I'm not talking about President Barack Obama (damn! don't you like the way that sounds)... I'm talking about Chief Justice John Roberts.
Over two million people on the National Mall looking over your shoulder as you administer the oath of office to the most powerful man in the world and the first Black President of the United States ... and you blow it!
Well, President Obama (and his team) thought of everything: instead of providing on-going fodder for the ditto-heads that clamour for the brand of talk radio the spews from the pie-hole of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News Network, he summoned Chief Justice Roberts to the White House on Wednesday for a do-over of the oath... just to get it right.
A statement from the Obama White House counsel reads: "We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday. But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time."
Per the Constitution, Obama became the President at noon on Tuesday, even without the oath.
In the Constitution, the Presidential Oath of Office reads: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Note: This blog entry and picture was stuck in my Palm Treo 680 for over 24 hours as I tried to send it via text message to Blogger.com. The post time reflects the date and time that it was originally sent.
My family blew into DC early on yesterday. Dropped off our bags and headed directly to the Lincoln Memorial for the "We Are One" concert. We didn't get back to my frat brother's house until 7:30 PM! But it was a blast to be in the midst of so many people who want to see President-elect Obama do well.
This morning, we're taking a more leisurely approach. Will probably head back down to the Capital Area to take in some of the sights. My daughter is only seven-years old, but I get the feeling that she knows that we are here for a historic event, one that she'll be able to share with her children and grandchildren. It feels good to be on the right side of History!
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It is kind of cold here and there are snow flurries. They predict some light snow tomorrow for the inauguration. I'll try to post a picture or two later today.
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A poll was published today on CNN.com that says that most Blacks in the US feel that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream has been realized. With the election of Barack Obama (and his inauguration as President tomorrow), it would be kind of difficult to say that Dr. King could've asked for more.
Excerpts of the CNN.com article:
The CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey was released Monday, a federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader and a day before Barack Obama is to be sworn in as the first black U.S. president.
The poll found 69 percent of blacks said King's vision has been fulfilled in the more than 45 years since his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech -- roughly double the 34 percent who agreed with that assessment in a similar poll taken last March.
But whites remain less optimistic, the survey found.
"Whites don't feel the same way -- a majority of them say that the country has not yet fulfilled King's vision," CNN polling director Keating Holland said. However, the number of whites saying the dream has been fulfilled has also gone up since March, from 35 percent to 46 percent.
In the 1963 speech, delivered to a civil rights rally on the Mall in Washington, King said: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
"Has that dream been fulfilled? With the election of Barack Obama, two thirds of African-Americans believe it has," CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said.
"Most blacks and whites went to bed on election night saying, 'I never thought I'd live to see the day.' That's what the nation is celebrating on this King holiday: We have lived to see the day," Schneider said.
I believe that institutional racism has been vastly diminished over the past 45 years and the remainder of our gains from now on will be more individual (like Barack Obama's victory) rather than collective (like affirmative action).
Jan 18 11:25 AM - At Lincoln Memorial, waiting for start of "We Are One" concert, which kicked off the Inaugural Celebration here in Washington, DC.
There had to have been close to one million people on The Mall to witness this event. The crowd was packed (and I mean shoulder to shoulder) from the Lincoln Memorial along both sides of the Reflecting Pool all the way to the Washington Monument!
This announcement/invitation (above) from The Presidential Inaugural Committee arrived in the mail yesterday. At first we thought it was our tickets for the inauguration, but upon closer inspection it appears this is a general announcement that was undoubtedly sent to everyone who contributed time and money to the Obama campaign.
I'm alittle disappointed that I couldn't secure special arrangements for my family's Obama Inauguration Adventure, but I am as pleased as punch that we have an Obama Inauguration to go to... the obvious alternative wasn't very appealing!
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Use this link for a CNN.com interactive map of Washington, DC and the Obama Inauguration.
Use this link for a CNN.com for events leading up to and including Obama's inauguration.
