# Is Biden attending the inauguration? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927 "2009-01-19T02:27:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/1 "2009-01-19T02:27:02Z")
I know the Vice-President-elect traditionally attends and is sworn in a few minutes before the President for some reason. Cheney attended Bush’s 2nd inauguration rather than being re-sworn in in a secret undisclosed location. Is Biden going to being standing on the dais with Obama? Will he be sworn in at a seperate location for security? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/2 "2009-01-19T02:28:25Z")
Why wouldn’t he attend? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/3 "2009-01-19T02:37:15Z")
[Inauguration Day Schedule:](http://inaugurationday2009.com/schedule.html) > [@](#): > > 11:30 AM If you have tickets to the Inauguration ceremony, you must have passed through security by this time. > Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks: Senator Dianne Feinstein > Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren > Aretha Franklin will sing > **Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office** > Music composed by John Williams and performed by Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill. > > 12:00 Noon As specified by the U.S. Constitution (20th Amendment), presidential terms of office begin and end at 12:00 noon on January 20. Barack Obama will take the oath of office, which is this simple, 35-word, statement: > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/4 "2009-01-19T03:00:07Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Why wouldn’t he attend? Presumably so they can’t both be blown up or something. They don’t generally hang out together. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/5 "2009-01-19T03:03:05Z")
Heck, he’s been so low profile lately I had to think for a minute today before I could even remember who the VP elect was! Maybe he has been borrowing dan quayls cloak of invisibilty! ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/6 "2009-01-19T03:13:39Z")
The State of the Union speech is where they have 1 cabinet member stay away in case the whole Capitol gets blown up or something else strange happens. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/7 "2009-01-19T03:21:06Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > The State of the Union speech is where they have 1 cabinet member stay away in case the whole Capitol gets blown up or something else strange happens. Well, it’s been [tried](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot) (albeit not in America). Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/8 "2009-01-19T04:35:55Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Heck, he’s been so low profile lately I had to think for a minute today before I could even remember who the VP elect was! He gave a barn-burner at the concert this afternoon. **Vox** , that maintaining separate locations thing is mostly a crock – Cheney didn’t appear in public with Bush much, but he was at the White House most working days. Also, it’s not a tradition, really – other VP’s have been much more public than the current one, for what seems to me to be two reasons. First, it appealed to Busg and Cheney’s egos and their preconceived political notions to pretend that Fortress America has been under constant attack since Sept. 11th, and second, Cheney was so unpopular throughout his entire term that any time he reminded the public of his existence it made things more difficult for the Administration, so they used the security thing as an excuse to keep him off the stage. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/9 "2009-01-19T05:11:26Z")
Oh, I’m not saying that they need to do that, just elaborating on why \*they \*think they need to do that. I don’t think it’s really a necessary thing to separate the P and VP; the likelihood is just not worth the hassle. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/10 "2009-01-19T06:52:30Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > **Vox** , that maintaining separate locations thing is mostly a crock – Cheney didn’t appear in public with Bush much, but he was at the White House most working days. Also, it’s not a tradition, really – other VP’s have been much more public than the current one, for what seems to me to be two reasons. First, it appealed to Busg and Cheney’s egos and their preconceived political notions to pretend that Fortress America has been under constant attack since Sept. 11th, and second, Cheney was so unpopular throughout his entire term that any time he reminded the public of his existence it made things more difficult for the Administration, so they used the security thing as an excuse to keep him off the stage. You’re forgetting that Cheney is also not a member of the executive branch. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-attending-the-inauguration/481927/11 "2009-01-19T16:42:10Z")
They’ve just [announced](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/19/1749522.aspx) that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be the “designated successor” during the inauguration. It makes sense – he’s already been serving in the Cabinet, so he knows how things work, and he’s the Defense Secretary, so he’s probably best equipped to deal with whatever situation arises.