Obama headed to Hawaii

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by master_jim2008 | October 20, 2008 at 05:01 pm
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Barack Obama will miss several campaign events Thursday and Friday to visit his ailing grandmother in Hawaii, his campaign says.

Details as they become available

(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama will take a break from campaigning Thursday so he can visit his ailing grandmother in Hawaii, an Obama spokesman said Monday.

Sen. Barack Obama will take a break from campaigning so he can visit his ailing grandmother.

Sen. Barack Obama will take a break from campaigning so he can visit his ailing grandmother.

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"Sen. Obama's grandmother Madeleine Dunham has always been one of the most important people in his life," spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"In the last few weeks, her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious. It is for that reason that Sen. Obama has decided to change his schedule on Thursday and Friday so that he can see her and spend some time with her," Gibbs said.

The interruption will cause Obama to cancel Thursday events in Madison, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa. He will do an event in Indianapolis, Indiana, Thursday morning before leaving and will return to the campaign Saturday, Gibbs said.

Michelle Obama will fill in for her husband on Friday at previously scheduled events in Columbus and Akron, Ohio, his campaign said.

Obama has said his 86-year-old grandmother, who helped raise him, "poured everything she had" into him. She became sick in recent weeks

Source: cnn.com

Jarrett also has a story here about it

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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)

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Jarrett Martineau
Jarrett Martineau

at 18:00 on October 20th, 2008

Thanks for the post and for updating it.

Rhonda J Mangus
Rhonda J Mangus
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:04 on October 20th, 2008

master_jim2008, I like this story. It's good stuff. A link to NP article entitled, "Obama Leaves Campaigning to Visit Ailing Grandmother".

dunkelberg
dunkelberg
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:16 on October 24th, 2008

Barack Obama is home today in Hawaii with his ailing grandmother rather than on the campaign trail because he fears she won't make it to Election Day.

Obama, who polls show is the front-runner in the election to become the leader of the free world, is likely doing chores right now for the woman he affectionately calls Toot.

"I want to give her a kiss and a hug," the Democratic presidential candidate told Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview for "Good Morning America" before heading for Hawaii to see his 85-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, the woman who largely raised him.

"And then we're going to find out what chores I can do, because I'm sure there's been some stuff that's been left undone," he said.

The Illinois senator took the unprecedented step of quitting the presidential campaign with less than two weeks to go so he could hurry home to the apartment he grew up in and see Dunhill. He rejoins the campaign Saturday.

Toot, which is short for "tutu," the Hawaiian word for grandparent, has been sick for a while and recently fell and broke her hip.

"Without going through the details too much, she's gravely ill," Obama told Roberts in an interview that aired today on "GMA."

Besides the hip, Obama said, "She had some other problems that were getting worse. You know, we weren't sure, and I'm still not sure, whether she makes it to Election Day.

"We're all praying and we hope she does," he said.

His grandmother's illness has turned Obama's stretch run for the White House into a bittersweet moment. He is leading John McCain, in most polls, yet also faces the possible loss of the most influential person in his life while he was growing up.

"One of the things I want to make sure of is that I had a chance to sit down with her and talk to her," Obama told Roberts. "She's still alert and she's still got all her faculties. And I want to make sure that I don't miss that opportunity right now."

Obama has also said publicly that he regrets not returning to his mother's bedside before she died of cancer, as he overestimated how much time she had to live, and he doesn't want to make the same mistake twice.

Source: abcnews.go.com

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