Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was sworn-in as the 67th United States Secretary of State yesterday, taking over the State Department today.
And not a moment too soon!
Secretary Clinton begins her tenure calling for thoughtful use of “Smart Power” throughout the world, and HillBuzz begins a new chapter covering, as best we can, the major challenges the most powerful woman on Earth will face abroad when the world needs her most.
If anyone can meet these challenges head on, Hillary Clinton can. And we are rooting for her all the way!
January 22, 2009 at 3:43 am
She looks quite pretty in that shade of blue. Classy.
January 22, 2009 at 3:51 am
Did any of y’all see the talk over at Volkh conspiracy today. Constitutional law scholars weighed in with this little tidbit. Technically speaking, Pres. Hope!Change! is not the first African American Chief Executive. Pres. Bush and VP Cheney’s terms expired by operation of law at Noon, but the new gang did not take office until about 1205. Presidential succession law says the Speaker and Pro Tem do not take office as President until they resign their legislative offices. Therefore, for about 5 minutes on Tuesday, the President of the United States was (the sitting SecState at the time of the vacancy): Condoleeza Rice, the first African American and first female President. Doesn’t mean much, but it may help you get the Daily Double on jeopardy.
January 22, 2009 at 6:03 am
Wrong, constitution says vp and prez terms end at 12… Nothing in there saying the new prez needs to be sworn in at 12. Since there was a prez elect his term officially began at 12 oath or not.
January 22, 2009 at 6:12 am
Hillary looked so nice and she always has such a peaceful look on her face. I am so proud of her and wish her well in her new job. Go Hill.You are my shero!
January 22, 2009 at 8:03 am
Who is the judge swearing her in?
January 22, 2009 at 8:26 am
Where’s Chelsea??
January 22, 2009 at 9:00 am
If that were true then Obama wouldn’t have retaken the oath yesterday. He flubbed it and was forced to take it again. Therefore Condi might have been president until they swore in Joe Biden.
January 22, 2009 at 9:05 am
Smart power. Smart woman. You have my prayers and support and unyielding loyalty, Madam Secretary. Why you’re not Madam President, only God knows and has a good reason I’m sure. For God is the merriest prankster of all. Anyhow, I know Sec. of State Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton will do us proud!
To S. Barton: I’m wondering the same thing!
January 22, 2009 at 9:11 am
wrong again…since they swore in biden before obama…how would condi have been president?
stop reaching
January 22, 2009 at 9:15 am
Its all laid out in the 20th amendment folks. read it. But the question remains if O is eligible. Now the real lawsuits can begin.
January 22, 2009 at 9:43 am
Go Hill!
January 22, 2009 at 9:44 am
matt your a tool, go lick your master’s boots now.
January 22, 2009 at 10:21 am
therio- Attack a poster for giving the facts, just because you don’t like the facts. At 12:00 noon Obama became President, period. The oath of office is a formal showing for the public that the baton has been passed. The closest Condi ever came to being President was to hold bushes hand when he walked into the oval office.
January 22, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hillary looked smart and spot on this morning. It will be nice to have a SOS that knows what the hell is going on, instead of a sock puppet for the President. With Hillary running state and Obama in the oval office, we may have a more effective policy around the world.
January 22, 2009 at 11:03 am
thanks therio i never knew that correcting someone makes you a tool…i will keep that in mind
January 22, 2009 at 11:03 am
and you guys say obama supporters are immature!
January 22, 2009 at 11:13 am
Who is that judge. Want to know so I know for sure it’s not Nancy.
January 22, 2009 at 11:19 am
Matt, it is all in good fun for us attorneys/law professors, this stuff is how we torture our students for 3 years. But here is the run down from an expert on the subject.
BTW: I don’t necessarily agree with Katkin’s analysis, but I find it an interesting discussion. Angels81, actually you’re wrong on the importance of the oath. The President and VP may not exercise their offices at all until the oath is taken, the oath is actually in the text of the constitution. Oaths don’t mean so much now as they did in an era when a man’s word and the honor behind meant something. But you’ll note the cabinet could not be voted by the Senate until after the inauguration b/c the could not be officially nominated until the President had taken the oath. Hence all the signatures in the room off the stage prior to the luncheon.
