Barack Obama to take presidential inauguration oath fourth time, after 2009 flub with John Roberts

If Barack Obama really wants to make history, he should flub the oath of office Monday.

That way, if, as in 2009, he and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts decide there needs to be a do-over just to make sure the oath is official, that will vault Obama ahead of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the presidential oath-of-office derby.

The famous gaffe at Obama's first swearing-in -- essentially both Obama and Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" in the 35-word oath -- led to a later, private re-do.

This time, Obama will again say the oath twice -- once Sunday in semi-private, following the tradition of bumping the ceremony a day when the constitutionally decreed date of Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday, and again Monday, in public at the Capitol.

The Monday oath will put Obama in a four-oath tie with FDR, who, unlike Obama, was actually elected four times.

If Obama and Roberts mangle the 30-second recitation, and a repeat is required, Obama would rank as the only president to take the oath five times, a record unlikely to ever be broken.
 

Did you know Warren G. Harding was the first president to arrive by automobile to his swearing-in? Find out more firsts, as well as a history of the bibles used in the oaths, a Q&A about past inaugurations and photos of past ceremonies at http://bit.ly/inauguration13 .