I think they're lying. And I think they know it.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by merrylander

It was added during the Eisenhower administration and was based on the story that Washington said it when he was inaugurated. There is certainly nothing wrong with a President asking for divine assistance, some of them needed all the help they can get.

What was added in the Eisenhower Administration were the words "under God" to The Pledge of Allegiance. (I'm old enough to have recited the Pledge in both forms.) There is debate over whether Washington actually said "so help me God" at his inaugural. No contemporary source mentions it.

The first actual record of a president using those words is in 1881 when Chester A. Arthur spoke them unbidden at the end of the oath. In this case the Chief Justice administered the oath by saying "Do you, Chester A. Arthur solemnly swear, etc." to which Arthur answered, "I do, so help me God."

That said for the Chief Justice to ask for it violates the Constitution.

Not according to Chief Justice Roberts. His contention is that the oath automatically ends at the last official word and anything anyone says after that is apparently okay because it's not said as part of the oath.

John