From Prof. Eugene Volokh’s blog:
The First African-American President? Prof. Ken Katkin writes, though with the preface that this is “just for fun”:
(1) The 20th Amendment provides that “[t]he terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January….”
(2) Art II., Sec. 1 Cl. 8 provides that “[b]efore he enter on the Execution of his Office, [The President] shall take the following oath….”
(3) President Obama did not take the Oath of Office until about 12:03 pm today, after Vice President Biden took it at about 12:01 p.m. (Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman were still fiddling at noon).
(4) Therefore, there was a brief window (just after noon) when George Bush and Dick Cheney were no longer President and Vice President, but Barack Obama and Joe Biden also were not yet qualified to enter on the Execution of their offices.
(5) The Presidential Succession Act, 3 U.S.C. sec. 19(a)(1), provides: “If, by reason of … failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President.” Section 19(b) states that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall act as President (under the same terms and conditions) if the Speaker of the House fails to qualify.
(6) Neither Nancy Pelosi nor Robert Byrd actually resigned their seats in the Congress. Thus, neither of them qualified to become Acting President under the Presidential Succession Act. Plus, interbranch appointments might be unconstitutional anyhow. See Akhil Reed Amar and Vikram David Amar, Is the Presidential Succession Law Constitutional?, 48 Stan. L. Rev. 113 (1995); but see Howard Wasserman, Structural Principles and Presidential Succession, 90 Ky. L.J. 345 (2002).
(7) Section 19(d)(1) of the Presidential Succession Act provides: “If, by reason of … failure to qualify, there is no President pro tempore to act as President under subsection (b) of this section, then the officer of the United States who is highest on the following list, and who is not under disability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President shall act as President: Secretary of State ….”
(8) Notably, Section 19(d)(1) does not condition the Secretary of State’s assumption of the powers and duties of the office of President on resignation of her current office, nor does elevation of the Secretary of State raise any constitutional issue of interbranch appointment.
(9) The term of office of the Secretary of State does not automatically terminate at noon on the 20th day of January.
(10) On January 20, 2009, Condoleeza Rice was (and is) still the Secretary of State.
(11) Accordingly, from 12:00 noon until 12:01 p.m. (when Vice President Biden took the oath of office and became Vice President), Condoleeza Rice was momentarily the Acting President of the United States, our first African-American President.
I suppose the obvious counterargument is that Secretary Rice also never took the Oath prescribed in Art. II, Sec. 1, cl. 8, and thus was no more qualified than Barack Obama or Joe Biden to act as President at 12:00 noon. But if Secretary Rice was not President from noon to 12:01, then who was?
See also the Washington City Paper blog, which first blogged Prof. Katkin’s analysis (though please note that I have Prof. Katkin’s permission to reprint his thoughts). To be sure, I think Orin Kerr is right that under the Twentieth Amendment that “the terms of [the incoming President and Vice President] shall then begin” when the outgoing pair’s “end at noon on the 20th day of January,” so Pres. Obama was probably President starting at noon, even before the oath was taken. But Prof. Katkin’s analysis is more fun.
UPDATE: Prof. Katkin now reports that Biden took his oath of office before 12 noon, despite earlier press accounts, so all the above is moot. Another beautiful theory destroyed by ugly fact.
January 22, 2009 at 11:25 am
“The oath of office is a formal showing for the public that the baton has been passed.”
Apparently not. It is a constitutionally mandated oath. If it was nothing but a public showing, Obama would not have felt the need for a re-do.
January 22, 2009 at 11:55 am
very informative golden state…that you for that
all done without calling me tool too!
and again, yttik he only did it as a precaution, he essentially saif the right words, just in the wrong order after follong the chief justices lead
January 22, 2009 at 12:03 pm
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cwinecoff/2009/01/16/the-awakening-of-a-dumb-gay-american/.