~ ~ The Inauguration ~ ~
Musical selections: The United States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus
Call to order and welcoming remarks: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in Orange County, California
Musical selection: Aretha Franklin of Detroit, Michigan
Vice President-elect Biden will be sworn into office by John Paul Stevens, associate justice of the Supreme Court
Musical selection: John Williams, composer/arranger, with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill
President-elect Obama will take the oath of office, using President Abraham Lincoln's inaugural Bible, administered by John G. Roberts Jr., chief justice of the United States Supreme Court
President Obama delivers the Inaugural address
Poem: Elizabeth Alexander
Benediction: The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery of Atlanta, Georgia
The national anthem: The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters"
According to Change.gov, after President Obama gives the inaugural address, he will escort outgoing President George Bush to a departure ceremony before attending a luncheon in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.
The 56th Inaugural Parade will then make its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, with groups traveling from all over the country to participate.
It is reported that President-elect Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order on his first full day in office directing the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
But experts say it is likely to take many months, perhaps as long as a year, to empty the prison that has drawn international criticism since it received its first prisoners seven years ago this week. One transition official said the new administration expected that it would take several months to transfer some of the remaining 248 prisoners to other countries, decide how to try suspects and deal with the many other legal challenges posed by closing the camp.
People who have discussed the issues with transition officials in recent weeks said it appeared that the broad outlines of plans for the detention camp were taking shape. They said transition officials appeared committed to ordering an immediate suspension of the Bush administration’s military commissions system for trying detainees.
During an appearance on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Obama said:
"It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize and we are going to get it done, but part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom who may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication.
"[We are trying to develop a process that] adheres to rule of law [but] doesn't result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up. I think it's going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak, to help design exactly what we need to do.
"But I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution."
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At his final press conference on Monday, President Bush was asked whether [Gitmo] and harsh interrogation tactics have damaged America's standing in the world. He replied, "I strongly disagree with the assessment that our moral standing has been damaged," Bush said. "It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom; that America is a country that provides such great hope."
A delusional Bush vehemently defended his record over the past eight years citing "52 months of job growth" despite having his presidency bookmarked by recession, he applauded his administration's response to the Katrina tragedy (which most sane Americans view as one of his worst blunders), and of course he was adamant that his administration did the right thing in protecting our shores from terrorists, in spite of the compromise of individual freedoms through passage of the Patriot Act.
Bush defends the Katrina response
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plez sez: i read that some human rights groups were getting antsy about Obama's apparent waffling on the campaign promise to close gitmo within his first 100 days. detainees have been locked up there in clear violation of constitutional law for over five years, i get the strange feeling that they haven't been keeping tabs on Obama's campaign promises, and if so, i doubt they'll be offended if it takes alittle longer than 100 days for him to close that joint down!
mixed in with the taxi drivers and dunkin donuts sprinkle machine operators currently housed at gitmo, i'm thinking that there are more than one or two hardcore terrorists! i'm glad that Obama is looking to close gitmo, but i'm also pleased that he will use due process to determine if the detainees should be set free. we need to remember that the masterminds of the attacks on 9/11 have not been "brought to justice" and "justice has not been brought to them" either!
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in his final press conference, bush basically snubbed his nose at popularity polls, "in terms of the decisions that i had made to protect the homeland, i wouldn't worry about popularity." lord knows he ain't winning any popularity contest for any time in the near future.
plezWorld believes that history will show george bush (the younger) as a flawed man who let blind ambition and a good pr man catapult him to a seat of power. he rode his name, a paper thin resume, and an awesome political machine to the highest office in the land, but until his last day of office, he could never measure up to even a sliver of scrutiny. his propensity to "fake it" as opposed to applying the most rudimentary of intellectual rigor to any given situation was appalling. how this "runt of the litter" could best his father and get elected (alright, selected) president more than once shows deep flaws in our political psyche.
after january 20, we should never hear from george w. bush again. i seriously doubt that BARACK OBAMA will ever find occasion to pick up the phone to seek the counsel or advise ON ANYTHING from his predecessor.
The second segment of Sunday's broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press" was a discussion of race and how Obama's presidency will change the dynamics and dialogue around race in the U.S.
In other news: A woman has been selected to give the inaugural sermon... a first. The Rev. Sharon Watkins will deliver the sermon at the traditional National Prayer Service on January 21, the day after Barack Obama is sworn in as president, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Sunday. Watkins is the general minister and president of the 700,000-member church Disciples of Christ. The sermon will take place at the National Cathedral in northwest Washington.
