Opinion
The misplaced adverb during the taking of the oath of office during President Barack Obama's inauguration was enough to get the worldwide community of conspiracy theorists buzzing.
The United States Constitution is specific about the wording of the oath, which contains the phrase "that I will faithfully execute
the office of president of the United States" but US Chief Justice John Roberts fluffed his line, forgetting the "faithfully" and then, after Obama's hesitation alerted him to the blunder, dropping it in after "States".
Most constitutional experts reckoned it made no difference, but Obama, keen to be safe now rather than sorry later, summoned Roberts to the White House the next evening and took the oath again, heading off any suggestion that the slip of the judicial tongue might mean that his presidency was illegitimate.
The incident was reminiscent of Neil Armstrong's famous gaffe just before he became the first man to step on to the lunar surface in July, 1969. He said it was "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" - forgetting the "a" before "man". But it was the only notable glitch in a moving and historic inauguration.
Obama arrives in the Oval Office with the weight of 220 years of American history on his shoulders - as well as the far heavier weight of the world's expectations.
Partly because his election brings an end to a widely reviled presidency, it has been greeted like the arrival of a new messiah. But, although his stirring inauguration speech was full of resolution, his repeated remarks that we must collectively face down the economic and geopolitical challenges before us reminded us that, remarkable human being though he is, Obama is just one man.
In hitting the ground running - freezing the salaries of senior White House staff and announcing the closure of the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba during his first two days in office - Obama has made it clear that the time for celebration is over and the time for hard work has begun. There can be few of any creed or nationality who do not support him and share the hope that he will be able to achieve what he seeks.
