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The WAMU team had a great view of the swearing-in ceremony at the inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama. (Photos: Andrew Chadwick)
Inauguration Ceremony
Mario Maniewicz, Director, Radiocommunication Bureau, ITU
23 January 2023
Geneva, Switzerland
©ITU/D. Woldu
U.S. President Barack Obama applauds after singer Beyonce performed the National Anthem during the public ceremonial inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington January 21, 2013. REUTERS/Win McNamee/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR3CR7U
New England College of Optometry's inauguration of President Howard Purcell at the Kennedy Institute, Boston, MA April 7th, 2019
New England College of Optometry's inauguration of President Howard Purcell at the Kennedy Institute, Boston, MA April 7th, 2019
The WAMU team had a great view of the swearing-in ceremony at the inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama. (Photos: Andrew Chadwick)
I knew that the "So help me god" part of the Oath of Office was not written in the Constitution. I also knew that, anecdotedly, George Washington added the phrase of his own initiation, as supposedly has every president since (except Jefferson -- again...supposedly. All this makes a good case for better record keeping, eh?). What I did not expect yesterday was that the Chief Justice Roberts would intone "So help me god?" as a prompt. I know we're talking about John Roberts here, but I really wish he hadn't been so bold as to presume and assert -- and frankly to take away from Obama's own opportune moment to make such a statement. I wish that the "So help me god" was just something the President-elect would say if he felt stirred that way, and if he didn't ... he wouldn't. And that we as a nation could deal with it either way. Heaven help us if we have a leader that did good for goodness sake, and who was helped by years of education, experience, and a will to live, act, and dream in accordance with basic human decency ... and not via the direction of deities.
The people, smiles, and crowds at the Canadian Embassy's 2013 Inauguration Tailgate on January 21, 2013.