Obama’s Oath: Faithfully Flubbed

By Mande Wilkes • on January 22, 2009
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The universe won’t be outdone – not even by Barack Obama, not even by his cosmically nimble inertia.

Of all the brewing blemishes threatening to smudge any new President’s big day, the one that tagged Obama was at the same time substantively bland and allegorically momentous.

In his delivery of the presidential oath, Chief Justice John Roberts slipped just so subtly – and ever so faintly foretold the undoing of the man for who coming undone seems celestially verboten.

Roberts transmuted just one word, the seeming insignificance of which is further heightened by the implied possibility that deletion or addition – a substantive change to the oath – would be infinitely more noteworthy.

But the transmutation, as it happens, sets forth just the point the fates determined to make.

Roberts shifted the placement of the word ‘faithfully’ – changing, quite literally, not the substance of the oath but the form.

President Obama swore to the spirit of the oath, if not precisely to its letter.

But neither spirit nor substance matters in D.C., so yesterday Obama took the oath again.

So begins a presidency plagued by gratuity, and thus continues the government’s love affair with the naked nothingness of what should be no-matters and neverminds.

Gist and substance matter not to those who can’t conceive of essence as anything more than the name of the magazine on whose cover Obama once appeared.

On a related note, it shouldn’t go unappreciated that the word Roberts flubbed – ‘faithfully’ – was in itself a warning.

Of all the slips to make, the word that tripped up Roberts is portentous in the way that it affirms and validates the message of the transmutation.

Similarly significant is the way the word sums up the reason for the entire occasion: America’s profound and faithful allegiance to its new President.

“Beware of where the faithful may lead,” the fates seem to be saying. “Follow faithfully; falter eventually.” Or: “Follow faithfully; falter fatally.”

A misspoken oath can be redone … but what is the remedy for flubbed governance?

Comments

By lou on January 22nd, 2009 at 8:44 am

Bush’s Chief Judge choice John G Roberts flubbed the oath. The President Elect/ President… well he repeated what our Chief Supreme Court Justice said to say.
EGG on John Roberts face.

By Laurin on January 31st, 2009 at 1:00 pm

This whole post is nonsensical. I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland when I was reading it. Chill with the Thesaurus, and a little alliteration goes a long way. You should probably stick with movie reviews of chick flicks.

“Cosmically nimble inertia”? Oxymoron – and not even one that makes sense.

How can a blemish brew? And then how does said blemish engage in “smudging” or “tagging”?

Usage of “celestially” and “cosmically” within two short paragraphs is silly – and neither makes sense. Celestially verboten? Come on. You just looked up “forbidden” in the thesaurus. Good writers don’t feel the need to use $10 words when a $1 word will do. The point of writing is to communicate an idea. (All this blog post accomplishes is to confuse the reader.)

“Roberts transmuted just one word, the seeming insignificance of which is further heightened by the implied possibility that deletion or addition – a substantive change to the oath – would be infinitely more noteworthy.”

Ummmm….huh? What on earth does that mean?

“But the transmutation, as it happens, sets forth just the point the fates determined to make.”

Greek goddesses?

“…naked nothingness of what should be no-matters and neverminds…”

Seriously, after the “brewing blemishes” and “seemingly signifants,” my alliteration stomach cannot process the language above.

“Gist and substance matter not to those who can’t conceive of essence as anything more than the name of the magazine on whose cover Obama once appeared.”

…magazine whose? A magazine isn’t a who. And conceiving of essence? Huh? What the heck are you talking about? Do yourself a favor and stop making sentences so complicated that they are rendered absolutely devoid of plain meaning.

“Of all the slips to make, the word that tripped up Roberts is portentous in the way that it affirms and validates the message of the transmutation.”

I’m beginning to think this blog post was written in a foreign language and then “translated” by Babelfish.

“Similarly significant is the way the word sums up the reason for the entire occasion: America’s profound and faithful allegiance to its new President.”

Ummmm, America’s profound a faithful allegiance to its new President (that should be a lowercase “p”) is not the reason for the entire occasion. The reason for the entire occasion is that the dude won an election, and the Constitution (20th Amendment) calls for an inauguration to be held on January 20th.

“Beware of where the faithful may lead,” the fates seem to be saying. “Follow faithfully; falter eventually.” Or: “Follow faithfully; falter fatally.”

I think you’re smoking peyote right now.

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