# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/161 "2009-01-21T12:12:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Well theu obviously didn’t rehearse enough! I very much disagree. I do not want people wasting time on things which have NO importance. This is not a theater performance nor should it be. If we see it like that then we are losing sight of the substance and mistaking it for the show. A verbal slip is of no consequence whatsoever and I do not think the ceremony should be about how well a bunch of officials can act in a live performance. ---
**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, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/162 "2009-01-21T12:21:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Well, to be honest, I don’t follow Cervaise’s posts all that closely. > 🙂 Yet you followed it enough to correctly ascribe his political leaning. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/163 "2009-01-21T12:46:58Z")
I should note, as it seems to have wooshed several people, that ‘Dumbass’ is yet another reference to our current favorite movie. I’m just going to go put some Michael Bolton music on for them while they watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/164 "2009-01-21T12:53:03Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > I very much disagree. I do not want people wasting time on things which have NO importance. This is not a theater performance nor should it be. If we see it like that then we are losing sight of the substance and mistaking it for the show. A verbal slip is of no consequence whatsoever and I do not think the ceremony should be about how well a bunch of officials can act in a live performance. Um… whoosh? I was kidding. Just, you know, channeling my internal high school drama teacher. ---
**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, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/165 "2009-01-21T13:01:14Z")
I have to admit, I thought that yer won who read out the poem had written it - like Maya Angelou at Clinton’s. ---
**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, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/166 "2009-01-21T13:27:14Z")
[QUOTE=Stephe96] Hell, I still think my basic point stands. There’s no way I would be allowed to get away with using those words, even if I was quoting an obscure movie. I believe it would be called “hate speech.” [/QUOTE] Right. Because you’re a conservative, which automatically makes you a _victim_. You suffer bravely under a hideous double-standard. Evil liberals have everything their way while you’re always picked on. 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. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/167 "2009-01-21T14:15:19Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If Obama is not the President, does that mean Bush can still invade Canada? Mr. Bush can invade Canada whether he’s president or not. (I stole that line from another thread. My apologies to whomever I’ve bethieved.) > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > 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? Indeed. My own take was that Obama had probably dreamt taking the oath every night since November 4. At any rate, it was obvious that he instantly noticed that Roberts was straying from the Sacred Text. Will English majors ever admit that _all_ “modern poetry” is crap? Just listen to Garrison Keillor’s _Writer’s Almanac_ sometime. If you didn’t know he was reading a “poem”, you would think he was reciting some little prose essay he had found stuck to his shoe. ---
**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, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/168 "2009-01-21T14:24:55Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > Right. Because you’re a conservative, which automatically makes you a _victim_. You suffer bravely under a hideous double-standard. Evil liberals have everything their way while you’re always picked on. In fairness, I couldn’t believe it when the guy who gave the benediction said “let the yellow be mellow”. I hollered, “Dude, you can’t _say_ that!” loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/169 "2009-01-21T14:40:19Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Hell, I still think my basic point stands. There’s no way I would be allowed to get away with using those words, even if I was quoting an obscure movie. You are right. You would not be allowed to get away with calling someone else retarded because you are the baseline upon which stupidity is measured. You can credibly call someone a “pinko” or a “commie”, but if you cannot recognize your own dessicated intellect, you have no grounds to call into question anyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/170 "2009-01-21T15:05:42Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > [Free Republic](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2168190/posts) They’re on the IMDb Politics forum as well. ---
**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, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/171 "2009-01-21T15:07:43Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Hell, I still think my basic point stands. There’s no way I would be allowed to get away with using those words, even if I was quoting an obscure movie. Yes you would, and people use “retarded” around here all the time. Your perscution exsts only in your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/172 "2009-01-21T15:31:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > In fairness, I couldn’t believe it when the guy who gave the benediction said “let the yellow be mellow”. > > I hollered, “Dude, you can’t _say_ that!” loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. No kidding. Usually when you hear the words “yellow” and “mellow” in one sentence the words “brown” and “flush it down” aren’t far behind. ---
**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, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/173 "2009-01-21T15:41:38Z")
_Hastily arranges for increased capacity for "Lighten Up Francis_ class… ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/174 "2009-01-21T15:42:55Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Will English majors ever admit that _all_ “modern poetry” is crap? All? No, but I’ll admit that a great deal of it is crap. But then most everything of any genre in any decade is crap. Thirteen channels, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/175 "2009-01-21T15:49:06Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > No kidding. Usually when you hear the words “yellow” and “mellow” in one sentence the words “brown” and “flush it down” aren’t far behind. Perhaps that was the point? They’re probably trying to conserve water and knew a lot of people would be using the restrooms. ---
**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, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/176 "2009-01-21T16:07:10Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I don’t know who Cervaise is or what he or she is like. Why is it a “whoosh” that I took a statement at face value? That’s what a whoosh **IS** : when another poster is joking or being sarcastic and you think they’re being serious. Taking a statement at face value when it was actually intended non-seriously is the very definition of being whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/177 "2009-01-21T16:18:44Z")
Rehearsal wouldn’t necessarily make you any less nervous. Obama’s use to millions watching him, but what about Roberts? ---
**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, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/178 "2009-01-21T16:20:13Z")
> [@DtC](#): > > > [@Stephe96](#): > > > > There’s no way I would be allowed to get away with using those words, even if I was quoting an obscure movie. > > Yes you would, and people use “retarded” around here all the time. I half agree. I think anybody (not just **Stephe** , and not just conservatives) using the word “fag” in earnest as an insult would probably get called on it. As well they should, IMHO. However, I notice that poor persecuted **Stephe** used “moron” in earnest as an insult (“Obama is a moron without a teleprompter in front of him”) back in post #101, and nobody batted an eyelash at his non-PCness. So yeah, I think **Stephe** is somewhat overplaying the victim card here. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/179 "2009-01-21T16:27:59Z")
Upon Whooshitude: The thing is, \*\*Cervaise \*\*going all “tard” and “fag” on us, is pretty much the opposite of what we would expect. So taking him at face value is a whoosh. If **Starving Artist** or \*\*Stephe96 \*\*came out and said, “Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known” and someone accused them of immodest fawning – that would be another whoosh – regardless of whether said whooshee had see _The Manchurian Candidate._ ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167/180 "2009-01-21T16:28:14Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > No kidding. Usually when you hear the words “yellow” and “mellow” in one sentence the words “brown” and “flush it down” aren’t far behind. Or you’re listening to an oldies station and they’re preceded by “That was Donovan’s big hit…” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-not-really-the-president-because-he-didnt-really-take-the-oath/482167.md?page=10)