# A nice, warm, gooey Barack Obama glurge story **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 6, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632 "2008-10-06T04:22:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/1 "2008-10-06T04:22:24Z")
Those of us who heart Obama will [love this story](http://leishacamden.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-that-it-matters.html). Even if you don’t like the Obama love, it’s still a cool story. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/2 "2008-10-06T04:34:12Z")
Is there some particular reason why I should believe that this is a true story? ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/3 "2008-10-06T04:39:39Z")
Really would have been awesome proof if she kept the slip of paper. For now, this story goes in the “nifty if real” pile. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/4 "2008-10-06T04:47:03Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Is there some particular reason why I should believe that this is a true story? Well, the woman and her parents are identifiable people who really exist and have gone public. Barack Obama himself has also aknowledged the story to be true. There is a photograph of her holding the letter from Obama with the US Senate stamp on it. That’s a lot more than you usually get with glurge. Is there any reason you should _not_ believe its true? I guess it’s possible that all parties involved are lying (and have been lying since 1988), and that they forged the letter from Obama, but do you think that’sthe most _likely_ scenario? I don’t see it on Snopes, but the source is a legitimate newspaper, not an email forward. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/5 "2008-10-06T04:48:10Z")
> [@Pullet](#): > > Really would have been awesome proof if she kept the slip of paper. > > For now, this story goes in the “nifty if real” pile. She does have the Senate stamped letter from Obama. That’s something. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/6 "2008-10-06T04:53:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > She does have the Senate stamped letter from Obama. That’s something. Sorry, I got saccharined out before I got to that part of the article. Was already on suspicious alert because your link is to a blog and the original article is in Norwegian. Moved to “nifty” pile. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/7 "2008-10-06T04:53:59Z")
Thanks for posting that. Lovely story. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/8 "2008-10-06T04:55:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Well, the woman and her parents are identifiable people who really exist and have gone public. Barack Obama himself has also aknowledged the story to be true. There is a photograph of her holding the letter from Obama with the US Senate stamp on it. That’s a lot more than you usually get with glurge. Is there any reason you should _not_ believe its true? I guess it’s possible that all parties involved are lying (and have been lying since 1988), and that they forged the letter from Obama, but do you think that’sthe most _likely_ scenario? > > I don’t see it on Snopes, but the source is a legitimate newspaper, not an email forward. The only thing I see on your cite is a story, and a picture with a letter which I cannot read. Can you cite Obama acknowledging it? Or is that letter which cannot be read the cite? Where is the link to the legitimate newspaper? The appearance of their [front page](http://www.vg.no/) indicates that some skepticism is not out of place. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Until it’s proven, I’ll accept it just as readily as I accept all glurge, i.e., not at all. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/9 "2008-10-06T05:02:13Z")
A question: If you’ve been living in Norway for 20 years and are married to a Norwegian, how do you get to vote in the presidential election? And why would you even care? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/10 "2008-10-06T05:05:16Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > The only thing I see on your cite is a story, and a picture with a letter which I cannot read. Can you cite Obama acknowledging it? Or is that letter which cannot be read the cite? Where is the link to the legitimate newspaper? The appearance of their [front page](http://www.vg.no/) indicates that some skepticism is not out of place. > > I don’t know if it’s true or not. Until it’s proven, I’ll accept it just as readily as I accept all glurge, i.e., not at all. The original newspaper story is [right here](http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/presidentvalg-2008/artikkel.php?artid=527005). It’s a Norwegian newspaper. Knock yourself out. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/11 "2008-10-06T05:06:46Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > A question: If you’ve been living in Norway for 20 years and are married to a Norwegian, how do you get to vote in the presidential election? And why would you even care? Why would you lose your right to vote? You’d still be a US citizen. My father has lived in Brazil for years. He still votes. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/12 "2008-10-06T05:07:40Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > A question: If you’ve been living in Norway for 20 years and are married to a Norwegian, how do you get to vote in the presidential election? And why would you even care? In most states, expatriates are allowed to vote (in federal elections) from their last registered adress. In some states, they are allowed to vote from their parents last address. If she’s still a U.S. citizen, she’s entitled to vote for President, and I see no reason why she shouldn’t be allowed to. _That_ part of the story, I have no issue with. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/13 "2008-10-06T05:12:56Z")
What part _do_ you have an issue with? That Barack Obama could have ever done anything nice for a stranger? It’s not like the story is THAT extraordinary. It was only 100 bucks. If it was fake, I’d expect to see it beefed up more. You also don’t usually get identifiable people and Senate stamped letters to go along with the glurge. The story was reported in a legit Norwegian newspaper. If it was an American newspaper, would you accept it? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/14 "2008-10-06T05:15:15Z")
That was a nice story, but I would appreciate a confirmation from a Norwegian Doper (where’s our own American in Norway, **flodnak** at?) that the paper is legit and not a Scandinavian version of a supermarket tabloid. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/15 "2008-10-06T05:17:56Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The original newspaper story is [right here](http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/presidentvalg-2008/artikkel.php?artid=527005). It’s a Norwegian newspaper. Knock yourself out. The letter is still not readable. (I can’t even make out a Senate seal, for that matter.) For all I know, it says, “Thank you for your best wishes.” How would you react to a blog’s translation of a Vietnamese newspaper story about John McCain giving the Heimleich maneuver to a child before he was captured? “Oh, how nice and warm,” you’d say? As I said: this may be a true story; it may not. I see no reason to believe that it is true (or not) without some kind of proof. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/16 "2008-10-06T05:20:15Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The story was reported in a legit Norwegian newspaper. If it was an American newspaper, would you accept it? _New York Times_ or _New York Post_? _Wall Street Journal_ or _USA Today_? _Washington Post_ or _Washington Times_? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/17 "2008-10-06T05:23:03Z")
I’d accept pretty much any of those. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/18 "2008-10-06T05:24:07Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I’d accept pretty much any of those. Heh. I’ll keep that in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/19 "2008-10-06T05:34:18Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Heh. I’ll keep that in mind. None of the sources you listed make things up out of thin air. They might spin or editorialize but they’re generally factually accurate. I’m seeing that this airport story is getting spread around on a lot of lefty blogs (Kos, HuffPo, DU), all translating from the same Norwegian newspaper. I guess it all boils down to the credibility of that paper. I haven’t seen anyone trying to debunk it. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632/20 "2008-10-06T05:41:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > None of the sources you listed make things up out of thin air. They might spin or editorialize but they’re generally factually accurate. Like I said, I’ll keep that in mind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nice-warm-gooey-barack-obama-glurge-story/466632.md?page=2)