Much is being made of the Lincoln Bible Obama has chosen for the swearing in, and it certainly has historic resonance and all that. But it is worth mentioning that the Founding Fathers did not think it necessary to use a bible at all. The Oath of Office is covered by Article II, section 1.8 of the Constitution which states,
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—”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.”
You don’t have to ‘swear’ you can just ‘affirm’. The final hurdle. . . an atheist in the White House. Obama gives hope to my people.
U2’s Bono has recently become an op-ed columnist for the New York Times (don’t ask) and wrote this about Frank Sinatra:
“A call to believability…Fabulous, not fabulist. Honesty to hang your hat on.
As the year rolls over (and with it many carousers), the emotion in the room tussles between hope and fear, expectation and trepidation. Wherever you end up, his voice takes you by the hand.”
That’s how I felt during Obama’s inaugural speech yesterday, except way more hope than fear : )
I was watching at the Parkway Theatre (similar to the Cable Car) in Oakland, CA. About 10% of the crowd let out a giant “whoop whoop” when he surprised us with the godless shout out!
Amen!
That was a complete surprise, and caused a bit of a spontaneous whoop from the Local 121 crowd (well, me and two other people). It was as if I had suddenly heard my name called out. Maybe we’re getting somewhere.
at least he gave the athiests a shout-out during his address today!
(well, he called us non-believers, but that’s good enough for me)