Mathew
22-01-2009, 08:02 AM
6:22am UK, Thursday January 22, 2009
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Jan/Week4/15208207.jpg
Obama raises his hand as Chief Justice Roberts administers the oath a second time.
In a highly unusual move, Mr Obama took the oath in the Map Room of the White House, the day after his inauguration as the nation's first African-American president.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who first administered the oath to Obama on Tuesday on the steps of the US Capitol, again performed the ceremony - this time with no bible and in front of only a handful of staff and journalists.
"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the President was sworn in appropriately (on Tuesday)," said White House legal advisor Greg Craig.
But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time."
The reporters present said Mr Obama was sitting on a couch and joked: "We decided it was so much fun ..."
He then stood and walked over to make small talk with the journalists as Justice Roberts donned his black robes.
"Are you ready to take the oath?" Roberts asked.
"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.
After a flawless recitation, which took 25 seconds, Roberts smiled and said, "congratulations - again."
One reporter, Wes Allison, of the St Petersburg Times, told Sky News: "We didn't know it was going to happen so we were a little shocked. It was just a technicality - just to be safe - to be sure it was delivered correctly.
"There was no Bible - just a plain ceremony. Justice Roberts in a plain black robe and Obama in a suit. No family was there - just seven staffers and four reporters."
:: At the end of his first day in the Oval Office, the President announced he had asked his military commanders to draw up plans for a "responsible" withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Mr Obama, who opposed the Iraq war, has said he wants to redeploy thousands of combat troops from the country to Afghanistan, which he says is the prime front against al Qaeda.
:: The US TV audience for Mr Obama's inauguration was less than for former actor Ronald Reagan. Almost 37.8 million people watched Tuesday's ceremony and celebrations in their own homes, while the Reagan event in 1981 attracted 41.8 million.
Nielsen Media Research said the Obama audience included homes that recorded the proceedings, but did not include those who watched the event streamed on the internet or those who watched the event outside their homes.
Interesting... :)
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Jan/Week4/15208207.jpg
Obama raises his hand as Chief Justice Roberts administers the oath a second time.
In a highly unusual move, Mr Obama took the oath in the Map Room of the White House, the day after his inauguration as the nation's first African-American president.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who first administered the oath to Obama on Tuesday on the steps of the US Capitol, again performed the ceremony - this time with no bible and in front of only a handful of staff and journalists.
"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the President was sworn in appropriately (on Tuesday)," said White House legal advisor Greg Craig.
But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time."
The reporters present said Mr Obama was sitting on a couch and joked: "We decided it was so much fun ..."
He then stood and walked over to make small talk with the journalists as Justice Roberts donned his black robes.
"Are you ready to take the oath?" Roberts asked.
"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.
After a flawless recitation, which took 25 seconds, Roberts smiled and said, "congratulations - again."
One reporter, Wes Allison, of the St Petersburg Times, told Sky News: "We didn't know it was going to happen so we were a little shocked. It was just a technicality - just to be safe - to be sure it was delivered correctly.
"There was no Bible - just a plain ceremony. Justice Roberts in a plain black robe and Obama in a suit. No family was there - just seven staffers and four reporters."
:: At the end of his first day in the Oval Office, the President announced he had asked his military commanders to draw up plans for a "responsible" withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Mr Obama, who opposed the Iraq war, has said he wants to redeploy thousands of combat troops from the country to Afghanistan, which he says is the prime front against al Qaeda.
:: The US TV audience for Mr Obama's inauguration was less than for former actor Ronald Reagan. Almost 37.8 million people watched Tuesday's ceremony and celebrations in their own homes, while the Reagan event in 1981 attracted 41.8 million.
Nielsen Media Research said the Obama audience included homes that recorded the proceedings, but did not include those who watched the event streamed on the internet or those who watched the event outside their homes.
Interesting... :)