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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28780417/pr ... mode/1098/

Do-over: Obama retakes oath of office
President stumbled after Chief Justice John Roberts blundered
The Associated Press
updated 8:47 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 21, 2009

WASHINGTON - After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over.

The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too.

Don't worry, the White House says: Obama has still been president since noon on Inauguration Day.

Nevertheless, Obama and Roberts went through the drill again out of what White House counsel Greg Craig called "an abundance of caution."

A quieter setting
This time, the scene was the White House Map Room in front of a small group of reporters, not the Capitol platform before the whole watching world.

"We decided that because it was so much fun ...," Obama joked to reporters who followed press secretary Robert Gibbs into the room. No TV camera crews or news photographers were allowed in.

Roberts put on his black robe.

"Are you ready to take the oath?" he said.

"Yes, I am," Obama said. "And we're going to do it very slowly."

Roberts then led Obama through the oath without any missteps.

The president said he did not have his Bible with him, but that the oath was binding anyway.

The original, bungled version on Tuesday caught observers by surprise and then got replayed on cable news shows.

It happened when Obama interrupted Roberts midway through the opening line, in which the president repeats his name and solemnly swears.

Next in the oath is the phrase " ... that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." But Roberts rearranged the order of the words, not saying "faithfully" until after "president of the United States."

Obama thrown off
That appeared to throw Obama off. He stopped abruptly at the word "execute."

Recognizing something was off, Roberts then repeated the phrase, putting "faithfully" in the right place but without repeating "execute."

But Obama then repeated Roberts' original, incorrect version: "... the office of president of the United States faithfully."

Craig, the White House lawyer, said in a statement Wednesday evening: "We believe the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday. Yet the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of the abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath a second time."

The Constitution is clear about the exact wording of the oath and as a result, some constitutional experts have said that a do-over probably wasn't necessary but also couldn't hurt. Two other previous presidents have repeated the oath because of similar issues, Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur.

Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8 of the Constitution states:

"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:

"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."

The constitution is also clear that the President takes office at noon on January 20th. Period. Technically, he became President several minutes before he took the oath since they were running a few minutes behind at that point.

If legal counsel felt this was necessary to eliminate any questions, are they also going to re-sign the Exective Orders that were signed before the oath was taken for the second time? I wouldn't be surprised.

I guess it was necessary if for no other reason than to keep those "he doesn't have an American birth certificate" conspiracy nitwits at bay. If there hadn't been a 'do over', I'm sure we would have seen a "he avoided taking the oath of office" conspiracy theory alive and well among those with a lesser intellectual endowment.

flyboy55 wrote:I guess it was necessary if for no other reason than to keep those "he doesn't have an American birth certificate" conspiracy nitwits at bay. If there hadn't been a 'do over', I'm sure we would have seen a "he avoided taking the oath of office" conspiracy theory alive and well among those with a lesser intellectual endowment.

Faux was already starting to whisper something to that effect, fanning the flames. Coolidge and Arthur had to redo their oaths as well.

Can we change the title of this thread from "DO Over" to "IT'S Over?"

I heard about this yesterday. I thought the entire thing was pretty funny.

Our government hard at work!

Wino you know wrote:Can we change the title of this thread from "DO Over" to "IT'S Over?"

The Bush years? Absolutely they're over!

surfpirate wrote:I think I'll replay my wedding videos.
I may have stumbled over a word or two somewhere in those vows.
Hmmmm, perhaps ...... a loophole .....?

You aren't getting off that easy I'm afraid!

surfpirate wrote:I think I'll replay my wedding videos.
I may have stumbled over a word or two somewhere in those vows.
Hmmmm, perhaps ...... a loophole .....?

You might be onto something there.
The preacher called me "Mark" instead of Mike a few times at my wedding/funeral

RinglingRingling wrote:Faux was already starting to whisper something to that effect, fanning the flames. Coolidge and Arthur had to redo their oaths as well.

I've heard it reported from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and a couple of local news radio stations, too.