Just a side note to the Presidential Inauguration – there were two glaring mistakes that I saw as I watched. The first one was the one that was all over the media outlets the next day – they got the Oath of Office wrong. The Oath according to Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution is “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.” How did the exchange on Tuesday go? Here’s a transcript:
Roberts: I, Barack Hussein Obama...
Roberts: I, Barack Hussein Obama...
Obama: I, Barack...
Roberts: ... do solemnly swear...
Obama: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear...
Roberts: ... that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully...
Obama: ... that I will execute...
Roberts: ... faithfully the office of president of the United States...
Obama: ... the office of president of the United States faithfully...
Roberts: ... and will to the best of my ability...
Obama: ... and will to the best of my ability...
Roberts: ... preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Obama: ... preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Roberts: So help you God?
Obama: So help me God.
Roberts: Congratulations, Mr. President.
Chief Justice Roberts moved the word faithfully to the end of the first clause. If you watched, you could see that President Obama paused after he said the line “that I will execute” almost as if to give the Chief Justice a chance to correct it, which he did. The only problem was the President said it the way which the Chief Justice had originally said it, which was the wrong way. Not to worry, the President retook the oath on Wednesday just to be extra cautious that there were no legal challenges that he was not President.
The other mistake was just as glaring to me, but I know I’m a little anal about these things. It was at the beginning of President Obama’s Inaugural address. The line was “Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.” Did you catch the goof? Actually, only 43 Americans have served and been sworn in as President. While Barack Obama is our 44th President, he is only the 43rd man to hold the office. This is due to the fact that Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms from 1885-1889 and then again from 1893-1897. Since he had two separate terms and administrations, he is listed as both the 22nd and 24th President, but he of course is only one person who took the oath.
Just some trivial trivia from a very historic day!
Chief Justice Roberts moved the word faithfully to the end of the first clause. If you watched, you could see that President Obama paused after he said the line “that I will execute” almost as if to give the Chief Justice a chance to correct it, which he did. The only problem was the President said it the way which the Chief Justice had originally said it, which was the wrong way. Not to worry, the President retook the oath on Wednesday just to be extra cautious that there were no legal challenges that he was not President.
The other mistake was just as glaring to me, but I know I’m a little anal about these things. It was at the beginning of President Obama’s Inaugural address. The line was “Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.” Did you catch the goof? Actually, only 43 Americans have served and been sworn in as President. While Barack Obama is our 44th President, he is only the 43rd man to hold the office. This is due to the fact that Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms from 1885-1889 and then again from 1893-1897. Since he had two separate terms and administrations, he is listed as both the 22nd and 24th President, but he of course is only one person who took the oath.
Just some trivial trivia from a very historic day!
Did you notice Hillary Clinton mouthing the words to the oath in the background?
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