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WASHINGTON–In a ceremony lasting about a minute, President Barack Obama on Sunday was sworn into a second term by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
“Thank you everybody,” Obama said after making a quick exit from the White House Blue room with First Lady Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia.
Obama took the oath on a family bible held that belonged to Mrs. Obama’s grandmother, who worked for Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute. Mrs. Obama, wearing a dress by Reed Krakoff, held the bible while Obama took the oath as their daughters watched.
Roberts read from a card in order to not repeat his 2009 glitch when he bungled the oath.
Vice President Joe Biden earlier took an oath for a second term administered by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at his Naval Observatory residence.
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution starts presidential terms at noon on Jan. 20.
By tradition, public inaugurations are not held when Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday. The massive public ceremony on the West Steps of the Capitol takes place Monday.
The Sunday ceremony included a dozen of Obama family members and two close friends from Chicago, Kaye and Wellington Wilson. Mrs. Wilson is godmother to the Obama daughters. Also included, Marian Robinson, Mrs. Obama’s mother; her brother, Craig Robinson, his wife, Leslie and son Avery; Obama half-sister Auma Obama; Obama half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, her husband Konrad Ng and their children.
Before the swearing-in Obama and Biden traveled to Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony.
After that, the First Family attended church services at Metropolitan African Methodist Church to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, when Obama takes the oath again in a public ceremony, is also the national King Day holiday.
On the bible: Mrs. Obama’s father, Fraser Robinson III, gave a bible to his mother, LaVaughn Delores Robinson in 1958, on Mother’s Day; on Sunday, in the Blue Room, the bible becomes part of national–as well as Robinson family–presidential history.
During her time at Moody Bible Institute Mrs. Robinson held several positions at the school, where the main campus is at 820 N. LaSalle.
A Moody spokesman told the Sun-Times her last position was as the store manager for one of Moody’s book stores on the South Side. She was promoted to that job in 1976. Mrs. Robinson retired from Moody in 1980; she died in 2002.
