President Obama's oath: Twice, for sure

by David G. Savage

President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Tuesday outside the Capitol, as millions watched in person and on TV. He took it again Wednesday night - this time in the privacy of the White House, with only a handful of aides and reporters looking on.

The reason: During the inauguration ceremony, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. stumbled over the oath's opening words, and Obama repeated them back, incorrectly.

The second time around, they both got it right.

The president's lawyer and constitutional experts agreed that taking the oath a second time was unnecessary. Under the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday, a few minutes before he placed his hand on a Bible to take the oath.

"We believe the oath of office was administered effectively and that the President was sworn in appropriately yesterday," White House Counsel Greg Craig said in a statement. "But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time."

As for Obama, he joked that he and his staff decided to repeat the ceremony because "we decided it was so much fun."

See the report on Obama's oath in Tribune newspapers and here in the Swamp:

Yet it was clear that the administration, having been dogged by false Internet rumors about Obama's citizenship during the presidential campaign, wanted to take no chances about the legitimacy of his presidency.

During Tuesday's ceremony, Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" when he was reading the oath of office, and Obama repeated the mistake.

The Constitution says the president must solemnly swear "that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States," but on Tuesday, Obama said that "I will execute the office of President of the United States faithfully..."

On Wednesday there were no such gaffes. Obama raised his right hand in the White House Map Room - there was no Bible - and repeated Roberts' words to the letter.

"Congratulations, again," the chief justice said, smiling.

"Thank you, sir," Obama replied.

Experts in constitutional law said it was not necessary to have the president repeat the oath, but it was nonetheless smart to put the issue to rest.

"It puts to rest all the doubts," said Yale Law Professor Akhil Amar. "We lawyers are cautious folks."

He noted that at least two presidents--Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur--took the oath a second time after questions were raised. In Coolidge's case, his father was a justice of peace and administered the oath to his son upon the death of President Warren G. Harding.

"Coolidge retook the oath in a secret ceremony," Amar said. "He didn't want his father to know about it."

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC-Irvine Law School, said the do-over "was just a matter of caution and compliance with the text. Article II specifies the exact language of the oath. And Chief Justice Roberts did not recite it verbatim," he said.

"But I don't think it mattered. No one would have standing to sue. Obama would still be president. But this would stop people from asking whether or he was legitimately president."