All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

There is much debate online over whether or not President Obama erred when he said, towards the beginning of his Inaugural Address, "Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath."

Though Hotsheet is still consulting its history books, it appears that the question ultimately rests with former President Grover Cleveland. Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, from 1885–1889 and 1893–1897; he was the only president to serve two, non-consecutive terms.

President Obama's apparent error, then, is this: While Mr. Obama is the 44th president, he is only the 43rd American to take the oath – since Cleveland took it twice.