Outside the Beltway

Outside the Beltway

Barack Hussein Obama to Take Oath

James Joyner
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WASHINGTON - JANUARY 4: U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (2nd L) poses for with his wife Michelle (2nd R), Vice President Dick Cheney (R), daughters (C) Malia and Sasha during the reenactment of a swearing -in ceremony on Capitol Hill January 4, 2005 in Washington, DC. The 109th Congress was sworn in January 4. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (2nd L) poses for with his wife Michelle (2nd R), Vice President Dick Cheney (R), daughters (C) Malia and Sasha during the reenactment of a swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill January 4, 2005 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Barack Obama tells LAT that he will be sworn in as Barack Hussein Obama, saying, “I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement one way or the other. I’ll do what everybody else does.”

In fact, as Taegan Goddard points out, there’s no hard and fast precedent.  “While most presidents use their full names, there have been recent exceptions: In 1977, James Earl Carter was sworn in as president as Jimmy Carter. And in 1981, Ronald Wilson Reagan simply went by Ronald Reagan.:

Regardless, Ezra Klein thinks it “pretty baller” and Josh Keating thinks “it’s still encouraging that Obama no longer has to hide his own middle name.”

In related news, Obama did not take the oath of office for the U.S. Senate with his hand on the Koran.  Probably because he’s not a Muslim, if I had to guess.

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11 responses to “Barack Hussein Obama to Take Oath”

  1. Triumph Avatar
    Triumph

    Barack Obama tells LAT that he will be sworn in

    Given what has happened in Illinois with Hussein’s political patron and closest ally, it is unlikely that he will be “sworn in” at all.

    Once Blago starts talking, it is going to be clear that Hussein was directing the whole scheme and he will be forced to step aside.

  2. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    You Obama haters make me sick. 39 million people voted for him Get over yourself!

  3. Jeffrey W. Baker Avatar
    Jeffrey W. Baker

    Don’t you mean 69,058,185 people?

  4. Davebo Avatar
    Davebo

    Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog is a character puppet performed by Robert Smigel premiering in 1997 on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien

    And he’s still hilarious!

  5. just me Avatar
    just me

    This must be a slow news day. Really beyond a good trivia question this doesn’t seem too much like news to me.

    I do find it interesting though that he will be sworn in by Chief Justice Roberts-a man Obama deemed unfit for the position.

  6. anjin-san Avatar
    anjin-san

    I do find it interesting though that he will be sworn in by Chief Justice Roberts-a man Obama deemed unfit for the position.

    It is interesting. It informs us that Obama does not think that his opinion necessarily transcends into the law of the land. A refreshing change.

  7. caj Avatar
    caj

    That is his full name and why wouldn’t he use it, maybe people will finally get the message that anyone with the name Hussein are not automatically terrorists!!!

  8. jabberwock Avatar
    jabberwock

    Jeffrey,
    What you said!

  9. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Exactly Caj. I mean, James Joyner sounds suspiciously Irish to me. Maybe he’s one of them Irish flavor terrorists who liked to bomb UK cities in the 80s.

    I don’t care what the president is called. It could be Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi Saddam Hussein Bin Laden for all I care. What the president does is more important.

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