. Obama spoke too early. That can't be denied, because if you listen to Joe Biden and past presidents' oaths, they all waited until the end of the "do solemnly swear" line to repeat. The Chief Justice made a mistake as well, placing the word "fairness" in the wrong place. But it really is not that important! Why can't the media just tell us the truth- it was not all the Chief Justice's fault as they make it seem to be, but at the same time, it was not all Obama's fault either! Again, why does it really matter? Aren't there more important things involving our country at this time?
I agree your headline is definitely misleading and it has been already stated by the press that it was the error of Chief Justice Roberts, not President Obama. Be true to the facts. Now let's move on; we have much work to do.
Obama Stood up and said his speech without one mistake. Do you honestly think he would stumble over this most important oath.
That brilliant man, does not make mistakes like that. The dumb one made the mistake. Thank God, Obama is not dumb.