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Give Obama A Pass on Oath Flub?
FreeRepublic Exclusive ^ | 1/20/2009 | DouglasKC

Posted on 01/20/2009 8:49:03 PM PST by DouglasKC

Give Obama A Pass on Oath Flub?

Have you heard?

Chief Justice Roberts mixed some words around in the Presidential oath that Presidents take upon assuming the office.

The oath should read as follows:

"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."

It seems that Chief Justice Roberts put the word "faithfully" in the wrong place. It was then repeated incorrectly by Mr. Obama.

Should we give Mr. Obama a pass?

I don't think so. And I'll explain why.

Mr. Obama should have known the oath backwards and forwards. He is a constitutional scholar. He must have studied the oath. He surely was briefed on the correct wording.

If you watch the swearing in, it seems certain that Mr. Obama realizes that Chief Justice Roberts has stated the oath wrong. Yet.

Yet Mr. Obama repeats it back, wrong also.

What does this show? We have two possiblities.

The first is that Mr. Obama really didn't know the oath. He never memorized it. He didn't know that the words were mixed up. As stated previously this isn't really plausible. He knew it.

The second option is rather unsettling. Mr. Obama knew the oath. He knew it backward and forward. He knew the right and proper wording specified by the Constitution of the United States. Yet he repeated back the error.

No big deal?

Think about it. This was Mr. Obama's very first act as President. It was a relatively high pressure situation. Around the world there were millions of eyes focused on him. Expectations were high. Nerves, no doubt, were on edge. Yet, when faced with standing up for the right wording, he folded. He agreed with error.

Now maybe he did this to save Chief Justice Roberts from an embarrassing situation. Maybe he did it to prevent himself from appearing "wrong" to the public. Maybe he just wanted to put forth the appearance that everything went smoothly. But are these the attributes we want in a President?

We want the President to be a leader. We want him to stand up for what's right even when everybody else is wrong. We want him to make the decision in the most pressure packed situations. We want him to uphold the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Yet at his very first opportunity he decided that getting along at the moment was more important than a constitutional requirement.

It's going to be a long four, or eight, years.


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bhoinauguration; flubbedoath; justiceroberts; oath; oathofoffice; obama; obamaoath; obamaswearingin; robertsflubbedoath; robertsflubsoath; swearingin
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It's that important.
1 posted on 01/20/2009 8:49:04 PM PST by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC

This is not a big deal. Roberts screwed it up first. If we expect presidents to know it by heart, then why do we need anyone to stand up there and say the words before he does? Why can’t the president just recite the oath on his own?


2 posted on 01/20/2009 8:51:13 PM PST by Tublecane
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To: DouglasKC

Get used to it.


3 posted on 01/20/2009 8:51:22 PM PST by steelyourfaith (It's high time for the B.O. Impeachment proceedings to begin.)
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To: DouglasKC; freekitty; Free ThinkerNY; TXRed

Liberal slugs and the mainstream gutless wonders trashed Bush from the minute he was elected. Their Liberal God deserves the same, IMO.


4 posted on 01/20/2009 8:52:06 PM PST by ExTexasRedhead
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To: DouglasKC

I think he should recite the proper oath during halftime at the Superbowl.


5 posted on 01/20/2009 8:52:13 PM PST by DBrow
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To: DouglasKC

NO. Nobody gets a free pass in politics.


6 posted on 01/20/2009 8:52:30 PM PST by o_zarkman44 (Since when is paying more, but getting less, considered Patriotic?)
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To: DouglasKC

Considering he is quite possibly not even Constitutionally elligible by birth, it’s a very small matter in comparison.

However, oath or not, he’s the President as of noon yesterday. Who was the Pres so drunk that he couldnt finish the oath thus ushering in that law?


7 posted on 01/20/2009 8:52:35 PM PST by rjp2005 (Lord have mercy on us)
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To: DouglasKC

It’s a sign that his Presidency is flubbed from the beginning, and it was the first of four signs today.

Next was the seizure of Uncle Teddy followed by the collapse of the democrats own KKK member Byrd.

To round out the day was a dump in the DOW of 332 points.


8 posted on 01/20/2009 8:55:45 PM PST by diverteach (http://www.slapobama.com/)
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To: Tublecane
This is not a big deal. Roberts screwed it up first. If we expect presidents to know it by heart, then why do we need anyone to stand up there and say the words before he does? Why can’t the president just recite the oath on his own?

Of course it's a big deal. Obama knew it was wrong. Yet he repeated the error. He didn't show courage by saying the right oath. Roberts could have said anything and Obama SHOULD have said the right thing. If a President is expect to preserve and defend the Constitution he should KNOW what is in the Constitution.

9 posted on 01/20/2009 8:56:07 PM PST by DouglasKC
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To: diverteach

the fumble is a sign, an omen that signify a one term president


10 posted on 01/20/2009 8:58:02 PM PST by 4rcane
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To: diverteach

y’all can probably find this somewhere in Nostradamus Quatrains

it is so totally weird tho, da’ MAN wasn’t prepared & HE
was the one HE was unflappable.

oh lordy


11 posted on 01/20/2009 8:58:55 PM PST by MissDairyGoodnessVT (Scooters work good in Vermont snow & so do skis)
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To: DouglasKC

Obama deserves the same kind of respect his Drones gave the last president. No. No pass.


12 posted on 01/20/2009 9:00:20 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (There is no alternative to the GOP except varying degrees of insanity)
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To: rjp2005
However, oath or not, he’s the President as of noon yesterday.

The president-elect becomes President at noon, but until the oath is taken, he cannot execute the office:

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."

13 posted on 01/20/2009 9:00:45 PM PST by cmj328 (Filibuster FOCA or lose reelection)
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To: DouglasKC

“If a President is expect to preserve and defend the Constitution he should KNOW what is in the Constitution.”

So should the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, especially since we have informally deemed the judiciary the final authority on the Constitution.

here’s the thing. It’s just a ceremony. Plenty of people who’ve recited the oath perfectly have gone on to violate various passages of, if not the spirit of, the Constitution. The reverse is probably also true.


14 posted on 01/20/2009 9:01:05 PM PST by Tublecane
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To: diverteach

I heard about Kennedy. What happened with Byrd?


15 posted on 01/20/2009 9:01:12 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: DouglasKC

I think its a small thing...but telling. It seems no coordination was done prior, much less an actual rehearsal. Obama’s in charge - its his responsibility to make things go ‘right’.


16 posted on 01/20/2009 9:01:21 PM PST by lacrew (Where's Blago?)
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To: DouglasKC

How about the Rev Lowery thing?


17 posted on 01/20/2009 9:01:28 PM PST by GeronL (DAY 1, YEAR 0 - The first day of the Oministration. The nightmare begins.)
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To: DouglasKC

Look, we don’t know how well he did in school, so no wonder he screws everything up. No documents. No nuthin’. He is a FREAK.


18 posted on 01/20/2009 9:01:44 PM PST by bergmeid (2012 - someone please fast forward.)
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To: DouglasKC
Fox's Chris Wallace asks: Is Obama even president? (screwed up oath!)
19 posted on 01/20/2009 9:02:32 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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Comment #20 Removed by Moderator


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