Obama to be sworn in on Lincoln’s Bible

President-elect Obama will be sworn into office with his hand on the same Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used in 1861.

{mosads}The decision is consistent with Obama’s Lincoln theme as he prepares to become the 44th president of the United States.

The president-elect launched his campaign on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., and he plans to travel on a train through some of the same towns Lincoln used en route to his inauguration.

“President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in,” said Presidential Inaugural Committee Executive Director Emmett Beliveau.  “The President-elect is committed to holding an inauguration that celebrates America’s unity, and the use of this historic Bible will provide a powerful connection to our common past and common heritage.”

According to the inaugural committee, the Bible was originally purchased by a Supreme Court clerk because the actual Lincoln family Bible was packed and on its way to Washington to join its owner in the White House.

An annotation in the back of the book by the clerk reads: “I, William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the said court do hereby certify that the preceding copy of the Holy Bible is that upon which the Honble. R. B. Taney, Chief Justice of the said Court, administered to His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, the oath of office as President of the United States …”