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Posted Tuesday, July 07, 2009 12:09 PM

Fact Check: When Did Obama Meet His Wife?

Holly Bailey

Did President Obama make a flub today when talking about when he met his wife, Michelle? Just before his speech to a university here in Moscow this afternoon, Obama mentioned his first meeting with the future First Lady in an offhand remark. “I don’t know if anybody else will meet their future wife or husband in class like I did, but I’m sure you’ll all going to have wonderful careers,” the president said. The thing is: Obama didn’t technically meet his wife at school. Although both are Harvard Law School grads, Michelle Obama got her degree in the spring of 1988 while her future husband didn’t actually start school there until later that fall. (He graduated in 1991). The Obamas officially met in Chicago in 1989, when the future president was a summer associate at the Sidley Austin law firm and Michelle was assigned as his mentor. Was what Obama said wrong? Technically no, considering Obama was still going to school when he met his wife. But for those keeping close watch on Obama trivia—ie, the White House press corps—the statement did seem a wee bit off.

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Member Comments

Posted By: heidi in atlanta (July 9, 2009 at 1:02 PM)

If you say you met your wife at school when you ACTUALLY met her at work....... you are

1. A fool (Somewhere in Illinois a village is missing its idiot)

2. Lying (Obama lied hopes of a good anniversary present died)

3. Pretending one thing to win a good opinion (no meeting photo's were ever found (ie no wmds were every found)

4. Untrustworthy, a fake and just plain embarrasing


Posted By: mbs235 (July 8, 2009 at 9:09 PM)

Technically, no? What are you smoking? He could not meet his wife in class if they were not in school at the same time. This is not difficult. They did not meet in class. The statement is not technically correct, it's just totally untrue.


Posted By: vanderleun (July 7, 2009 at 8:27 PM)

Excuse me but I think I see the title of this as "Fact Check."

And then you check the facts and determine that "Technically no."

Seems to me you're trying to bend the facts to fit your personal narrative. I suppose keeping your job is worth it. I certainly hope it is.