# Obama not really the President because he didn't really take the Oath **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167 "2009-01-20T18:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/181 "2009-01-21T16:40:22Z")
“When you whoosh upon a star…” ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/182 "2009-01-21T16:47:39Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Sadly, this one is proving to be all too true: > > _Originally Posted by **lorene** > 25. “I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”—Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008_ > > What the hell was he doing? Sticking his boogers on the underside of the desk drawer. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/183 "2009-01-21T16:52:11Z")
> [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](#): > > I think the point is that if someone says something outrageously out of character, it might be a joke or reference or something other than what it seems. Assuming it is only what it seems without further investigation, merely relying on immediate outward appearances, is risky. Some people use sarcasm, hyperbole, and obscure references more than you might expect. > > There’s an author who says there are two kinds of readers: the ones who say “I don’t understand what he wrote, what’s the matter with him?” and “I don’t understand what he wrote, what’s the matter with me?” I didn’t see the movie or get the reference either. I just assumed **Cervaise** was having a bad hair day. (The loathing on SDMB for Fox News is not unknown, either.) ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/184 "2009-01-21T17:16:57Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Bush and Bush. Why? > [@Muffin](#): > > IQ test. Bingo. I have a hard time taking Bush voters seriously, especially those who voted for him _twice_. The gall of a Bush voter saying that Obama isn’t a good speaker is simply stunning. Bush was in office for 8 long, long years… and yet he never learned how to pronounce “nuclear”. Now, you might say that his folksy facade was carefully engineered to connect him to the “common man”- but I’d much rather have a President who the world takes seriously, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/185 "2009-01-21T17:28:08Z")
Carter pronounces it the same way Bush does. That’s a stupid thing to criticize someone about. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/186 "2009-01-21T17:33:16Z")
I’m not entirely sure, but there seems to be some confusion regarding songs here. The national anthem (“The Star-Spangled Banner”) is not the same song as “My Country 'Tis of Thee.” The latter – not the national anthem – is the one with the same tune as “God Save the Queen.” As for people not singing along: 1. Depending on the sound setup, it can be hard to hear the crowd singing along. 2. It’s hard to sing along to a gospel, jazz, or soul-style singer. They don’t keep straight meter. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/187 "2009-01-21T17:41:39Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If Obama is not the President, does that mean Bush can still invade Canada? Nah. If Obama isn’t the president, it means Biden can invade Canada. > [@Laudenum](#): > > I didn’t think the speech was too bad, but he never got the applause he wanted Yes he did. The applause and cheers at several points were near-deafening, so it must have been a mixing issue. There was one applause line that didn’t hit (I don’t remember what it was now), but most of them got thunderous cheers. However, the single the loudest thing yesterday was the boos when Bush first showed up on the Jumbotron. (Worst than Cheney, in fact, which was a little surprising – I think a lot of it was muffled by people asking why he was in a wheelchair.) > [@](#): > > but: The fat one You’re an asshole. > [@](#): > > murdering that song I agree it was far from her best performance. > [@](#): > > and the poet were both woeful. Wrong again. I really liked the poem, although by then most of us were headed for the exits. (Except there weren’t any exits for another 20 minutes.) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/188 "2009-01-21T17:50:47Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Carter pronounces it the same way Bush does. That’s a stupid thing to criticize someone about. I disagree. I think that once people start using your pronunciation of a specific word as a joke, and point towards it as an indicator of your intelligence, it might be time to examine why you pronounce the word that way. Especially if you’re in a position, such as the Presidency, where you want people to take you seriously. If people like **Stephe96** insist that a few bobbles in Obama’s speeches are an indicator of his eloquence, then Bush’s inability to correctly pronounce one very important word is surely enough to cast aspersions upon HIS eloquence. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/189 "2009-01-21T18:02:52Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Rehearsal wouldn’t necessarily make you any less nervous. Obama’s use to millions watching him, but what about Roberts? Oh please. If you’re nervous, **use notes**. He chose not to use notes. He flubbed it. His choice, his responsability. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/190 "2009-01-21T18:10:09Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Rehearsal wouldn’t necessarily make you any less nervous. Obama’s use to millions watching him, but what about Roberts? I have the same problem when I have to talk in front of judges. