Barack Obama

But where was the Bible?

The second time around, Barack Obama didn't take the oath of office on a Bible; now some on the right are trying to stir up controversy.

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Breaking, vital news — when Barack Obama took the oath of office for a second time, he and Chief Justice John Roberts didn’t use a Bible. Obama still isn’t president!

No, just kidding. Legally, it doesn’t matter — the president can be sworn in on a copy of “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” and the oath would count. But not everyone knows that, and besides, legal or not, the lack of a Bible is just the sort of thing that makes some people worry. So if you’re a conservative looking for something to be angry about — or, if you’re Matt Drudge, and you’re looking for something your audience will be angry about — this will do quite nicely.

And now Drudge has the news as a banner headline on his site (see screenshot below). So far, judging by Memeorandum, he hasn’t yet turned this into a huge story. But there are a few blogs out there jumping on it already; we’ll know soon whether this particular snowball’s going to start rolling downhill.

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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