Bill Clinton and Al Gore both raised their right hands Wednesday and solemnly swore, but Gore swore to a little more.
While the vice presidency is famous for its modest powers, the oath of office for Gore was the more comprehensive. Gore pledged that he would "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."Clinton, on the other hand, pledged that he would "faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
The difference, which does not imply any greater scope for the lesser office, arises because the presidential oath is the only one whose language is in the Constitution.
The vice presidential oath is the same one taken by members of Congress; its language was decided on by Congress to fulfill the constitutional requirement that public officers "shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution."