Have to take something that is bound by oath or affirmation. The 34 word oath is written into the constitution but the fact that the Supreme Court justices, the chief justice in particular, swears them in, thats simply tradition. Its something thats happened for a couple centuries now. Tradition is important in this old town. I was learning that the parade started with George Washington when local militia sort of joined up as he was coming in april to new york in 1789. Old traditions meet new traditions. Welcome to cnns continuing coverage of inauguration weekend. Im erin burnett. And im john king. Were live in the Nations Capital on the National Mall for president obamas second inauguration. Plenty of excitement. A lot going on in the capital city. Cnn going to bring you all the big events and all the highlights. President Barack Obamas second term is officially under way for seven hours now. He took the oath of office at noon today, january 20th, as required by the u. S. Constitution
seven hours now. he took the oath of office at noon today, january 20th, as required by the u.s. constitution. mr. obama sworn in. a small ceremony using a bible that belonged to his wife s family. chief justice john roberts used a note card this time avoiding, you might remember, the verbal stumble of four years ago. the president, of course, will do tomorrow in public in the traditional setting outside the capital using the same lincoln bible he used four years ago and a bible that belonged to the reverend martin luther king, jr. hundreds of thousands of people from across the country, some from around the world, will be here in the nation s capital to witness hit. earlier today at the vice president s official residence, joe biden was sworn into office for a second term. doing the honors there, justice sonia sotomayor making her the first la that knee to administer an oath to a president or vice president. at this hour across the nation s capital, parties and events kickin