羅伯的錯，歐巴馬重行宣誓　■CNN（2009.01.22）雲程譯

【Comment】

無論彩頭如何，美國人對於「憲法的規定」是很認真的。細部不注意，往往會影響全局。總統吃螺絲結果沒頭路，真難以想像。

羅伯的錯，歐巴馬重行宣誓　■CNN（2009.01.22）雲程譯

歐巴馬總統在羅伯大法官（Chief Justice John Roberts）在週二就職時發生錯誤之後，週三重行宣誓。第二次宣誓，仍舊由羅伯主持，在晚間7：35分舉行。地點是白宮的地圖廳。羅伯詢問歐巴馬是否準備好了。歐巴馬回答：「我準備好了。我們要很謹慎的來。」重來一次，主要是針對週二的口誤與混淆，那時候漏掉誓詞中的「忠實地」（faithfully），從而消弭歐巴馬是否是合法就任的總統的疑義。但是，根據憲法，歐巴馬在週二中午成為總統卻未宣誓完成。白宮顧問Greg Craig在週三發表書面聲明：「我們相信宣誓就任很有效力的進行，所以總統在昨天適當的宣誓就任。」

聲明中又說：「但是，誓詞白紙黑字寫在憲法上。而由於疏忽，程序上漏掉了一個字，所以羅伯大法官主持第二次宣誓。」週二，羅伯在國會山莊階梯上並未準備誓詞的小抄，以背誦6個字的句子作為開始。但歐巴馬在一半時中斷，又重複前3個字。這個突槌讓大法官卡住，使他搞混皆下來句子的文字次序。憲法的白紙黑字「我謹莊嚴宣誓，我一定忠實執行合眾國總統職務，竭盡全力，恪守、維護和捍衛合眾國憲法。」（I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.）應當用於宣誓。羅伯漏掉「忠實地」，而且有介系詞上的錯誤。這讓總統也吃螺絲，他尷尬一笑暫停以整理其思緒，然後決定跟隨羅伯的帶領。但大法官同時企圖修正自己的錯誤。以下是當時的對話：

羅伯：…我一定忠實執行合眾國總統職務…（... that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully ...）

歐巴馬：…我一定…（... that I will execute ...）羅伯：…總統職…忠實執行總統職…執行合眾國總統職務…（... the off -- faithfully the pres -- the office of president of the United States ...）歐巴馬（同步）：…忠實執行合眾國總統職務…（... the office of president of the United States faithfully ...）之後這兩人的誓詞是正確的，包括習慣上的「願上帝祝福你；願上帝祝福我！」（"So help you God?" "So help me God."）記者、部落客與許多人很看重此事。紐約郵報以頭版頭報導：「羅伯是總統的豬頭！」（Roberts is the Oaf of Office）。一位華盛頓郵報的讀者在給編輯的信中批評：「劃時代的一刻，就被 羅伯 先生的輕忽給搞砸。新聞說我們新總統說的第一個字是糊里糊塗的。無論事出於有意，還是無心，羅伯大法官的行為實在可恥！」福斯新聞的主持人Chris Wallace說：「我們不解的是，到底歐巴馬還算不算是美國總統？他們進行的是亂七八糟的宣誓。這會搞到上法院的。」週二宣誓過後在國會的午餐會上，羅伯與歐巴馬簡短交換了意見，大法官顯然告訴總統：「都是我的錯。」週三在白宮重行宣誓之前，歐巴馬在沙發上開玩笑說：「我們決定開一下小玩笑…」。雖然在週二的宣誓中用了聖經，週三的時候並未使用。在完美無瑕的宣誦誓詞後，羅伯展開笑顏說：「再恭喜一次！」總統回答：「謝謝您！」在稀疏的掌聲後，歐巴馬自嘲：「糟糕了，那12場舞會可能又要跟著重來一次。（the bad news for the [press] pool is there's 12 more balls）」【譯註：這句感謝網友herculesc的協助！】羅伯對週二的「螺絲事件」沒有做公開的發言。

Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake　■CNN（2009.01.22）

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama retook his oath of office Wednesday after Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed while delivering it at Tuesday's inauguration.
The second oath -- also administered by Roberts -- took place at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday in the White House's Map Room. Roberts asked Obama whether he was ready.
"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.
The do-over was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday's take -- in which "faithfully" was said out of sequence -- and erase any question that Obama is legally the president.
However, per the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday without taking the oath.
"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday," White House counsel Greg Craig said Wednesday in a written statement.
"But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time," the statement read.

Watch Tuesday's oath »

Listen to today's do-over »

On Tuesday, Roberts, apparently working without a copy of the oath handy on the Capitol steps, started out by reciting a six-word phrase, but Obama broke in halfway through and repeated the first three. That seemed to throw the chief justice off stride, and he proceeded to mix up the order of the words in the next phrase.
The Constitution sets out the language that should be used in the oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Roberts moved the word "faithfully" back nine spots, and used "to" instead of "of." That threw the president off base, and he smiled and paused to collect his thoughts, then decided to follow Roberts' lead.
But the chief justice at the same time attempted to correct himself.
Here's how Tuesday's oath went:
Roberts: ... that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully ...
Obama: ... that I will execute ...
Roberts: ... the off -- faithfully the pres -- the office of president of the United States ...
Obama (at the same time): ... the office of president of the United States faithfully ...

The two got the rest correct, including the nonobligatory "So help you God?" "So help me God."
Reporters, bloggers and others weighed in on the flub. The New York Post offered this headline: "Roberts is the Oaf of Office."
A Washington Post reader complained in a letter to the editor: "What could have been a moment for the ages was marred by Mr. Roberts' thoughtlessness. News outlets will report that the first words of our new president were "confused." Whether through design or an amazing lack of preparation, Justice Roberts's behavior was a disgrace."
And Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said: "We're wondering here whether or not Barack Obama in fact is the president of the United States . They had a kind of garbled oath. It's just conceivable that this will end up going to the courts."
In a congressional luncheon after Tuesday's swear-in, Roberts and Obama exchanged words, and the chief justice appeared to tell the president, "It was my fault."
Before Wednesday's do-over at the White House, Obama, waiting on a couch, joked that "we decided it was so much fun ... "
Though a Bible was used in Tuesday's oath, one was not used for Wednesday's.
After a flawless recitation, Roberts smiled and said, "Congratulations again."
"Thank you, sir," the president replied. After a smattering of applause, Obama quipped that "the bad news for the [press] pool is there's 12 more balls."
Roberts has made no public comment on becoming tongue-tied Tuesday.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html