Opinion: Barack Obama being sworn in by Justice Roberts -- mistakes and all
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Proof that even Supreme Court justices can make a mistake (or two) in front of a worldwide audience on a historic day during a historic moment. The AP caught it too:
Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Barack Obama as president of the United States on Tuesday with a slight stumble over the wording of the oath of office, a stumble Obama repeated.Separated by a Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inaugural, Roberts asked Obama: ‘Are you prepared to take the oath, Senator?’The former Illinois senator indicated he was, and Roberts started reciting — and Obama repeating — the 35-word oath that is prescribed by the Constitution.But at one point, Obama paused abruptly after Roberts reversed several words in the oath. The oath includes the phrase ‘that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States,’ but Roberts didn’t say ‘faithfully’ until after saying ‘president of the United States.’ Obama apparently realized that something was out of order. Roberts then repeated the phrase correctly, putting ‘faithfully’ in the right place after execute: ‘faithfully the office of president of the United States.’ But Obama instead repeated Roberts’ original, incorrect version: ‘... the office of president of the United States faithfully.’ Later, as they shook hands before a lunch in the Capitol, Roberts chatted briefly with Obama and appeared to say the mistake was his fault, not Obama’s.
-- Tony Pierce