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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA Inaugurated: Some Historical Background

2009-01-18 · John · watch on YouTube · US politics & society · news analysis

Two days before Barack Obama's inauguration, John corrects a rumour that Obama will swear on the Quran, recounts odd history of inaugural oaths and Bibles, and jokingly advises Obama to keep his address short and wear a coat, citing William Henry Harrison.

What is said

00:00:00 — Two days before Obama's inauguration; an email claims he will take the oath on the Quran

  • ★★ John says that on Tuesday Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. — 00:00:00 · Barack Obama
  • ★★ John says he received an email claiming Obama would take the oath of office on the Quran. — 00:00:00 · Barack Obama

00:00:25 — Civics refresher and history of inaugural oaths: Lincoln's Bible, J. Q. Adams and Pierce on law books, Teddy Roosevelt, Washington's borrowed Masonic Bible

  • ★★★ John says Obama will take the oath with his hand on the Bible, the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used. — 00:00:54 · Barack Obama
  • ★★ John says John Quincy Adams and Franklin Pierce took the oath with their hands on books of law, and calls both really bad presidents. (playful) — 00:00:54
  • ★★ John says Teddy Roosevelt took the oath of office without putting his hand on anything. — 00:00:54
  • ★★ John says at the first inauguration in 1789 nobody had a Bible, so one was taken from a Masonic lodge and George Washington swore on it. (playful) — 00:01:23
  • ★★★ John argues early American history shows the people involved had no idea their actions would later become so important. — 00:01:23
  • ★ John teases that the Declaration of Independence almost didn't happen because someone got drunk at a bar, a story he may tell someday. (playful) — 00:01:23

00:02:12 — Inaugural addresses are usually boring; advice to Obama via William Henry Harrison's fatal long speech; sign-off

  • ★★ John says inaugural addresses matter but are usually boring, and suspects Obama's will be boring too despite his skill as a speechwriter. (hedged) — 00:02:12 · Barack Obama
  • ★★★ John says William Henry Harrison, elected in 1840, refused a coat on a cold inauguration day, gave the longest address ever, got pneumonia and died 31 days in. — 00:02:12
  • ★★ John advises Obama to keep his inaugural address short and wear a coat, and congratulates him. (playful) — 00:02:41 · Barack Obama

Humor (significant)

  • John reacts to an email hoax about Obama swearing on the Quran. — 00:00:00 > «Oh, Internet, you are a tennis ball and I am a puppy.»
  • John asks whether two presidents who swore on law books were bad presidents. — 00:00:54 > «Actually, they were both really bad presidents.»
  • John imagines Teddy Roosevelt accepting the presidency without a Bible. — 00:01:23 > «As long as you name teddy bears after me.»
  • After recounting William Henry Harrison's coatless two-hour inaugural address and death 31 days later, John advises Obama. — 00:02:41 > «So keep it short, Barack, and wear a coat.»

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