President Barack Obama retook the Oath of Office last night after Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the words during Tuesday's inauguration ceremony.
I gasped twice during the oath - when Obama jumped the gun on the first line and when it appeared he forgot the line about faithfully executing the Office of the President. My heart actually sank when Obama tripped up because I knew millions of eyes were watching and some actually wanted him to mess up.
I quickly found out - thanks to MSNBC - that it was the judge who messed up the line and not the president and immediately felt badly for him. It was such a special moment for Obama that he could never have again.
Even with the president and judge stumbling their way through the oath, those words didn't matter. According to the United States Constitution, the change of power takes place at noon, whether the oath has been said or not. The oath was taken at 12:04 p.m.
But even with the certainty of the Constitution backing the legality of the office, the White House counsel suggested that Obama and Roberts redo the oath. I can only imagine that the moment was terribly anti-climatic and may have over shadowed the first oath.
I didn't think Obama should have retaken the oath, but I guess he wanted to be more safe than sorry since there are people who would have tired to challenge his title.
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