# What happened to the Presidential Inauguration? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740 "2005-01-20T16:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/1 "2005-01-20T16:40:46Z")
I turned on MSNBC to watch some of the Inauguration. Instead, it seems, it was some kind of hidden Thursday mass I didn’t know about. Every frickin’ word was riddled with God. WTF is going on at the Whitehouse that turned it into a church house? Were past Inaugurations like this? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/2 "2005-01-20T17:17:00Z")
Oh, the horror! The word “God” was uttered! In public! By government officials! Goodness, I hope no children were in earshot. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/3 "2005-01-20T17:19:36Z")
It drives me absolutely nuts. I’m not an atheist, either. Make of that what you will. Sam ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/4 "2005-01-20T17:24:33Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Oh, the horror! The word “God” was uttered! In public! By government officials! Goodness, I hope no children were in earshot. Not once, every other word. See the distinction? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/5 "2005-01-20T17:26:46Z")
Well, he _is_ the president of Jesusland, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/6 "2005-01-20T17:35:12Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Oh, the horror! The word “God” was uttered! In public! By government officials! Goodness, I hope no children were in earshot. I wasn’t watching the Inauguration, but I have to say that I agree with **ParentalAdvisory** , **GaWd** and **World Eater**. I am a Christian, albeit one that is not affliated with any church ATM, and does not follow the teachings of the church I was raised in. But the regularity with which Bush invokes the name of the Lord is discomforting, even to me. We have separation of church and state for a reason. I understand that it isn’t quite as separate as some would like, with regard to the words on currency referencing God, and the words in the Pledge of Allegiance. I believe that GW Bush whole-heartedly believes in the Lord. I think he is a very faithful man. I don’t think that his faithfulness should spill over so much into his political career. I don’t think he should be quite as vocal about his faith as he has been. I’m not saying that his views are wrong or right. I just think he’s using a poor platform to voice his opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/7 "2005-01-20T17:37:23Z")
Don’t you remember the pulpit, I mean podium from the convention? What did you expect? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/8 "2005-01-20T17:44:28Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > Not once, every other word. See the distinction? Except it wasn’t literally every other word. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/9 "2005-01-20T17:49:07Z")
> [@Jaade](#): > > I wasn’t watching the Inauguration, but I have to say that I agree with **ParentalAdvisory** , **GaWd** and **World Eater**. I am a Christian, albeit one that is not affliated with any church ATM, and does not follow the teachings of the church I was raised in. But the regularity with which Bush invokes the name of the Lord is discomforting, even to me. > > We have separation of church and state for a reason. I understand that it isn’t quite as separate as some would like, with regard to the words on currency referencing God, and the words in the Pledge of Allegiance. I believe that GW Bush whole-heartedly believes in the Lord. I think he is a very faithful man. I don’t think that his faithfulness should spill over so much into his political career. I don’t think he should be quite as vocal about his faith as he has been. I’m not saying that his views are wrong or right. I just think he’s using a poor platform to voice his opinions. I disagree, and thankfully I still live in a country which permits personal expression of religious faith by public officials. Of course, you’re free to be discomfited, and vote accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/10 "2005-01-20T17:51:40Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Except it wasn’t literally every other word. Now that would sound pretty stupid, but for all intents and purposes it was overused bigtime. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/11 "2005-01-20T17:52:35Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I disagree, and thankfully I still live in a country which permits personal expression of religious faith by public officials. > > Of course, you’re free to be discomfited, and vote accordingly. Of course, I never said that he shouldn’t be allowed to express his faith. I did 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/12 "2005-01-20T17:54:32Z")
