Who was president at high noon?
The oath of office was botched in two ways Tuesday. The most obvious mistake was Chief Justice John Roberts getting the words wrong, throwing off Obama, who clearly knew them. More intriguing — at least to easily intrigued con law professors — is who was president at high noon. Not George W. Bush. His term ended at noon, according to the Constitution. At that moment the notable quartet — one professor called them the diversity quartet — still was fiddling. Joe Biden wasn’t sworn in until 12:01 p.m. Obama wasn’t sworn in until 12:04. Would that mean Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was president for a minute and Biden two? Not to worry, Saint Louis University law professor Joel Goldstein said. The oath is not necessary for Obama to be president.
