"So Help Me God" Always in Inaugural Oath?

Although the words "So help me God" do not appear in the presidential inaugural oath specifically written in the U.S. Constitution, many U.S. Presidents have added those four words to the oath, as I show Barack Obama doing when he became the 44th U.S. President on January 20, 2009.

The weight of the historical evidence, however, does not support the myth that the words "So help me God" were originally added to the oath when George Washington was inaugurated the first U.S. President, despite the false claim to the contrary I show Martha MacCallum making on Fox News the day before Obama's inauguration and despite the false claim to the contrary I show "The O'Reilly Factor" flashing on the screen on Fox News the day of Obama's inauguration.

You can see the entire article titled 'So Help Me God': A George Washington Myth that Should Be Discarded" by historian Peter Henriques that I cite in my video at http://hnn.us/articles/59548.html

You can see the exact wording of the presidential inaugural oath written in Article II, Section1 of the U.S. Constitution at http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article02/

And, finally, as always, you can find DOZENS and DOZENS more examples of Fox News bias on my Fox News bias playlist on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3BD2524FE99BD4D

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[groovyengineer]

so help me unicorn.

[hazydavey]

The debate over whether or not George Washington said "so help me God" kind of misses the point.

Even if he did say it, he did not ADD the words to the oath - they are words uttered AFTER the oath.

The words of the oath are provided in the Constitution. To "add" the words "so help me God" to the oath requires amending the Constitution.  George Washington, as revered as he was, had no power to change the Constitution simply by invoking the deity. Nor does Fox News.

[DrunkenGodMode]

I think they should say "if i dont I will cut off one of my fingers". When a Politician goes against his/her oath it should be handled the same way a Doctor or Lawyer is treated for malpractice. They all take an oath to follow the constitution, so therefore when a law like the "Patriot Act" or the "War Powers Resolution" is passed, which are both unlawful according to the constitution, Those who voted in favor should be impeached.

[jabajabajaba12345678]

"error prone O'Reilly Factor" that is the understatement of the year.

[YY4Me133]

@TheDobligator You asked why it hadn't been "taken" off the air yet, so I thought you were asking why it still has a license to broadcast. I can only speculate as to why people watch it, but there are probably lots of reasons. Some people probably believe the lies because they confirm what they already believe. Some Fox viewers have told me that the info I posted about the court case are my "opinion," as though I made it up. I guess some people don't mind being lied to if it suits their agenda.

[TheDobligator]

@YY4Me133 But I mean why does it still have viewers?

[YY4Me133]

@TheDobligator Here's why...

"FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves." - dailykos com

"In it's opinion, the Court of Appeal held that the Federal Communications Commission position against news distortion is only a 'policy,' not a promulgated law, rule, or regulation." - organicconsumersDOTorg

[BrigitteAbbendis]

Nixon swore on two Bibles, look how well he served the Constitution (compensating for a guilty conscience?). John Quincy Adams swore on a law book and as far as I'm aware he actually bothered to abide by it as well!

[keg2014]

i think making it something like "so i swear" would be much better, even if you are religious...it just sounds better to me :)

[apnwahoowa]

@starchores Oh come on be reasonable please. You know what I meant.

[starchores]

@apnwahoowa

you claim every president since Washington said it. Based on that statement, couldn't Jhon Adams (the second president) have added the line?

[Th3Sh1n1gam1]

George Washington was amongst the atheists of the founding fathers. there's no way he and the others would have decided to have so help me god in the inauguration