President Obama’s
Oath Mishap
In an effort to make you the most knowledgeable person at your next cocktail party, this week’s column sets out the basic framework for President Barack Obama’s oath mishap.
How did the oath get screwed up the first time?
Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution requires that a president take the following oath: “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.” Chief Justice John Roberts recited the oath to Obama incorrectly by putting “faithfully” in the wrong place. Roberts said, “execute the Office of the President faithfully,” and Obama repeated the line in the same, incorrect way that Roberts stated it.
Is the oath really important?
It depends on whom you ask. Article II of the Constitution requires that the president must take the oath “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office.” But the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1933, expressly states that the terms of the president and vice president shall end at noon on Jan. 20 and “the terms of their successors shall then begin.” Some lawyers argue that the 20th Amendment supersedes the oath requirement set out in Article II. Others argue that while the transfer of power happens on Jan. 20, the president must first take the oath before wielding his presidential powers. All presidents who have assumed office since the adoption of the 20th Amendment have continued to take the oath, so until the Obama-Roberts miscue, this debate had little relevance.
Why did Obama take the oath a second time?
Gregory Craig, White House legal counsel, summed it up best, stating: “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.” Most speculate that the oath was readministered to avoid dealing with a series of costly, frivolous lawsuits challenging the validity of executive orders on the grounds that Obama lacked authority to issue the orders because he never took the proper oath of office.
This article appears in February 6 • 2009.