Today President Obama officially began his second term at 11:55 am EST. The swearing-in was done in the White House Blue Room in a relatively private ceremony, with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' administering the oath. First Lady Michelle Obama and First Daughters Malia and Sasha Obama also were present.
Normally the swearing in is done before thousands, but the United States Constitution mandates that the swearing in be done on January 20, which falls on a Sunday this year. Most public institutions are closed on Sunday, so the more public ceremonial swearing in will take place tomorrow at the Capitol Building. A full listing of the schedule of inauguration events for tomorrow can be seen here.
The ceremony today went very smoothly, in contrast to the 2009 swearing-in, which featured many errors and omissions on the part of both Chief Justice Roberts and President Obama. Out of an abundance of caution, President Obama retook the oath in 2009 in a private ceremony after White House counsel Greg Craig requested that Roberts re-administer the oath.
Today’s oath, on the other hand, contained no errors and so President Obama is officially in office for another four years. Tomorrow’s swearing-in will get much more attention, but today’s oath is the one that counts.
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