PRESIDENT Barack Obama has taken his oath of office a second time in what the White House described as “an abundance of caution” because the president and chief justice John Roberts stumbled over their words during Tuesday’s inauguration.
Mr Roberts administered the second oath in the White House on Wednesday evening before a small group of reporters and White House staff.
Despite Mr Obama’s declaration of a new era of transparency earlier that day, the procedure was not captured on film, although the administration released a still photograph and an audio recording.
Mr Obama joked that he was taking the oath a second time because “we decided it was so much fun”.
White House counsel Greg Craig was confident that Mr Obama was legally sworn in on Tuesday despite the mistake in the oath. Within minutes of the inauguration, conservative websites and conspiracy theorists suggested that the flubbing of the oath rendered the new president’s inauguration illegitimate.
“We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday. 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,” Mr Craig said.
The 20th amendment to the US constitution suggests that Mr Obama became president at noon on Tuesday, even before he took the oath of office.
“The terms of the president and vice-president shall end at noon on the 20th day of January . . . and the terms of their successors shall then begin,” it says.
Article II of the constitution states, however: “Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: 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.” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that the president did not plan to re-sign executive orders he issued before he took the oath for a second time on Wednesday.
Two other presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur, have had to repeat the oath because of similar problems to those on Tuesday.
