Just to keep the tinfoil hat gang in line
Yesterday on CNN when VP Biden was about to swear in senior staff members he made a little joke about Chief Justice Roberts flubbing the oath of office...President Obama's face showed he was not amused.
So...after "the flub heard round the world" on inauguration day, when Chief Justice Roberts tripped over what has to be the most important collection of words in American history - prompting Obama to do the same - it was decided that the oath should be taken again. This time in a small ceremony in the White House. Justice Roberts showed up in his black robe to administer the oath.
Word is, everything went to script this time.
Although, like I already said, according to the Constitution, Obama has been president since noon on January 20th. But since the oath is written into the Constitution, the administration decided a re-do was appropriate. Interestingly, this wasn’t the first re-do. Chester A. Arthur and Calvin Coolidge also retook the oath because of flubs during the initial ceremony.
From yahoo.com: "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."
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. A few of Obama's closest aides were there, along with a White House photographer.[..]"
"We decided that because it was so much fun ..." I like our new president's sense of humor.
