# 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:** 5
**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, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/81 "2009-01-21T00:34:19Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Chris Wallace talks like a fag and his shit’s all retarded. Just to keep my PC chops in good shape, it’s okay to call people “fags” and “retarded” now? But…but…what about what you’ve said all these years? Oh, wait. I forgot. :smack: Liberals get to require things of others that they exempt themselves from. Must be a perk that comes with that higher, more evolved moral plane you’re on. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/82 "2009-01-21T00:38:25Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Besides, isn’t the reverse true, as well? What _else_ are the mindless Obama parrots gonna say about his inaugural address? I voted for Obama, but since I’m still stuck at work, didn’t see the inaugural speech. I read it online, instead. For what it’s worth, it didn’t read like a very good speech, but neither did it read like a hopeless bushworthy mess of generalities. I didn’t see many details and I wasn’t expecting any; this was an inaugural speech, not a campaign debate. [Kennedy](http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy%27s_Inaugural_Address) didn’t have many specifics in his address… [Reagan didn’t](http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan%27s_First_Inaugural_Address) either. Frankly, what kind of specifics do you think he should have had? The [vague talking points](http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/inauguration/2001/transcripts/template.html) of Bush in 2001? “We will reform Medicare and lower taxes” kind of stuff? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/83 "2009-01-21T00:42:39Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Chris Wallace talks like a fag and his shit’s all retarded. “Don’t worry scrow, there’s plenty of tards out there leading really kick ass lives. My first wife, she was tarded. Now she’s a pilot.” (Dialog from _Idiocracy_ if anyone out there is wondering WTF???) ---
**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, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/84 "2009-01-21T00:43:10Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Just to keep my PC chops in good shape, it’s okay to call people “fags” and “retarded” now? > > But…but…what about what you’ve said all these years? > > Oh, wait. I forgot. :smack: > > Liberals get to require things of others that they exempt themselves from. > > Must be a perk that comes with that higher, more evolved moral plane you’re on. The liberal double-standard is breathtaking. The libs whip themselves into a frenzy about how stupid Bush is for waving to Stevie Wonder (a story, by the way, that Snopes says is fake); but let Vice-Plagiarist Joe Biden actually call for a guy in a wheelchair to stand up for a round of applause, and you can cue the crickets as far as the libs are concerned. That’s no evidence that Biden is a moron (which he is), it’s just “Joe being Joe!” ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/85 "2009-01-21T00:49:10Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > The liberal double-standard is breathtaking. Wait a minute… you come into a thread and complain that Obama doesn’t speak very well… and you say that the _liberal double standard is breathtaking?_ Have you not been _listening_ to Bush for the last 8 years? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/86 "2009-01-21T00:49:47Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Just to keep my PC chops in good shape, it’s okay to call people “fags” and “retarded” now? And whooooooooooooooosh again! > [@Starving Artist](#): > > The liberal double-standard is breathtaking. In fact, a double whoooooooooosh!! Goodness gracious, guys. I know you’re doubtless feeling pretty gloomy these days, what with having a Democrat in the White House and all, but do try to keep in mind that some people are still feeling chipper enough to crack jokes, even if you don’t feel up to laughing at them. We don’t expect you to seem cheerful, but at least you can try not to seem clueless! ---
**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, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/87 "2009-01-21T00:51:36Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Not only that, but a President who apparently knows the Constitution better than the Chief Justice of the United States does. No excuse for Roberts, but doesn’t just about every elected pol who gains some national recognition practice saying the oath in front of the mirror enough to have it memorized? ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/88 "2009-01-21T00:56:07Z")
[QUOTE=Stephe96] But Obama, despite coming off as a stuttering doofus whenever he’s off script, actually _does_ have a reputation a great orator. He usually knows exactly how to “sell” a speech. I just happen to think he failed today, that’s all. [/QUOTE] Obama is notable for being able to string ideas as well as coherent sentences together without any kind of script. After 8 dreary years of Shrub’s moronic ramblings, not to mention his inability to even read from a teleprompter, it’s quite refreshing to have a chief executive who can actually talk. If Obama _had_ gone for the soaring rhetoric and highfalutin’ oratory then you’d sniff that he’s all glitz and no substance. His speech was rather somber in tone, listing some suprisingly specific goals as well as reminders about responsibilities. It was eminently suitable for the tough times he, and we, face, IMO. I cringed through the poetry reading though. Wow, that sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/89 "2009-01-21T00:58:32Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I listened to it on the radio and heard a rambling, disjointed speech with no apparent theme. Ah…that explains it. You were listening to Limbaugh. ---