> [@Jaade](#): > > I wasn’t watching the Inauguration, but I have to say that I agree with **ParentalAdvisory** , **GaWd** and **World Eater**. I am a Christian, albeit one that is not affliated with any church ATM, and does not follow the teachings of the church I was raised in. But the regularity with which Bush invokes the name of the Lord is discomforting, even to me. Just as an aside, I think it would be a marvelous thing to be affiliated with a church ATM. The transaction fees could be set to 10%. A guy could really rake in the big money with one of those babies. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/13 "2005-01-20T17:55:18Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I disagree, and thankfully I still live in a country which permits personal expression of religious faith by public officials. If said public official is working in an official capacity at the time, I would like him to keep his faith to his owndamnself. If on the other hand, the 5 fucking o’clock news is interviewing the asshole on his ranch, and he feels the need to pray, so be it. I would never force my faith upon the public, let alone the entire nation and I’d appreciate it if my voice wasn’t stifled by the fucking religious right. > [@](#): > > Of course, you’re free to be discomfited, and vote accordingly. I am, and I do. Sam ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/14 "2005-01-20T17:57:37Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Except it wasn’t literally every other word. Well, I’ll be fair and say that he wasn’t saying “god” every other word. But just about every public official, or singer that got up to there, said something about the “lord” in one way or another. Why don’t they just practice their beliefs in private? The office has a duty to uphold. And talking about their beliefs… well their beliefs often contradict the constitution in which he has sworn to protect. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/15 "2005-01-20T17:58:00Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > Now that would sound pretty stupid, but for all intents and purposes it was overused bigtime. I disagree. Now, if we were debating what molecule was formed by two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, there would be no debate - I could disagree all I liked, but the answer is definitively WATER. Here, however, the answer is obviously more subjective – how much use is ‘overuse?’ There are two possible objective yardsticks I can think of – a legal one, and a popular one. Did the use of ‘God’ in these ceremonies cross the Constitutional line into prohibited Establishment territory? And from a popular standpoint - did the use of ‘God’ and these ceremonies offend a majority of the American voters? I’m fairly confident that the answer to both OBJECTIVE questions is ‘no’. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/16 "2005-01-20T17:58:31Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I disagree, and thankfully I still live in a country which permits personal expression of religious faith by public officials. > > Of course, you’re free to be discomfited, and vote accordingly. Personal expressions of religious faith are fine, a great tradition that resonates strongly with the sentiments of the majority of Americans. However, in Bush’s mouth, the name of Jesus is blasphemy. Jesus wouldn’t mock a woman on death row pleading for her life. Jesus wouldn’t authorize the torture of prisoners. Jesus wouldn’t imprison suspects indefinitely. Jesus never approved writing religion-based bigotry against a minority into law. To those who say that Bush is a godly man I say , in what way? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/17 "2005-01-20T18:01:17Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > I turned on MSNBC to watch some of the Inauguration. Instead, it seems, it was some kind of hidden Thursday mass I didn’t know about. Every frickin’ word was riddled with God. The 10:00 inaguration was better. Just a lot of singing of contemporary hymns. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/18 "2005-01-20T18:03:57Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And from a popular standpoint - did the use of ‘God’ and these ceremonies offend a majority of the American voters? This is the appropriate standard for a pluralistic society? No, it ain’t. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/19 "2005-01-20T18:06:30Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > Personal expressions of religious faith are fine, a great tradition that resonates strongly with the sentiments of the majority of Americans. However, in Bush’s mouth, the name of Jesus is blasphemy. > > Jesus wouldn’t mock a woman on death row pleading for her life. > > Jesus wouldn’t authorize the torture of prisoners. > > Jesus wouldn’t imprison suspects indefinitely. > > Jesus never approved writing religion-based bigotry against a minority into law. > > To those who say that Bush is a godly man I say , in what way? Jesus wouldn’t run for President. His Kingdom was never of this world. So a direct one-to-one comparison of what Bush did in his capacities as chief executive is absolutely inapposite. I wish Bush had a different opinion on the death penalty, to be sure, and I agree that his support for the death penalty is not Christ-like. BUT - I am convinced that Mr. Bush, in good faith, BELIEVES it to be. In other words, reasonable people may disagree on these sorts of points without it becoming blasphemous to invoke Jesus’ name. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740/20 "2005-01-20T18:07:34Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > There are two possible objective yardsticks I can think of – a legal one, and a popular one. Did the use of ‘God’ in these ceremonies cross the Constitutional line into prohibited Establishment territory? Well I’m sure no legal yardstick exists so let’s just throw that out. > [@](#): > > And from a popular standpoint - did the use of ‘God’ and these ceremonies offend a majority of the American voters? So this is the new standard we use? On preview, what **Cliffy** said. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-presidential-inauguration/285740.md?page=2)