Obama's Inauguration Is Today

That whole inaugural party tomorrow is a re-enactment
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 20, 2013 7:31 AM CST
Obama's Inauguration Is Today
In this Jan. 20, 2009, file photo, Barack Obama takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts as his wife Michelle, holds the Lincoln Bible and daughters Sasha and Malia watch.   (Chuck Kennedy)

Washington is still putting the finishing touches on tomorrow's every-four-years inauguration party, but it'll be a day late: President Obama will quietly be sworn in for a second term today, due to a Constitutional quirk that mandates that the commander in chief be sworn in at noon on January 20. Because that fell on a Sunday, when inaugurations aren't held, Obama will take the oath at the White House today and tomorrow's ceremony is essentially a re-enactment, reports the AP.

Chief Justice John Roberts—who famously flubbed the oath four years ago—will swear the president in both times, notes Politico in a look at the at-times tempestuous relationship between the two men. Joe Biden was also sworn in this morning in a small ceremony at the Naval Observatory, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor administering the oath. Roll Call notes that he used a 5-inch-thick Bible that had been in his family since 1893; Sotomayor is the first Hispanic justice to swear in a president or vice president, reports the Washington Post. "Above all, I’m happy for the chance to be sworn in by a friend—and someone I know will continue to do great things," said Biden. (More President Obama stories.)

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