The American constitution states that by 12.00pm on the 20th January Barack Obama must state the following……

“I [Barack Hussein Obama] do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.”

Given that it was 12.05pm on the 20th January before Obama managed to stumble his way through the following mangled version……..

“I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of President of the United States faithfully.”

Is he legitimately President of the US?

The Chief Justice John Roberts accepted this faux pas and the timing difficulty, but how long before a concerned and disenchanted citizen contests Obama’s Presidency?

Gloria Smudd
January 22, 2009 at 15:46

Apparently it wasn’t necessary .. ?

Anna Raccoon
January 22, 2009 at 15:37

I am concerned by the silence on the matter of the time.
Law – and
preferably a constitution – is the framework that stops society tearing itself
to pieces. Stopping society from tearing itself to pieces is only another way
of saying ‘protecting the weak and vulnerable’.
It does
matter.
Interestingly it is being reported that whilst the first oath was
administered over Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, the second wasn’t.
How long
before the conspiracy theorists pick up on that detail?

Gloria Smudd
January 22, 2009 at 15:32

Chief Justice John Roberts and Mr Obama clearly felt it was necessary that
the oath be sworn for a second time and therefore I am not in the least
surprised that it is getting the odd mention here and there.

janes January 22, 2009 at 15:30

I remember Lord Irvine being seriously pissed off!

Anna Raccoon
January 22, 2009 at 15:25

How much media coverage is warranted by the President of the USA not being
legally competent to undertake his duties per the constitution?
A lot I
would say.
It could undermine everything he does – good or bad. It could
undermine every piece of legislation where office holders act by virtue of the
power bestowed in them – by the President.
You may remember that Tony Blair
had to backtrack when he abolished the role of Lord Chancellor in a fit of
pique one morning – over 600 pieces of legislation rested on their ‘being’ a
Lord Chancellor, and all across the UK the sick, the vulnerable, the
disadvantaged, had to wait patiently until the Office of Lord Chancellor was
reinstated by a shame faced Tony Blair……
Anarchy only benefits the fit and
agile.

janes January 22, 2009 at 14:43

‘A journalist’s job is not to make an interesting story important but
rather to make an important story interesting’. Scott Chisholm talking to John
Pilger on Talk Radio 1999.

(I collect quotations for the edification of my students and nearly crashed
my car writing this one down)

Yes, the oath was taken 5 minutes late. Yes, he said the words in the wrong
order (as my partner did during our Civil Partnership ceremony). But, in times
of war, pestilence, starvation, cruelty and global economic crisis how much
media coverage does it really warrant?

Gloria Smudd
January 22, 2009 at 13:07

Talk about blessed nit-picking! BO’s fluffed oath had to be done again and
now Sky News just won’t stop banging on about it. Nit-pickers.

Coco January 22, 2009 at 12:08

Actually Sauly! I am going to start a Fund of our own …….. It’s no use
trusting to luck and hard work ……… I have worked that one out for myself
………..

I will start off by raising money with a silent auction for an evening out
with Anna and Gloria ……… That shoulld bring a quick five-figure sum ……. Then a
day out walking the doggies Eddie and Keela with Chatelaine and Montaillou
………

Saul January 22, 2009 at 02:13

I know how you feel Coco. Don’t worry something always turns up. When one
door opens, another slams in your face!

Only joking!

We are all only 6 numbers away from making our friends very happy.

Saul January 22, 2009 at 01:17

Right then, I’ll just sweep up all this tickertape and broken promises.
Such a shame that nothing will change. Still at least we can all laugh at
George Osborne. A big boy came along and took his sweets, he just doesn’t know
it yet.

Saul January 22, 2009 at 00:58

So, no files then

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:51

Good night! See you tomorrow ………… Don’t put any money or cigarettes in the
card …….. I want to experience prison life as it really should be ……….

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:50

Sorry Chatelaine – I am trying to multi-task ……… and I am very poor at it
……… Cigarette in one hand, coffee with just a dash of Tia Maria in the same
hand, stroking four cats and trying to type on here.

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:49

Let me know and I’ll send you a card to break the routine
Good
night for now. Sleep well.

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:47

I would love to do that …………… Sometimes I deliberately commit crimes – just
so that if I get caught I will be sent to prison ……… I would love the routine
…….. And the fact that you don’t have your own phones and internet connections
for people to bother you on ………

So if ever I disappear – I will probably be in a prison somewhere ……..

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:46

I guess you mean “God’s own country” and, yes, it’s great [apart from
government administration ] You should try it.

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:44

Be more precise, dear Coco.
Heaven: God’s own country? Or repeating your
life every day?

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:43

Chatelaine …….. Is that Heaven?

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:43

Groundhog Day: yes, Saul reminded me of that and I remembered the film, but
hadn’t made the relation with the title anymore. Interesting: waking every
morning, only to repeat your life… How many of us do that anyway?

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:42

OK!!! I agree that his wife makes him look reallly short then

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:41

OK!!! I agree that his wife makes him look reallly short then

I bet you didn’t say that either …….. I said it!

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:41

I’m living in God’s own country
but have to do with taxes, social
securities, authorities and functionaries

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:40

Only because your English is so superb – and then you asked what groundhog
was …….. There was a mad US film made years ago called Groundhog Day which was
really funny. I do not recommend you waste time watching it now – but it was
funny at the time – and it’s a bit of a cult classic now.

