Dang, Obama spoiled my fun!

[grixit]

I was all set to watch for sovereign types claiming that the glitch in the oath of office had rendered the federal government inoperative and thus there was no requirement to pay taxes, observe speed limits, or wear pants in public. And then the man goes and nips that one in the bud! :cussout:

[webhick]

Not really. There was no bible in the do-over. And if the sovruns are willing to overlook that, then the question remains:

Was the order to close Guantanamo before or after the do-over?

[fortinbras]

Wikipedia has a very nice (and apparently very new) article on the Presidential Oath, which addresses these issues:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_of ... ted_States

[Doktor Avalanche]

I don't see what the big deal is. The oath is largely ceremonial.

On January 20th at 12 noon, the President Elect (be he taking the oath or taking a bath) becomes the President of the United States.

[fortinbras]

There is no requirement for a Bible (much less a specification of which version of the Bible). Coolidge and LBJ were both given the oath, on the death of their predecessor, without Bibles.

[Evil Squirrel Overlord]

Does not the country revert to Queen's colonies? Or is it jut the eastern half? Does France get Louisiana back?

[The Observer]

I don't see what the big deal is. The oath is largely ceremonial.

On January 20th at 12 noon, the President Elect (be he taking the oath or taking a bath) becomes the President of the United States.

No, the oath is entirely constitutional, which is why several constitutional experts and lawyers recommended that the oath be retaken. This has happened before for two other presidents.

[Famspear]

Does not the country revert to Queen's colonies? Or is it jut the eastern half? Does France get Louisiana back?

Can we force France to take Louisiana back?

Just kidding......

--Famspear [former long-time resident of Louisiana.....]

[Gregg]

There is no requirement for a Bible (much less a specification of which version of the Bible). Coolidge and LBJ were both given the oath, on the death of their predecessor, without Bibles.

Don't know about Coolidge, but I was just positive LBJ had a Bible, so I went and found a copy of the famous Stoughton photo of the event (which i didn't know were the only pics taken) and he has his hand on some book, which I can only assume is a Bible. Although in Texas it COULD have been a BBQ Recipe Book, or an early edition of the "NWO World Domination Handbook"

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

There were some goobers on Youtube yesterday claiming that Obama used the Koran during the "re-do" and that it was planned that way so Obama wouldn't be seen using the Koran in the public ceremony.

[fortinbras]

Don't know about Coolidge, but I was just positive LBJ had a Bible, so I went and found a copy of the famous Stoughton photo of the event (which i didn't know were the only pics taken) and he has his hand on some book, which I can only assume is a Bible.

According to Wm Manchester's Death of a President, it was JFK's Catholic missal.

[Doktor Avalanche]

There were some goobers on Youtube yesterday claiming that Obama used the Koran during the "re-do" and that it was planned that way so Obama wouldn't be seen using the Koran in the public ceremony.

I did send Mr. Obama a letter suggesting that he might want to open his inaugural address with the words "Allah Ackbar, suckers!"

[The Operative]

There were some goobers on Youtube yesterday claiming that Obama used the Koran during the "re-do" and that it was planned that way so Obama wouldn't be seen using the Koran in the public ceremony.

I did send Mr. Obama a letter suggesting that he might want to open his inaugural address with the words "Allah Ackbar, suckers!"

Funny, I sent a letter to him, suggesting he use a line from Blazing Saddles, "Where the white wimmin at?" Either that, or just make the "raise the roof" gesture, followed by giving the finger to the crowd while saying, "This is for you whitey, you pale skinned devils."

TV One sort of did that with their "Our History, Our Time" tag line on their 24-hour inauguration coverage.

[fortinbras]

A Washington Post article on the oath, including the fact that Teddy Roosevelt and LBJ (aboard Air Force One) did not use a Bible, and others who repeated oaths, etc.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/200 ... id=topnews

also, from the Lowering The Bar website:
http://www.loweringthebar.net/2009/01/i ... swear.html

One thing is certain: In the public ceremony, Obama recited all the words of the oath, but with one word (faithfully) out of the sequence given in the Constitution. For most people, this was good enough. After all, at the wedding of Charles & Diana, they both got each other's names in the wrong sequences (and that's not the only wedding where such things have happened).

There were witnesses, including the photographer and some newsmen, at the "do-over". According to the news reports, no Bible (I am sure if there had been a Koran, someone would have mentioned it). There is no requirement that the Prez take the oath for a crowd; Coolidge did it (on the death of Harding) with only his father, a notary, administering the oath, the second Reagan inaug was (because of a severe blizzard) done indoors for a fairly select audience. Considering that the do-over was done by the Chief Justice of the US, with (undoubtedly) several lawyers in attendance, I don't think anyone can quibble about its validity.