Barack Obama retakes oath—and then proceeds to govern

WASHINGTON —

In his first full day in the White House, Barack Obama pushed his top military advisers for a plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, and in an extraordinary exercise took the oath of office a second time over concern about a miscue during his swearing-in.

Obama retook the oath before a handful of aides in the White House Map Room—31 hours after he spoke the words before more than a million people arrayed on the Mall. In the first go-around, Chief Justice John Roberts botched the wording, deviating from the language in the Constitution.

Following along, Obama repeated the mistake."Out of an abundance of caution," White House Counsel Greg Craig said in a statement, Obama decided to retake the oath Wednesday.

The president spent part of the afternoon in a meeting with top military commanders running the war in Iraq. In a statement released afterward, Obama said he asked them to "engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq.

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On the campaign stump, Obama often pledged that on his first day as president he would call such a meeting. But then his language was more forceful. He typically said he would instruct the Pentagon it had a "new mission in Iraq": Ending the war and bringing combat forces home within 16 months.

Officials briefed on the meeting afterward said Obama's goal remains the same— accelerating the troop withdrawal from Iraq. The discussion was amicable, with the president gently prodding the military to plan for a quicker drawdown than they might have preferred.Obama and military leaders are not far apart in their respective timetables. Obama has called for a withdrawal of combat forces by mid-2010.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has planned for a more conservative drawdown, but it would still remove most forces well before the end of 2011. In the new Status of Forces Agreement, the U.S. has pledged to remove all military forces from Iraq in three years.

Roberts again presided.In any case, Obama proceeded Wednesday in true presidential style, mixing international diplomacy, ceremonial events and bureaucratic action. The 44th president arrived at the Oval Office at 8:35 a.m., following a late night dancing at the inaugural balls.

Savoring the moment, he spent 10 minutes alone, reading the private note left to him by his predecessor in an envelope marked "To: #44, From: #43." But that was about the only quiet moment he got.