Thursday, January 22, 2009

Who Botched the Oath and Why?

Some say that Roberts botched it, some say Obama. One thing is sure: It was an unusual swearing-in:

Roberts: Are you prepared to take the oath, Senator?
Obama: I am.
Roberts: I, Barack Hussein Obama…
Obama: I, Barack…
Roberts: … do solemnly swear…
Obama: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear…
Roberts: … that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully…
Obama: … that I will execute…
Roberts: … faithfully the office of president of the United States…
Obama: … the office of president of the United States faithfully…
Roberts: … and will to the best of my ability…
Obama: … and will to the best of my ability…
Roberts: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Obama: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Roberts: So help you God?
Obama: So help me God.
Roberts: Congratulations, Mr. President.

My friend Gudrun Eussner, who owns one of the most serious and competent Islam-critical German-language websites, has a theory, a theory that may appear far-fetched to many, but here it is anyway: She says Obama stuttered because he intended to swear as "Barack Obama" and not as "Barack Hussein Obama". Thus, his Muslim part wouldn't have been included in the oath and set the Muslim Obama free to do what he has to do. "Hussein Obama" didn't, after all, swear the oath.

Judge Roberts, so Gudrun thinks, (Gudrun holds a doctorate in political sciences. Now retired, she used to work for many years for NGOs in the Middle East and is well versed in the ways of taqqiya...) has unmasked him and Obama has shown in front of millions of viewers what he is.

Roberts is the man of whom Senator Obama said:
...when I examined Judge Roberts' record and history of public service, it is my personal estimation that he has far more often used his formidable skills on behalf of the strong in opposition to the weak. In his work in the White House and the Solicitor General's Office, he seemed to have consistently sided with those who were dismissive of efforts to eradicate the remnants of racial discrimination in our political process. In these same positions, he seemed dismissive of the concerns that it is harder to make it in this world and in this economy when you are a woman rather than a man.
Should Gudrun be right, Roberts has used his formidable skills here on behalf of a desperate attempt to unmask a dangerous fraudster.

But then, maybe Judge Roberts has never heard of taqqiya and really just fouled it up.

We will, I am afraid, see.

Plenty of video clips online to get an own impression.

Cross-posted at Roncesvalles!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I did hear that the stumbling occurred because Obama had rehearsed his responses but Roberts' wording of the oath differed slightly from what he expected. Obama trips up right at the start, he's back on track by the middle of the oath. Since the text of the oath is not, so far as I know, open to improvisation, adding his middle name when he did not expect it is about the only thing different that could have tripped him up.

We could be wrong of course. But thank you John Roberts if we are not!

Pastorius said...

If I am not mistaken, the middle name is always used when swearing in the President.

Additionally, as I understand it, the wording is supposed to go:

I Barack Hussein Obama do solemnly swear to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States ...

I think it was Roberts who screwed it up.

Lord knows why.

midnight rider said...

Saw on MSNBC (yeah, I know I know hang the heretic ;>) Roberts READMINISTERED the oath of office to Obama today in the Oval Office. It stated that although he was still officially President as of noon yesterday, this was done, yep, you guessed it, "out of an abundance of caution".

Ya think maybe he's expecting challenges at every little slip up?

The_Editrix said...

"If I am not mistaken, the middle name is always used when swearing in the President."

Gudrun thinks (and the video clips do at least not cotradict her) that Obama was trying to override that to swear just as "Barack Obama", which Roberts averted.

Pastorius said...

Hi Editirix,
Here's an interview with Obama where he says, back in December, that he plans to be sworn in using his full name, just like every other President:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-barack-obama-muslim-1210,0,5694976.story

One simple matter comes down to three little words, and on them he has made up his mind: he won't shrink from using his full name when he takes the oath of office.

During the campaign, Obama's detractors would often invoke his middle name, Hussein, in an attempt to falsely paint him as a Muslim. Obama, a Christian, doesn't care.

"I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition," he said. "I'm not trying to make a statement one way or another. I'll do what everybody else does.''

Always On Watch said...

I, too, heard before Tuesday that BHO was going to use his full name when taking the oath of office.

Roberts clearly gave some miscues -- particularly pauses, then overriding those pauses.

Did anyone happen to notice BHO's funny expression when he stepped up to take the oath? See this video.

The_Editrix said...

"During the campaign, Obama's detractors would often invoke his middle name, Hussein, in an attempt to falsely paint him as a Muslim. Obama, a Christian, doesn't care."

Falsely? I dearly hope you are right and I am wrong.

Pastorius said...

Editrix,
Certainly, you and I both well know that Obama is a Muslim according to Muslim law.

The only thing I am disputing here, and I hope I am doing it in a spirit of support, is that Obama wanted to avoid using his whole name in the Oath.

That isn't true.

That being said, I do believe he wanted to avoid using his name much before the election, except when he could use it to make hay among lefties against righties.

He's a demagogue, a divider, not a uniter.