Chinese Government Censors President Obama's Inaugural Address

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Quick Edit

The Chinese government censored President Obama's inaugural address Tuesday — deleting references to communism and dissent. During his speech, the president said earlier generations, "faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions." Adding later, "those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent — know that you are on the wrong side of history."

But the official Chinese translation removed the word "communism" from the first sentence — and the paragraph that included the word "dissent" — was deleted altogether.

State-run TV abruptly dumped out of its live broadcast of the speech, and went to its studio anchor when President Obama mentioned fascism and communism.

On Second Thought

Some constitutional lawyers say President Obama should retake the oath of office. Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed it Tuesday, misplacing the word "faithfully" — at which point the president-elect paused. Roberts then corrected himself — but Mr. Obama repeated the words as Roberts initially said them.

A Boston University Constitutional Scholar Jack Beermann tells the San Francisco Chronicle a do-over would "take him 30 seconds... he ought to do it just to be safe."

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley says if the president does not correct the mistake, "There are going to be people who for the next four years are going to argue that he didn't meet the constitutional standard. I don't think it's necessary, and it's not a constitutional crisis. This is the Chief Justice's version of a wardrobe malfunction."

If Mr. Obama does retake the oath, it will not be unprecedented. Chester Arthur took it twice — once after the death of his predecessor — and again later during a public ceremony.

Name Game

A North Carolina Web developer says he made a giant profit after purchasing the expired Internet domain name for former President George W. Bush's presidential library. The Raleigh News and Observer reports George Huger was searching through a list of expiring domain names two years ago when he came across the address — "GeorgeWBushLibrary.com." So once it expired — he bought it for $5.

After sitting on the domain name for two years, Huger says he sold it for $35,000 to the Florida-based company that is in charge of the library Web site.

Before you rush to your computer — rights to "BarackObamaLibrary.com" — are already taken.

Out of the Picture

And finally — the official portraits of former President Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney were taken down from government buildings at noon Tuesday, coinciding with President Obama's swearing-in. But if you are hoping to snag a keepsake — forget it. The Cleveland Plain Dealer Online reports the photos will be destroyed. Kathy Lease, the supervisory property manager for the General Services Administration in Cleveland, OH, says they will be respectfully disposed of because — "they don't want them laying around so people can use them for improper things."

The photo frames can be reused for the portraits of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden — once they are printed and distributed.

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.