Politics
Obama to use Lincoln and MLK Bibles for 2nd term inauguration
Though there is no constitutional requirement for the use of a Bible while taking the oath, George Washington began the tradition with a Bible hastily grabbed from St. John’s Masonic Lodge No. 1 for his swearing-in on April 30, 1789, in New York. Since then, presidents have typically chosen Bibles with historical or personal significance, many using family heirlooms. Obama is not the first president to select two Bibles – Harry Truman did so in 1949, Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 and Richard Nixon in 1969.
Some presidents kiss the book after completing the oath. Sometimes the Bible is open to meaningful passages, such as President George W. Bush’s choice of Isaiah 40:31 – “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
The Lincoln Bible is part of the Library of Congress collections. The Supreme Court clerk bought the Bible, bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim and heavily gilded edges, especially for Lincoln’s swearing-in.
The first lady’s Robinson family Bible was a gift from her late father, Fraser Robinson III, to his mother, LaVaughn Delores Robinson, on Mother’s Day 1958. The first lady’s grandmother was the first black female manager of a Moody Bible Institute’s bookstore, and her son’s present was her favorite, inaugural planners say.
They also say Vice President Joe Biden will use a Bible with a Celtic cross on the cover that has been in his family for 120 years. Biden has used the Bible every time he’s been sworn into federal office, back to his entry in the Senate 40 years ago.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
