page_title: First inauguration of Barack Obama
section_title: Second oath ceremony
hierarchical_section_title: First inauguration of Barack Obama / Inaugural events / Oath of office / Second oath ceremony
caption_attribution_description: English: To avoid any constitutional problems, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. administers the oath of office a second time with Barack Obama in the Map Room of the White House on Wednesday, January 21, 2009.
context_page_description: The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as President and Joe Biden as Vice President. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience.
  "A New Birth of Freedom", a phrase from the Gettysburg Address, served as the inaugural theme to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth year of Abraham Lincoln. In his speeches to the crowds, Obama referred to ideals expressed by Lincoln about renewal, continuity and national unity. Obama mentioned these ideals in his speech to stress the need for shared sacrifice and a new sense of responsibility to answer America's challenges at home and abroad.
context_section_description: Much public discussion arose about the errors in administering and reciting the oath.  Several constitutional scholars said that Obama should retake the oath.  Boston University constitutional scholar Jack Beermann suggested that while the courts would likely never even consider a challenge, he would still advise Obama to retake the oath if he were his lawyer since "the Constitution says what he's supposed to say."
  Although Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary, indicated at first that President Obama did not plan to retake the oath, Chief Justice Roberts agreed to re-administer the oath at the request of White House counsel Greg Craig. The second oath ceremony took place on the evening of January 21, 2009 in the Map Room of the White House before a small audience of presidential aides, reporters and a White House photographer. Craig said that the White House ultimately decided to re-administer the oath out of an abundance of caution. Craig added that "the oath of office was administered effectively and ... the President was sworn in appropriately ... But the oath appears in the Constitution itself." No Bible was present during the retake of the inauguration.
caption: President Obama (right) retakes the oath of office from Chief Justice Roberts at the White House on January 21, 2009. President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts stand near a portrait of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, designer and an early Architect of the Capitol.
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