# 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:** 11
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/201 "2009-01-21T20:06:44Z")
Listening to Limbaugh since he was 8?! Isn’t that child abuse? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/202 "2009-01-21T20:08:08Z")
> [@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. > > I’m an Independent and no Obama fangirl but have been reluctantly convinced over the past 8 years that a lot of supposed conservatives have entirely lost their fucking minds. Between the two of us, I’m quite content to let your behavior of a couple of months ago speak to which of us has lost their fucking mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/203 "2009-01-21T20:10:49Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Between the two of us, I’m quite content to let your behavior of a couple of months ago speak to which of us has lost their fucking mind. Polite doesn’t make right. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/204 "2009-01-21T20:39:54Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Carter pronounces it the same way Bush does. That’s a stupid thing to criticize someone about. Carter once disassembled a nuclear reactor core. Pronunciation becomes a bit less crucial in that case. ---
**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, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/205 "2009-01-21T22:21:10Z")
No it doesn’t. ---
**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, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/206 "2009-01-21T23:06:07Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > No it doesn’t. At least Carter has done some good in this world. (Not as president, mind you.) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/207 "2009-01-21T23:57:53Z")
I’ve listened closely - Carter says “newkler”, which is pretty much right. He does not slip an extra vowel in, the way Homer Simpson and GW Bush do, in fact he elides one. And anyway, I am not about to criticize a former nuclear _engineer_ about that point. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/208 "2009-01-22T01:02:30Z")
Don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but CNN just announced on the top of the news page that Obama has retaken the oath due to the mix up, just to cover his butt. The question can now turn to: did he really need to? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/209 "2009-01-22T01:04:45Z")
Did he need to? Nah. Was it a good thing to do? Yeah. Cross your t’s dot your i’s, mind your p’s and q’s. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/210 "2009-01-22T01:06:27Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > Don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but CNN just announced on the top of the news page that Obama has retaken the oath due to the mix up, just to cover his butt. > > The question can now turn to: did he really need to? I have no idea if he legally had to, but I’m amazed at the attention such a trivial verbal gaffe has received. By the way, who has been president of the US for the past 20 hours or so? ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/211 "2009-01-22T01:08:27Z")
Well, maybe he just wanted to be double the president. \* Double your pleasure Double your fun It’s the right one The Doublemi\*… ahem. sorry ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/212 "2009-01-22T01:16:24Z")
A few losers sent months in court trying to prove Obama wasn’t a citizen, so as silly as this was, I suppose it was a good move not to give them another opening. Does the re-swearing mean Obama’s guaranteed a second term? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/213 "2009-01-22T01:17:41Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > A few losers sent months in court trying to prove Obama wasn’t a citizen, so as silly as this was, I suppose it was a good move not to give them another opening. > > Does the re-swearing mean Obama’s guaranteed a second term? 😉 Or is he _already on_ his second term!?! ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/214 "2009-01-22T02:33:37Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Or is he _already on_ his second term!?! Given that the 22nd amendment specifically limits the amount of times one can be elected, not how many times they are sworn in (or even how many ‘terms’ they serve), I think he’s just fine. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/215 "2009-01-22T02:51:32Z")
Fast response. Quell the BS before it gathers mojo. Kudos. * * * And a thread-killer to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/216 "2009-01-22T03:13:58Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > Given that the 22nd amendment specifically limits the amount of times one can be elected, not how many times they are sworn in (or even how many ‘terms’ they serve), I think he’s just fine. You can bet some fuckwit will drag this argument out in 2012. I’d almost be willing to bet on it. Apparently, some Presidents _haven’t_ recited the oath, and merely said, “I do” in response to the CJ reading the whole oath. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/217 "2009-01-22T04:48:19Z")
TG, IANAL, but seems to me, in a “post is my cite” context, that its the date that is operative. He becomes President on the 20th of Jan at noon. The oath is ceremonial, but not definitive. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/218 "2009-01-22T04:55:18Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’ve listened closely - Carter says “newkler”, which is pretty much right. He does not slip an extra vowel in, the way Homer Simpson and GW Bush do, in fact he elides one. > > And anyway, I am not about to criticize a former nuclear _engineer_ about that point. There was a great report on the radio a few years ago talking about the pronunciation of “nuclear.” Apparently, among the military personnel who work with nuclear weaponry, the “nucular” pronunciation dominates, from private to general. They also distinguish between “nucular” weapons and “newclear” families. W, bless his little heart, was probably blissfully unaware of such niceties. But if he were, it’d be savvy of him to curry favor with military brass by using their pronunciation. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/219 "2009-01-22T04:55:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > A few losers sent months in court trying to prove Obama wasn’t a citizen, so as silly as this was, I suppose it was a good move not to give them another opening. The irony of this is the fact that it was Chief Justice Roberts who flubbed the oath. In the unlikely event that Obama’s presidency was ever challenged, the case would end up in Roberts’ court. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Amish\_Barbie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f475e1/32.png) [@Amish\_Barbie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amish_Barbie)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/220 "2009-01-22T05:00:10Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > …did he really need to? No. Regardless of the “flub”, he was officially President as of noon yesterday, prior to taking the oath which really is just a traditional “formality” than anything else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=12)