Who Flubbed the Oath?
If you watched Obama
take the oath of office,
you probably noticed some hesitation and fumbled words. No doubt this
will become the next thing on which to attack Obama: that he flubbed
his oath.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=274_VdeckAU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]
As far as I can make out, the transcript goes like this:
John Roberts: I, Barack Hussein Obama
Obama: I, Barack
Roberts [over]: do solemnly swear
Obama: I, Barack Hussein Obama do solemnly swear
Roberts: that I will… execute the office of President to the United States faithfully
Obama: and I will execute…
Roberts: the o— faithfully the pre— office of President of the United States
Obama: [over] the office of the President of the United States faithfully
Roberts: and will, to the best of my Ability
Obama: and will, to the best of my Ability
Roberts: preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States
Obama: preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States
Roberts: so help you God?
Obama: so help me God.
Article 2, Section 1
of the US Constitution gives the president’s oath of office as:
“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.”
So it looked as though they both deviated from the script (though
Greedo shot Roberts flubbed first), moving the word
“faithfully” out of its place, and adding “so help me God” at the end.