# White House Wedding in the Offing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089 "2015-05-29T03:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/1 "2015-05-29T03:00:27Z")
A Nairobi lawyer has offered 50 cows, 70 sheep and 30 goats for the hand of President Obama’s oldest daughter, Malia, with whom he’s been smitten since she was about 10 years old. Story [here](http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/27/living/feat-malia-obama-kenyan-lawyer/index.html). No response from the White House yet, but then the lawyer has not yet officially delivered his request to the US Embassy. But I feel certain it will be given all due consideration. Who knows? It could be a match made in Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/2 "2015-05-29T03:15:09Z")
I’m not being snarky here, but this thread offends me. Too many layers of bigotry and mysogony to be humorous. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/3 "2015-05-29T05:16:02Z")
Obama clearly cannot take unilateral action on this. He should get the approval of Congress first. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/4 "2015-05-29T05:38:53Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I’m not being snarky here, but this thread offends me. Too many layers of bigotry and mysogony to be humorous. Well then, how much _do_ you think he should have offered? ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/5 "2015-05-29T08:09:24Z")
I would be inclined to respond that I was very sorry, but I was not legally empowered to negotiate a bridal contract on Malia’s behalf, because – as is our custom here – all rights of ownership have been irreversibly transferred to Malia herself. I probably wouldn’t, mind. It would piss a lot of different people off for a lot of different reasons. But I would be very very tempted. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/6 "2015-05-29T11:22:56Z")
I’m with _Becky_. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/7 "2015-05-29T11:51:08Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Too many layers of bigotry and mysogony to be humorous. Maybe I’m a little dense, but it just looks like a clash of cultures, assuming it’s not something someone made up. Is CNN known for its fake news reports? It’s not knee-slapping hilarious, but if the lawyer really is serious, I see head-shaking chuckle potential here. I don’t see all the layers you’re seeing, but then I tend to take things at face value. _\_ ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/8 "2015-05-29T12:00:16Z")
Shouldn’t he be offering some vegetables to go along with all that meat? He needs to remember his prospective M-I-L has some strong opinions on a healthy, balanced diet. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/9 "2015-05-29T12:04:32Z")
Well, even ignoring all ickiness: being smitten with someone from afar enough to propose betrothment means that all that matters to you is looks, even in marriage and not just a casual affair. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/10 "2015-05-29T12:15:53Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Maybe I’m a little dense, but it just looks like a clash of cultures, assuming it’s not something someone made up. Is CNN known for its fake news reports? > > It’s not knee-slapping hilarious, but if the lawyer really is serious, I see head-shaking chuckle potential here. I don’t see all the layers you’re seeing, but then I tend to take things at face value. > > _\_ Concur. The giveaway (I think) is that he’s a lawyer in a major city (Nairobi), which means he is aware of Western culture as well as his own, so I think this is more of a ‘leg-pulling’ (or whatever Kenyans call humor like this) that will go down well at his club or next bar association. That said, offering animals like this for a bride’s hand is something that cultures have done throughout history; it shows the woman’s family that the man is well-enough off to support a wife (or at times, wives). In the west, we’ve distilled that into asking “Well, son, you want to marry my daughter? What kind of job do you have, so I know that you can support her?” Same idea, without the cows… IMHO as always. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/11 "2015-05-29T14:55:34Z")
It is pretty gross. Malia is a lovely young woman who will probably be able to buy her own husband one day. Women are not commodities. We are not to be bought. And the first person to imply in any way that women are golddiggers gets -3000 Internets. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/12 "2015-05-29T16:56:10Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I’m not being snarky here, but this thread offends me. Too many layers of bigotry and mysogony to be humorous. Well, yeah. Those of us who find this amusing, it’s because such an offer is so offensively ridiculous on so many levels that we can’t take it seriously. While those of us who find it offensive do so because it reminds us that there are people and cultures in this world where this sort of thing is taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/13 "2015-05-29T17:44:51Z")
30 goats seems way low. We are talking about the daughter of a head of state, not the daughter of a village elder. I say 200 goats, minimum. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/14 "2015-05-29T17:49:16Z")
Just because it’s a different culture, it doesn’t mean their customs and values are inferior. In Kenya, I have no doubt it would be a handsome offer, which the bride’s family would take seriously. And as said earlier, it’s only _evolved_ in our culture to the groom proving he is an _homme sérieux_ and being wealthy enough to support his wife: the poor office clerk marrying the multimillionaires’ daughter for love alone, with the gruff parents coming around chuckling after the fact was always a purposed consoling myth, even in Newport’s palmiest days. All this indicates is the ridiculous high worth Americans arbitrarily assign to their presidency. Had the proposal been to a non-presidential billionaire, far richer than Mr. Obama, such as Bloomberg, Billy the Thief or one of the Waltons, for anyone in their guardianship, no-one would care a bit. As for Miss Obama choosing her own mate, that is as may be; but the last presidential wedding cost $3 million to the parents, and the groom was a millionaire. Presidential children don’t marry someone earning minimum wage in a gas station. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/15 "2015-05-29T18:45:15Z")
Sometimes 8 cows are enough [http://www.ultimatehusband.com/8cow\_wife.htm](http://www.ultimatehusband.com/8cow_wife.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/16 "2015-05-29T21:24:22Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m with _Becky_. I’m pretty sure that’s Taylor Swift. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/17 "2015-05-29T21:33:23Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > It is pretty gross. Malia is a lovely young woman who will probably be able to buy her own husband one day. Women are not commodities. We are not to be bought. That was my first thought, though I was a bit angrier. If someone offered me money or other remuneration for my stepdaughter’s hand, and I thought he was serious, I’d be mightily offended and tempted to punch him in the face. And she’s an adult. Ask for my mis-teen’s hand that way? You had BETTER do it long distance, because if we’re in my apartment, I will physically encourage you to depart. (I don’t know how old Malia is, or whether she’s the younger or elder daughter, but she can’t be more than 16, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/18 "2015-05-29T22:26:21Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > (I don’t know how old Malia is, or whether she’s the younger or elder daughter, but she can’t be more than 16, right?) She will be 17 this summer so 16 currently, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/19 "2015-05-29T22:38:02Z")
Is offering livestock for someones hand in marriage that much worse than offering a shiny rock? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089/20 "2015-05-29T22:39:56Z")
Notice no pigs were offered. _PROOF_ Obama is a Secret Muslim. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-wedding-in-the-offing/721089.md?page=2)