President Obama had to take the oath of office twice in 2008 because of Chief Justice Roberts’ fumbles. He will take the oath again Sunday in a private ceremony to observe the day the Constitution requires him to take it, and publicly on Monday. That will make President Obama the second president ever to take the oath of office four times, matching FDR.
The Cyclists took a look back at inaugurations past and picked out their favorite moments.
Steve Kornacki said that Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address was his favorite.
However, after further consideration Steve decided to go with a moment that may “encapsulate the failure of a presidency into one day–the inaugural.”
“Whatever you think of Jimmy Carter’s politics, whatever you think of Jimmy Carter ideology, it wasn’t a very successful presidency and the roots of it were sort of evident on the day of his inauguration,” Steve said. He cited Carter’s failure to invite the speaker of the house to any of the balls that evening as an early warning of his weaknesses.
S.E. went all the way back to the 1800’s to pick a moment which she says is “a cautionary tale.” In 1841 William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural address, 8,445 words; it last almost two hours and he didn’t wear a coat. William Henry Harrison died 30 days after he took office from pneumonia. Thus S.E’s words of wisdom to all future presidents: “Keep it brief, fellas, keep it brief.”
Krystal went back to Camelot. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” President John F. Kennedy said during his inauguration on January 20, 1961. “This was a groundbreaking, transformational leader and an iconic moment,” Krystal said.
“Obama’s inauguration meant so much,” Toure said. “It was such an extraordinary moment for America, sort of closing this loop from slavery to then Obama becoming president and you just felt America had taken a step forward, had changed.” His favorite moment was President Obama’s 2009 inauguration, which can only be topped by Monday’s historic event.
We want to hear from you. What was your favorite inaugural moment? And will you be at Monday’s inauguration? If so don’t forget to tweet us your pictures using #msnbc or send them to us on our Facebook page.
Abby Borovitz