The phrase isn't an official part of the oath. An unreliable Washington biographer claimed that he had added the words at his first inauguration, but there is no contemporary corroboration. All presidents since FDR have spoken it, so it is now indeed "politically requisite."

Dick

On Jan 22, 2013, at 10:41 AM, "Hancock, Craig G" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dick,
>     I’m equally impressed by the thoughtful responses.
>    I wonder if it’s also an affirmation of the sacredness of the cause. A personal God can be asked to bear witness (“As God is my witness”) but won’t help unless we are working in harmony with his causes.  It would also be an affirmation of commitment to the cause as divine and thus worthy of absolute commitment.
>    It’s interesting that this part of the oath has been declared optional because of the separation of church and state. Apparently,  the courts have deemed that you can’t require someone to affirm religious belief as a requirement for a position. But I think it is politically requisite and has been for some time. We may have had atheist presidents, but have we ever had one openly so? Obama’s Christian faith has been questioned (along with his birth certificate), which may account for the way he invokes God at the end of every speech.
>  
> Craig
>  
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit
> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 9:02 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Analyzing "so help me God"
>  
> In the future, when I need information on any language question, I will simply write, "So help me, Herb!" Thanks, all who replied, for your erudite responses.
> 
> A follow-up: Since the phrase literally means "May God help me in this," I find it curious that it has come to signify "I swear I am telling the truth" ("Asked if he raped the man accusing Engelhardt and Shero, Avery said: 'I did not. So help me God'." [reference]), which has nothing to do with asking for divine assistance. If anything, the intent is "May God punish me if I lie." 
> 
> Dick
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 10:53 PM, Stahlke, Herbert <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dick,
> 
> The OED Online gives the following as the third entry under "help, v."
> 
>  c. In subj. pres., in invocations and oaths: esp. in so help me God, the customary formula in a solemn oath; and in God help him (them, etc.) , often a parenthetical exclamation of pity for the helpless condition of the person spoken of. Also ellipt. so help me, and as a variant so help me bob.
> 
> "help," then, would be, as the OED says, present subjunctive, hence no agreement.  The subject verb inversion would, I think, be due to the initial adverb "so."  We get such inversion regularly with negative adverbs, as in "Never had I seen one before," but it feels a bit archaic with "so," and I think it is archaic.  What's odd is that the SVI also moves the subject "God" beyond the object "me."  I don't have an explanation for that.
> 
> Herb
>  
> Herbert F. W. Stahlke, Ph.D.
> Emeritus Professor of English
> Ball State University
> Muncie, IN  47306
> [log in to unmask]
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Dick Veit [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 1:16 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Analyzing "so help me God"
> 
> Starting with FDR, presidents have appended "so help me(,) God" to the end of the inaugural oath. Can someone parse the phrase for me? When people say, "So help me!" they mean something like "I swear to God" or "May God punish me if I am not telling the truth." They don't seem to mean a supplicative "May God help me." 
> 
> I would be grateful for an informed analysis of how the actual words signify the phrase's meaning. 
> 
> Dick
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