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/191 "2009-01-21T18:31:18Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > You’re a hoot, Steph. You’ve now fallen into the Starving Artist category of unintentionally hilarious moron. A skilled satirist would be hard pressed to make up more patently ridiculous, self-revelatory nonsense. Rock on, rock on. Now, that’s simply unfair to **Steph**. She’s been an unintentially hilarious moron on this board for a good four years before **Starving Artist** ever even registered. You got to give the pioneers the credit they deserve. ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/192 "2009-01-21T18:36:20Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > As for people not singing along: > > 1. Depending on the sound setup, it can be hard to hear the crowd singing along. > 2. It’s hard to sing along to a gospel, jazz, or soul-style singer. They don’t keep straight meter. I love Aretha Franklin, but the way she chose to sing the song was very disppointing. Where I was standing, way back near the Washington Monument, people wanted and tried to sing along with her. But no one could stay on track with her and soon gave up. It could have been an very, very good moment. Especially since for many, many african-americans it’s the first time in our lives that we can truly feel the words. It was a moment that had such potential to unite and it was squandered. ---
**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 21, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/193 "2009-01-21T18:39:28Z")
Speaking of yellow mellowing, can you imagine being a janitor yesterday? UGH!!! > [@lorene](#): > > Thank goodness [Bush was so well-spoken](http://www.slate.com/id/2208132/). Obama has something to aspire to. > > Or something. > [@pedescribe](#): > > Sadly, this one is proving to be all too true: > [@lorene](#): > > 1. “I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”—Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008, George W. Bush > [@](#): > > What the hell was he doing? Why [this](http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/bush_spends_day_feverishly), of course! ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/194 "2009-01-21T18:58:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > My sole response to this whole debacle, such as it is, is: > > _See? This is why you rehearse._ My wife will never let me forget the flub I made at our wedding. You know that line, “To have and to hold”? I misheard the JP- and repeated what I’d heard, even though I knew better: “To have and to FOLD”. I knew the line- hell, everyone knows that line. I’d rehearsed it. But I got into the “repeat what you hear” mode, and I was nervous… and I said “Fold” instead of “Hold”. Even as I was saying it, I knew it was wrong. Rehearsing can only take you so far. Everyone makes mistakes. ---
**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 21, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/195 "2009-01-21T19:16:31Z")
> [@wring](#): > > Oh please. If you’re nervous, **use notes**. He chose not to use notes. He flubbed it. His choice, his responsability. You had the choice of spell checking, but still misspelled _responsibility_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/196 "2009-01-21T19:21:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You had the choice of spell checking, but still misspelled _responsibility_. 😃 Yep. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/197 "2009-01-21T19:36:22Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Bingo. I have a hard time taking Bush voters seriously, especially those who voted for him _twice_. The gall of a Bush voter saying that Obama isn’t a good speaker is simply stunning. > > Bush was in office for 8 long, long years… and yet he never learned how to pronounce “nuclear”. Now, you might say that his folksy facade was carefully engineered to connect him to the “common man”- but I’d much rather have a President who the world takes seriously, thanks. Obama spent years at Harvard and he _still_ can’t pronounce the name of the state it’s in. He says Massa-TOO-setts. Is he an idiot based on that? By the way, I know Bush says “nucular” and not “nuclear,” but I have to admit: when someone says it fast enough, I can barely tell the difference. That’s not an excuse; simply an observation. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/198 "2009-01-21T19:38:29Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > You know that line, “To have and to hold”? I misheard the JP- and repeated what I’d heard, even though I knew better: “To have and to FOLD”. She does realize that to fold is (a) to surrender during an argument and (b) the last thing you to do to freshly laundered clothes before putting them into a drawer, doesn’t she? You think she’d be happy that you vowed to fold, in front of God and witnesses! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/199 "2009-01-21T19:55:59Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > I have the same problem when I have to talk in front of judges. Hmmm, and for Obama, being a black man, the problem is probably worse. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/200 "2009-01-21T20:04:40Z")
There was [this article](http://freep.com/article/20090121/OBAMAINAUGURATION10/901210350/1285/NEWS15/Enthusiasm+is+muted+in+Republican+stronghold)amongst the coverage in the Detroit Free Press today. I was pleased that not all were downcast and I especially liked this part: > [@](#): > > Classmate Terrence Holst, 16, a self-described “hard right guy” who has been listening to Rush Limbaugh since he was 8, said, “I was surprised. That was the best speech I ever heard in my life.” 16’s a pretty politically impressionable age. When you’ve listened to a group of people being demonized your whole life, and then hear with your own ears that what one of “them” has to say sounds right and reasonable - well, there’s hope for these kids yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=11)