# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/121 "2009-01-21T02:35:39Z")
I look forward to more threads featuring **Stephe96** and his “Obama is the Suxxor!!!111” comments. Your witty rhetoric will no doubt ring through the ages sir, and we simple mortals will tremble at the mere mention of your name! ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/122 "2009-01-21T02:40:46Z")
Thank goodness [Bush was so well-spoken](http://www.slate.com/id/2208132/). Obama has something to aspire to. Or something. ---
**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, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/123 "2009-01-21T02:41:05Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I wonder if you’d submit us to your own college freshmen poetry to show us what they should really look like. Before you do, look at those glass walls around you. > > Seriously: you provide the contrast, a function for which you’re essential. Keep it up! > > Daniel :rolleyes: If she didn’t like the poem written by a professional, she has to provide a better poem before she criticises it? It was a rubbish poem, the kind you’d get from the token slapper in the college creative writing club. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/124 "2009-01-21T02:48:41Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > :rolleyes: If she didn’t like the poem written by a professional, she has to provide a better poem before she criticises it? Obama is a professional poet? And I believe **LHoD** ’s point was that this poem was written before Obama acquired his great skill with language. ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/125 "2009-01-21T02:48:49Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > :rolleyes: If she didn’t like the poem written by a professional, she has to provide a better poem before she criticises it? > It was a rubbish poem, the kind you’d get from the token slapper in the college creative writing club. :rolleyes: yourself, sweetcheeks. **Stephe** was mocking Obama for a poem about apes and figs that Obama wrote during his first year at college, when he was still a teenager. If he wants us to take him seriously, the bare minimum he can do is to show that he is without sin in this regard, that his own college freshman poetry is superior to Obama’s. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![dactylic\_hexameter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@dactylic\_hexameter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dactylic_hexameter)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/126 "2009-01-21T02:49:21Z")
I actually enjoyed the screw-up of the oath. I mean, it injected a semblance of humanity into the proceedings. We’re not erecting a new god, we’re swearing in a man to lead us. The oath was a bit of a reminder that this guy isn’t going to save the world; he’s just going to do his best to make it better. As for the speech, I was a bit underwhelmed. I know he’s given better in the past. He just seemed a bit tired - and maybe a bit let down by the crowd response. I mean, I know the country’s in the hole, but you could smile at the end - you’re the new f\*ing president of the US! You just gave your inaugural address! It’s OK for you to be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/127 "2009-01-21T02:50:40Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > :rolleyes: If she didn’t like the poem written by a professional, she has to provide a better poem before she criticises it? > It was a rubbish poem, the kind you’d get from the token slapper in the college creative writing club. You would have a good point if **Stephe96** had merely made a post that said the poem sucked (others have done this, and fair enough). The laughable thing is that **Stephe96** is desperately, **desperately** needing the inauguration to be less than perfect (for reasons known only to him/herself) ---
**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, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/128 "2009-01-21T02:58:24Z")
Obama was 19 when he wrote that poem (and I’ve seen a lot worse), but [this one](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/politics/18poems.html) is actually pretty good: > [@](#): > > POP > > Sitting in his seat, a seat broad and broken > In, sprinkled with ashes > Pop switches channels, takes another > Shot of Seagrams, neat, and asks > What to do with me, a green young man > Who fails to consider the > Flim and flam of the world, since > Things have been easy for me; > I stare hard at his face, a stare > That deflects off his brow; > I’m sure he’s unaware of his > Dark, watery eyes, that > Glance in different directions, > And his slow, unwelcome twitches, > Fail to pass. > I listen, nod, > Listen, open, till I cling to his pale, > Beige T-shirt, yelling, > Yelling in his ears, that hang > With heavy lobes, but he’s still telling > His joke, so I ask why > He’s so unhappy, to which he replies… > But I don’t care anymore, cause > He took too damn long, and from > Under my seat, I pull out the > Mirror I’ve been saving; I’m laughing, > Laughing loud, the blood rushing from his face > To mine, as he grows small, > A spot in my brain, something > That may be squeezed out, like a > Watermelon seed between > Two fingers. > Pop takes another shot, neat, > Points out the same amber > Stain on his shorts that I’ve got on mine, and > Makes me smell his smell, coming > From me; he switches channels, recites an old poem > He wrote before his mother died, > Stands, shouts, and asks > For a hug, as I shrink, my > Arms barely reaching around > His thick, oily neck, and his broad back; ’cause > I see my face, framed within > Pop’s black-framed glasses > And know he’s laughing too. ---
