“What had the Chief Justice of the United States so shook up that he couldn’t remember the oath that any schoolboy could say by heart?? Could it be . . .”
...absolutely meaningless? Yes.
When John Roberts was grilled by the Senators before his appointment he was praised as one of the most articulate and prepared justice they had ever been sparring with, yet he screwed up two Oath takings facing the Devil himself eye to eye, hmmmm!??!