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:39

You said that …I didn’t

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:37

OK! I agree he is rather divisive ……… Let’s talk about Adolf instead
…….

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:37

I have no problems answering questions.
First language Dutch
Second
language German
Third language English
Fourth language French
Decent
understanding of Italian, Spanish and Swiss German
Can improvise and get
around in many more
Is that good enough?

Why did you ask?

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:35

Coco????
I would never dine in my garden, let alone at the bottom of it,
without taking my doggies.
We may differ about Mrs Sarkozy [hm], but do not
make me talk about Mr. Sarkozy, because if ever someone forgot all of his
promises and made life in France even more complicated ….

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:34

I was just lying here in a state of abandonment then ………..

Chatelaine ……… May I ask what your first language is please? …….. Of course
you do not have to answer this question truthfully …….. I just noticed a
comment you made in a previous thread and wondered ……… not that is any of my
business ……… But I am a nosey witch ……..

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:32

Errrrr ………. Chatelaine! Did you submit your mobile phone records to me on
time?

Did you take your mobile phone with you whilst you dined at the bottom of
the garden?

Did you submit your push-chair for forensics?

It may be that you have to re-apply for the Minister of Education and
Culture post all over again!

Mme. Sarkozy is so classy – for a bird who whips her clothes off at the
drop of a hat!

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:28

No you’re not …

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:27

‘All by myself ……… Bi doo bi doo ……. All by myself ………

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:27

Coco: Yuk!
This is your Minister of Education and Culture
speaking.
We will NOT discuss Mrs. Sarkozy

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:26

Hi Tony! Lovely to see you sharing your knowledge with us. Totally agree
about the Kenyan angle ……..

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:24

Chatelaine ………. I found Kerry very enigmatic ……… He just didn’t always
photograph well ……… Which is essential in politics ……….. Good job Sarkozy
found his beautiful wife ……….

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:22

janes

Coco January 22, 2009 at 00:22

janes ………….. Oh my God! It’s not nit-picking ….. This
is our way of life on here. There are those who may call us obsessives. How
dare they!

We are the Commentariat Party – disguised as mad eccentric egocentrics
……….Ssssshhh! Don’t tell anybody!

Ch January 22, 2009 at 00:18

And … I checked again! it was the judge who made the mistake and threw him
off his text.

janes January 22, 2009 at 00:09

Why should we care where Obama was born? And what do DA notices have to do
with anything, particularly as they are voluntary? Mainstream media may feel
obliged to adhere to them but no other form of media needs to bother.

And as to the extra 5 minutes – talk about nit picking. No, actually, talk
about something more interesting and slighltly more weighty.

Ch January 21, 2009 at 23:43

Oh yes, I’ve seen much more about this, Tony. There have been several
movements, not only on his place of birth, but also on his “being a natural
born citizen” [interpretation of the relevant text being “2 [two] American
parents]. I couldn’t care less, bearing in mind the melting pot that calls
themselves “Americans” and not forgetting an Australian bodybuilder aka
filmstar aka Governor of California. May the best man win. Maybe that’s what
happened and – despite my classical reservation: it’s too early for him, I
recognized a future president 4 years ago after Kerry threw the bath towel in
the ring without a fight – I say “give him a chance!!!!”

Tony
Bennett January 21, 2009 at 23:22

The 5-minute delay is a legal technicality well spotted, though if Barack
Obama were to be relieved of the Presidency, who would take his place? Joe
Biden? John McCain?

But I fear there may be a much more important reason why Barack Obama may
not legally be entitled to be President of the United States of America. No
person can become President of the United States unless they were born there.
Barack Obama asserts that he was born in Hawaii. But was he?

I very much support the Anna Raccoon website as our mass media have way too
much control over our thoughts and opinions: (a) their reporting of many
subjects is biased, as I hope to demonstrate from my own areas of interest,
and (b) there is so much we don’t know because they omit to tell us what they
think we shouldn’t know. The increasing use of ‘D-notices’ by this Labour
government is a case in point.

But back to Barack Obama and his birthplace. Here’s an extract from an
article I wrote recently for a small-circulation newspaper in the U.K.:

“The issue of Barack Hussein Obama

Coco January 21, 2009 at 23:08

Auntie D. Establishmentarianism! Do you not think that he is maybe off on a
completely different tangent to ourselves though?

I think that he is about to create a New World Order. And I am so concerned
about this I could not sleep on the plane coming back.

Auntie D.
Establishmentarianism January 21, 2009 at
22:42

Oh go on, give the boy a chance, wontcha?

Coco January 21, 2009 at 22:38

This is a very serious point that George W mentioned to me yesterday after
the ceremony. The constitution states quite clearly that the deed is done by
12.00pm. Not ten past four in the morning or midnight – but by 12.00pm.

What if this was the conveyance of property? Eh? Eh? What if a chain of
properties was due to complete at 12pm and somebody wasn’t on time????????

Saul January 21, 2009 at 17:32

Are you going to reveal what kind of hat she was wearing, or will it be a
nasal hair trimmer “Rollover”?

(That wouldn’t be Red-eye Whisky would it)?

Anna Raccoon
January 21, 2009 at 17:24

Coco will get off the Red-eye in a few minutes and I shall send her
straight back out there!

I s’pose she’ll be after another new hat.

Saul January 21, 2009 at 17:22

Sssssh! Keep it quiet.

I couldn’t bear to sit through that “Poet” again.