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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA Inaugurated: Some Historical Background

2009-01-18 · explainer · John · 3:07 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society (also: History & curiosities) · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook

Two days before Barack Obama's inauguration, John corrects a rumour that Obama will swear on the Quran and recounts odd history of inaugural oaths and Bibles, from which he draws his point: the people of early American history had no idea how important their acts would become. He then jokingly advises Obama to keep his address short and wear a coat, citing William Henry Harrison.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

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, United States
  • ★★ John says he received an email claiming Obama would take the oath of office on the Quran. — 00:00:00 · Barack Obama
  • ★ John gives a civics refresher: Americans elect a president every four years, and a few months later the winner promises to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution; he jokes that the first act is a speech that is too long, with too many adjectives. — 00:00:25

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; he jokes that both were really bad presidents. — 00:00:54
  • ★★ John says Teddy Roosevelt took the oath of office without putting his hand on anything. — 00:00:54
  • ★★ John recounts that at the first inauguration in 1789 nobody had a Bible, so one was taken from a Masonic lodge for George Washington to swear on; he plays the last-minute scramble for laughs. — 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 · United States
  • ★ 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 long address, refused coat and death a month in; 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.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Barack Obama · Bible · First inauguration of Barack Obama · William Henry Harrison

Also: People: Abraham Lincoln · Franklin Pierce · George Washington · John Quincy Adams · Theodore Roosevelt

Works: Constitution of the United States · George Washington Inaugural Bible · Lincoln Bible · Quran · United States Declaration of Independence

Places: United States

Also centred on Bible: My Religion

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