**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, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/90 "2009-01-21T01:03:15Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > And whooooooooooooooosh again! > In fact, a double whoooooooooosh!! I giggled at **Starving Artist** ’s whoosh, and then outright lost it at **Stephe96** ’s whoosh. Way to go, guys- you’re totally living up to the mediocrity of the last eight years! ---
**Author:** ![papaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@papaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papaw)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/91 "2009-01-21T01:15:23Z")
Though I was not an Obama supporter, I thought his speech was very good and designed to uplift our people and nation. The flubs were distracting, but were just that, no more. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/92 "2009-01-21T01:18:10Z")
I didn’t think the speech was too bad, but he never got the applause he wanted, but: The fat one murdering that song, and the poet were both woeful. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/93 "2009-01-21T01:18:27Z")
And I saw the new first lady being served WHITE wine at the lunch. Enough said. And what as with that announcers voice that announced the entry of the president and first lady into the “lunch room” It sounded like a cross between that movie announcer guy and some guy at a monster truck ralley! ick ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/94 "2009-01-21T01:19:29Z")
In defense of the whooshed, not everybody has seen Idiocracy and you’ll get the same shocked response if you quote that very same line while reading correspondence from drooling claimants at your desk and your office manager happens to be passing by on the way to her office. Or so I’ve been told. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/95 "2009-01-21T01:24:35Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Just to keep my PC chops in good shape, it’s okay to call people “fags” and “retarded” now? > > But…but…what about what you’ve said all these years? > > Oh, wait. I forgot. :smack: > > Liberals get to require things of others that they exempt themselves from. > > Must be a perk that comes with that higher, more evolved moral plane you’re on. It’s a quote from the movie _Idiocracy_. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/96 "2009-01-21T01:28:39Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > The liberal double-standard is breathtaking. The libs whip themselves into a frenzy about how stupid Bush is for waving to Stevie Wonder (a story, by the way, that Snopes says is fake); but let Vice-Plagiarist Joe Biden actually call for a guy in a wheelchair to stand up for a round of applause, and you can cue the crickets as far as the libs are concerned. That’s no evidence that Biden is a moron (which he is), it’s just “Joe being Joe!” I love the sound of snivelling sour grapes on Inauguration day. Here, why don’t you use my dick to wipe the snot off your face, you blubbering titty baby. ---
**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, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/97 "2009-01-21T01:30:22Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > Obama is notable for being able to string ideas as well as coherent sentences together without any kind of script. After 8 dreary years of Shrub’s moronic ramblings, not to mention his inability to even read from a teleprompter, it’s quite refreshing to have a chief executive who can actually talk. > . Actual Obama quotes: “Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s.” "You know, it’s always a bad practice to say ‘always’ or ‘never’ " “Over the past fifteen months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.” “What they’ll say is, ‘Well it costs too much money,’ but you know what? It would cost, about… It – it – it would cost about the same as what we would spend… It… Over the course of 10 years it would cost what it would costs us… All right. Okay. We’re going to… It… It would cost us about the same as it would cost for about – hold on one second. I can’t hear myself. But I’m glad you’re fired up, though. I’m glad.” “Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma, they end up taking up a hospital bed, it costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early and they got some treatment, and a, a breathalyzer, or inhalator, not a breathalyzer. I haven’t had much sleep in the last 48 hours.” “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died—an entire town destroyed.” (Actual death toll: 12) “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it’s not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle.” (He was talking about Kentucky) “Here’s something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I’m not familiar with the Hanford, uuuuhh, site, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on there. Now, having said that, I promise you I’ll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport.” (Imagine if Sarah Palin had said this!) Yeah, that’s a real Mensa candidate, huh? ---
**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, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/98 "2009-01-21T01:38:46Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Yeah, that’s a real Mensa candidate, huh? I’d say he’s smart enough. [Some other Obama quotes](http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/barack_obama.html). A few really good ones: "Americans… still believe in an America where anything’s possible - they just don’t think their leaders do. " "I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. " "I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions. " "Where the stakes are the highest, in the war on terror, we cannot possibly succeed without extraordinary international cooperation. Effective international police actions require the highest degree of intelligence sharing, planning and collaborative enforcement. " "What Washington needs is adult supervision. " ---
**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, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/99 "2009-01-21T01:40:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s a quote from the movie _Idiocracy_. Oh :smack:…uh, never mind then. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/100 "2009-01-21T01:40:57Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Actual Obama quotes: > \< snips sour cherry pickings \> > > Yeah, that’s a real Mensa candidate, huh? You try walking the walk, AND talking the talk as long as that guy has had to, and see how many fuck ups or misstatements you make. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=6)