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plez sez: this stimulus plan is a scary proposition... i'm glad that we'll have Obama at the helm while it is being worked out. we are looking at adding one to two trillion dollars to the deficit. this thing will not work if it is assembled and slammed down the throats of the US if done in a similar manner of
my oldest and dearest aunt passed away on sunday morning, my mother called alittle after 6:30 AM with the news. my mother's family grew up on a small 100-acre farm in the heart of tobacco country in north carolina. my aunt was the third oldest of 11 children, my mother was the youngest. my aunt was born in 1914 and made her way up to new york city in the early 1930's to get married. after her husband retired, they moved back down to north carolina and built a modest brick home on a tract of land on that same farm where she grew up.
she saw more than most people would like: depression, racism, despair, and loneliness (her husband departed this life back in the mid-1980's).
she was my favorite aunt. while growing up in new york, we would frequently go to her house in queens for dinner after attending church on sunday. she was at all of our birthday parties, family reunions, church events, and anything else that involved our family.
my last conversation with my aunt was just before the general election. i called her on the phone and we talked about voting for BARACK OBAMA. in her 90-plus years, she was still awe-struck that we could be so close to electing the first Black president. she couldn't get around too good, but she assured me that wild horses couldn't keep her from having her nurse take her down to the polls to vote (as she had done during the primaries).
the rest is history. sadly, a chapter in the colorful history of plezWorld closed on sunday morning... but we'll all look to the heavens on next tuesday and thank the Lord for the opportunity to witness the inauguration of our nation's promise.
In one week, plezWorld is heading to DC for the Barack Obama Inauguration. To my way of thinking, this is probably the most significant (if not, the most important) presidential inauguration since George Washington's inauguration.
When George Washington took office, he owned over 200 people who looked like Barack Obama. And now over 200 years later, a man who looked like the slaves of George Washington will be sworn in as the President of the United States.
As an American, I feel compelled to bear witness to this historic event and my seven-year old daughter will be able to tell her children that she was "there" for history. Make sure that you are on the right side of history... as January 20, 2009 will have to be added to all US history books going forward as it will easily eclipse Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech which was delivered in Washington, DC in 1963.
Where will you be for Obama's inauguration?
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On Saturday evening, the Obama family visited the Lincoln Memorial. President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in using the Bible of his political hero Abraham Lincoln. Obama will be the first president to use the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration since Lincoln used it in 1861. Inauguration organizers have said Obama's inaugural theme, "A New Birth of Freedom," was inspired by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The president-elect also plans a train trip from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington three days before the inauguration, following the final leg of the train route taken by Lincoln.
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In other news: An aircraft carrier named after President George H.W. Bush (#41) was commissioned on Saturday afternoon. The 1,092-foot, 20-story USS George H.W. Bush was decorated with red, white and blue banners for Saturday's ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk.
The 41st president joined the Navy at 18 and served as an aviator in World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his Navy service in the Pacific during the war, according to the Department of Defense. His time in the Navy ended after about four years.
About 17,000 people were expected to attend Saturday's ceremony. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Dick Cheney and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine were there, as was Bush's son President George W. Bush (#43) and his wife, Laura.
After the ceremony, President George W. Bush left Norfolk for Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base on what turned out to be his last scheduled flight on Air Force One.
An Obama transition spokesperson says the family initially "explored the idea" of moving into Blair House early so that daughters Sasha and Malia could start school on schedule. President-elect Barack Obama will not be moving his family across the street from the White House early, despite his request to do so. Blair House, which incoming presidents traditionally occupy 5 days before inauguration day on January 15, is apparently booked in the early part of January.
The family was told there were previously-scheduled events and guests that could not be displaced.
Sally McDonough, spokeswoman for First Lady Laura Bush, is quoted as saying, "The Blair House, the President's guest house for visiting dignitaries, is available to President-elect Obama and his family starting January 15, as is historically the case."
A State Department official said he didn’t know of any foreign dignitaries staying at Blair House in early January. A White House official said that President Bush does not have family or friends from Texas staying at Blair House during the period which the Obamas requested. But Blair House, the official said, has been booked for “receptions and gatherings” by members of the outgoing Bush administration. Those receptions, the official said, “don’t make it suitable for full-time occupancy by the Obamas yet.”