January 22, 2009 at 12:11 pm
hello..madam S.O.S.
and she was sworn in using her dads bible..just know he is so proud of his girl..
just as we are..
praying and lighting candles for her..
January 22, 2009 at 12:21 pm
foxyladi14,
Amen to that. Prayers will be needed in these times. I have all the faith in the world in Hillary, and I am so proud of her.
January 22, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Though right of center, I am waaaaaaaay more comfortable having someone with a clue, a brain, and a desire to do right as our S.O.S. rather than the apparent alternative.
So glad Dopey Joe decided to take the VP spot because of all the tiresome travel associated with being S.O.S. (per his account). Instead we get someone in the post that won’t behave like a boorish arse ’round the world, and Joe the giant chia pet can wander free range through the naval observatory grounds, spouting random bits of plagiarized British political speeches.
In short, congratulations to Ms. Rodham-Clinton. Don’t mean to speak for others, but believe we’ll all sleep much easier knowing it’s you on the job.
January 22, 2009 at 1:45 pm
matt your still a tool that’s a fact.
January 22, 2009 at 2:09 pm
12:01 is the start time. Define “execute”. However, he is still a usurper. Hillary is now in line. She looks marvelous.
January 22, 2009 at 2:36 pm
The oath is obviously important since there was a re-do. Biden had been sworn in as VP at like 1158-9am. He became VP at Noon when Cheney’s term expired. I think he became the P while we were listening to that music (hurry up) until 1203-4 when they finally shut up and let Obama take the oath. Bush stopped being P at Noon. I think the oath having a minor flaw does not invalidate it. But it is re-done
January 22, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Fashion question ….
Senator Clinton (oh dear, what do we call her now?) looks wonderful in this blue suit. The neckline, the color, the ruffle that adds femininity but not froofiness is all very flattering. However, I’ve never cared for the fact that she consistently wears pant suits. I don’t feel they are very flattering on her, drawing attention to her hips instead of her face & eyes.
What she is wearing today at the press conference is very flattering as well … but the camera pulls away and, Hello Hips.
Am I just being a child of the 50s-60s where professional women look better in skirts to me? Or are these pant suits really not flattering on her?
January 22, 2009 at 3:53 pm
BO could have used HRC in the Oval Office as he gave his first executive orders. On two occasions, in front of the media, BO had to ask his lawyer “Greg” to explain the details of the orders.
The grown ups have surely left the building. God help us!!!
January 22, 2009 at 4:58 pm
When I hear her speak, and realize how smart she is, how much of a grasp of the issues and ability to solve problems Hillary has, I realize just why it is Bill fell in love with her and wanted her by his side. I feel he admires her so much, as do we all. I know Hillary takes her job very seriously, will always be prepared and ready to represent us proudly. When you look back at her career, it is amazing. She always manages to turn lemons into lemonade. And it is not over yet.
January 22, 2009 at 6:26 pm
That picture reminds me of the civil ceremony at my wedding.
January 22, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Yeah, the Constitution also says you must be a natural-born citizen to be president, and nobody gave a damn about that little ‘technicality’.
If it’s revealed at some point that the Anointed One was born in Kenya, or had Indonesian citizenship, who’s president then?
January 22, 2009 at 7:38 pm
tamerlane … that is a good question. Wouldn’t the election itself be fraudulent then? Would McCain then win by default? Would Biden try to step in? He was part of the fraudulent team.
Then again, my great fear would be that Pelosi would step in and say it’s hers. ARGH. Not good.
It’s hard to know what the results would be … I don’t think there is any kind of a precedent for this! I mean, we all expect politicians to be liars, but something like this would have been deliberate and pre-mediated. DELIBERATE.
It would sure be interesting to watch.
January 23, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Hillary looks beautiful in that outfit. More like that for her please: the gorgeous colour, the feminine styling. She stood along from the tawdry Michelle in the pew at the church ceremony looking so perfect.