President Elect Obama is now President Obama. Once again the transfer of power has been completed peacefully thanks to the system. We also as a nation have underscored a core American value. Anyone can grow up to be anything they want to be. That's America – freedom. We have the freedom to fail or succeed here and that's one of the freedoms I will jealously guard.
Every four years we have an inauguration in this country, and like clockwork it happens on January 20th. That seems like such an odd day to choose, not the beginning of the month or the end, not even the middle! I was born in January and my husband and I were married in January. He always says that it was a plot on my part to celebrate and have presents every two weeks starting with Christmas and ending with Valentine's Day. I had to wonder if January 20th was our country's way of breaking up the monotony that suddenly settles in after New Years. As it turns out, the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, which was adopted on February 6, 1933, set the day. Before that Amendment, the new President and the new Senators and Representatives took office on March 4th. The reasons given for changing it were that with improvements in communications it (usually!) only took a few hours to know who won an election. Therefore, they moved the Presidential inauguration date up to January 20th. They also moved the date for installment of new Senators and Representatives up to January 3rd so that you wouldn't have a "short" year where the old representatives had two months to cram in legislation. Additionally, if it was going to fall on Congress to decide who was going to be President they didn't want the old Congress choosing but the new Congress.
Once I found that out it made a lot of sense to me. The Obamas are both lawyers and should be familiar with the Constitution, especially as it relates to Presidents. For the rest of us who might not remember much from our high school history classes, here's what I found out about presidential inaugurations and powers in the Constitution:
Terms for Elected Officials – President's terms end at noon on the 20th of January, Senator's and Representative's terms end at noon on the 3rd of January.
The Oath – The Constitution sets out the words for the oath of office. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Powers – The Constitution gives the President the role of Commander-in-Chief. He has the power to pardon people, make treaties, nominate certain officers, and fill some vacancies. He can convene and adjourn Congress, receive ambassadors, execute laws, and commission officers.
Succession – Most of us know that when a President dies the Vice-President takes his place. The same thing happens if a President Elect dies before taking the oath of office, the Vice-President Elect then takes the oath and becomes President.
So, while they are celebrating in Washington, take some time to reflect on the greatness that is America. You could be the next President. You can be what you want to be, so spend a little time thinking about your own future while we wait to see what the future of our nation has in store.
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