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The Obama transition spokesperson emphasized the White House has been "extremely accommodating" to the Obama family, adding that the entire process has been "smooth and friendly."
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plez sez: i applaud the Obamas for wanting to have their girls in school at the beginning of january AND as much as plezWorld can't wait to see Obama in the Oval office AND say goodbye and good riddance to bush; this isn't a big deal. if its tradition for the new first family to move into the guest house 5 days prior to inauguration, then the bush administration has used its prerogative and has booked the house up until that time with other engagements; i don't see a problem.
now who they have booked in blair house and why so close to the end of his term when he ain't doing a damn thing is another story... and another blog post!
If you're like plezWorld, you are plotting and scheming on how you're going to get to see President-Elect Barack Obama's historic inauguration on January 20th in Washington, DC.
Actually, you must have a ticket to attend the inauguration... and the only people with tickets to distribute are your congressmen (your US Representative and two US Senators). The tickets are FREE!!!
Tickets are generally first come, first serve, AND depending on your district, your representative may've already received THOUSANDS of requests by now... but it can't hurt to put in a request.
Click here to get the e-mail address of your US Representative.
Click here to get the e-mail addresses of your US Senators.
I've already written my Congressman (Hank Johnson) and my Senators (Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson).
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Inauguration Day is the day on which the President of the United States is sworn in and takes office. It was originally held every four years on March 4 except the first inauguration for George Washington, which was held on April 30, 1789. The ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution changed the beginning of the President and Vice President's terms to noon on January 20th, beginning with Franklin Roosevelt's second term in 1937.
Since 1901, all inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol have been organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.[1] The U.S. Armed Forces have participated in inaugural day ceremonies since George Washington, because the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Since the first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, that participation has been coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (now called the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee).
The oath of office is traditionally administered on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Vice President takes the oath of office at the same ceremony as the President. This tradition began in 1937. Before then, the vice presidential oath was administered in the Senate. The vice president takes the oath first:
I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same: that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
This is followed by four ruffles and flourishes and Hail Columbia.
At exactly noon, the President takes the oath of office, traditionally administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, using the form mandated in Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
According to tradition, in the first inaugural, President Washington added the words, "So help me God" when reciting the oath, although there is no contemporary evidence of this. The words have been repeated by some Presidents thereafter, including all since Franklin D Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt, for example, chose to conclude his oath with the phrase "And thus I swear." Only President Herbert Hoover, a Quaker whose faith prohibited such oaths, in 1929 chose to affirm rather than swear.
Immediately following the oath, the bands play four ruffles and flourishes and Hail to the Chief, followed by a 21-gun salute from howitzers of the Military District of Washington. The President delivers an inaugural address, setting the tone for the new administration. Should January 20 be a Sunday, the President is usually administered the oath of office in a private ceremony on that day, followed by a public ceremony the following day.
Since Thomas Jefferson's second inaugural on March 4, 1805, it has become tradition for the president to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. The only president not to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue was Ronald Reagan. He paraded down Pennsylvania Ave. during his first inauguration, in 1981, amidst the celebrations that broke out across the country because of news just minutes into his term that the 52 American hostages held in Iran for the previous 444 days had been released. Reagan did not do so in 1985 due to freezing cold temperatures made dangerous by high winds.
In 1977, Jimmy Carter started a new tradition by walking from the Capitol to the White House, although for security reasons, subsequent presidents have only walked a part of the way.
~ husband ~ father ~ son ~ brother ~ mentor ~ subdivision dweller ~ northern by birth ~ southern by choice ~ raised a black baptist, now guided by the spiritual ~ raised a kennedy democrat, now politically dead center (moderate) ~ raised in a Cadillac Coupe Deville, now hooked on an SUV ~ college educated and still a student of life ~ wild college frat boy and now a settled alumnus ~ intellectual yet fun-loving geek ~ technical and leading edge ~ corporate cog ~ consultant ~ college football saturday devotee ~ and a ramblin' gamblin' helluva engineer (GO JACKETS!) ~
This is my personal blog. The views expressed on these pages are mine; and they are in no way associated with the views of my employer, family, friends, or associates.
Oh the pressure he must've felt! 
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