**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, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/129 "2009-01-21T03:07:27Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Obama was 19 when he wrote that poem (and I’ve seen a lot worse), but [this one](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/politics/18poems.html) is actually pretty good: It’s much better than the, ahem, “professional” poems read at the inauguration, I’ll give you that… ---
**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, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/130 "2009-01-21T03:30:06Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Obama may have been better off reading one of his own, original poems. Like this one: > \* > Under water grottos, caverns > Filled with apes > That eat figs. > Stepping on the figs > That the apes > Eat, they crunch. > The apes howl, bare > Their fangs, dance, > Tumble in the > Rushing water, > Musty, wet pelts > Glistening in the blue.\* > > Then, again…maybe not!😃 He left out the black monolith and the bare bone tumbling through the air 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/131 "2009-01-21T03:33:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Oh :smack:…uh, never mind then. Dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/132 "2009-01-21T03:44:32Z")
The current mindset of the 22%ers is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/133 "2009-01-21T03:44:38Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > What’s amazed me lately is listening semi-regularly to Newt Gingrich (Newt Motherfucking Gingrich!) comment on the election, and thinking that Newt fertheloveaChrist Gingrich was sounding **rational**. > > Maybe he’s mellowed. > Maybe I’ve mellowed. > Maybe the Republican Party has degenerated so far over the last eight years that Newt NoI’mreallynotshittingyou Gingrich sounds reasonable compared to the current crop of leadership. > > Daniel I know just what you mean – makes my brain hurt, trying to wrap itself around that perception of Gingrich. ---
**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, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/134 "2009-01-21T03:46:38Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Dumbass. I’m dumb because I haven’t seen a movie? Your brain doesn’t work right. 😃 ---
**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, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/135 "2009-01-21T03:56:23Z")
Obama’s got electrolytes. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/136 "2009-01-21T03:57:16Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Obama’s got electrolytes. It’s what Americans crave! ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/137 "2009-01-21T03:59:58Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Thank goodness [Bush was so well-spoken](http://www.slate.com/id/2208132/). Obama has something to aspire to. > > Or something. 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 What the hell was he doing? ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/138 "2009-01-21T04:00:55Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > My point was that Obama is a moron without a teleprompter in front of him. On the other hand there are single celled organisms who feel much better about their intellectual abilities knowing that you’re out there. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/139 "2009-01-21T04:08:07Z")
Cite for future [talks like fag/shit’s all retarded](http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=acUix6Mz7kY) references (quality appalling) Registration for the “Lighten up, Francis” seminars starts Monday ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/140 "2009-01-21T04:53:30Z")
jesus, have any of you criticizers ever actually done a fair amount of public speaking? It’s hard, and you flub up all the time. I’m a teacher, I know this sort of thing, I jumble a word, my students laugh, I start over, and that’s that, and I’m only speaking in front of 35-40 people. Granted I’m not trying to show people i’m qualified for a position or anything, but that would be even more pressure. I have a lot of respect for these guys Sure, Bush had some killer ones… some BEYOND moronic ones, but most of 'em were all-in-all pretty harmless and kinda amusing (and this coming from a guy who fucking HATES Bush and all he stood for and did during his horrendous 8 years) but seriously? Chief Justice stumbled a bit, oh well. Obama messed up a sentence or two, oh darn. There’s a lot of pressure on these guys and their rather constantly in the public light, it’s only natural some wording’s going to get mixed up. Do what normal people do: giggle a bit, then get back to listening to the speech [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=8)