The Oath of Office

[msmemory_archive]

I so recognized the expression on Obama's face when he was being fed his lines for the oath of office. I see it on OES courtesy candidates sometimes: "You're giving me the wrong line. I know what my line is, and that isn't it. Should I say what you tell me, or the right thing?"

Comments

[the-nita.livejournal.com]

Yup - standard newer actor face - "Uh - that's not my cue line...|

[dsrtao]

Oh those wacky Supreme Court Justices.

I'm pretty certain that Hollywood has done enough swearings-in that everyone, even people who aren't Presidential candidates, knows how it goes:


I StateYourNameHere do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will to the best of my ability protect, preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States.

People probably get it slightly mixed it up with the military oath of enlistment:

I, State Your Name, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Personally, I think the best thing to swear each of these oaths on is a copy of the Constitution.

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, you got it wrong, on two counts. 1) Though many (though not all) president-elects do it, the Constitution does not call for inserting your name into the Oath. 2) It's preserve, protect, and defend.

Sadly, every president-elect since FDR has also appended "so help me God" to the end of the thing.

[woodardp.livejournal.com]

Apparently, just to nip any "OMG! He's not really the prezidunt because I spotted a loophole in the Constitushun that was missed and ignored by all those (insert secret cabalistic group that secretly controls the world) folks don't want us to know" e-mail chains from happening, the White House "invited" Chief Justice Roberts over to the Oval Office to re-administer the oath "very slowly and carefully"

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Joe Biden had an opinion on this, but I don't think that the President was as amused as Biden was.

I, of course, laughed hysterically when I watched that short video.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Obama's face was totally Say what? when Roberts flubbed it.

[bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com]

I thought Obama's expression, and the pause with the little head nod, was SO totally third-grade-reading-teacher. I ROLLED.

[cellio]

Yeah, that's how it looked to me too. "Do I do this right or do I try to save face for you?"