Posted on 10/21/2008 1:50:27 AM PDT by LisaAnne
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama will leave the presidential campaign trail to visit his ailing 85-year-old grandmother in Hawaii, whose health has deteriorated in recent weeks, an aide said on Monday.
With two weeks left in an intense battle for the White House, Obama will hold a campaign event in Indianapolis on Thursday and then fly to Hawaii to see his grandmother before returning to campaigning on Saturday, aide Robert Gibbs said.
"Senator Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has always been one of the most important people in his life," Gibbs said in a statement.
"Along with his mother and his grandfather, she raised him in Hawaii from the time he was born until the moment he left for college."
The campaign interruption comes as both candidates head into a final sprint for the November 4 election. Obama criticized Republican White House rival John McCain for a "say-anything, do-anything" political style as he launched a two-day tour to kick off early voting in Florida.
McCain told supporters in Missouri that "nothing is inevitable" and he could still beat Obama, who leads in national opinion polls as the pair began a frenzied race to the finish line.
Obama's former Democratic rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, joined the Illinois senator at a rally of 50,000 people in Orlando.
"In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over," Obama said. "We've seen it before. Hillary has been subject to it before.
"We're seeing again today -- ugly phone calls, misleading mail and TV ads, careless, outrageous statements -- all aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change," he said.
Obama noted McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, told reporters on Sunday that if she called the shots she would end the automated phone calls being made by McCain's campaign, including some that link Obama with 1960s radical Bill Ayers.
"You have to work really hard to violate Gov. Palin's standards on negative campaigning," Obama said.
McCain defended the calls, shrugging off Palin's remarks in an interview to be aired on Tuesday morning.
"Well, Sarah is a maverick," McCain told CBS' "Early Show." "That robocall is absolutely accurate and by the way, Senator Obama's campaign is running robocalls as we speak."
Florida a battleground
Obama planned to spend two days in Florida to encourage voters to cast their ballots early in the battleground state, which has 27 electoral votes and is vital for either candidate in their quest for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
Standing on stage next to Obama, Clinton highlighted the financial crisis as she urged Florida voters to choose Obama.
"Now is the time to close the deal for Barack Obama and close the book on eight years of failed Republican leadership," she said, linking McCain to President George W. Bush.
"Sending the Republicans to clean up the economic mess in Washington is like sending the bull to clean up the china closet." It was the third time Clinton and Obama have campaigned together since he clinched the Democratic nomination in June.
A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll showed Obama with a 6-point edge on McCain. A new CNN poll gave Obama a 5-point lead among likely voters, down from an 8-point edge two weeks ago. Other polls also showed a tightening race.
At a rally outside Kansas City, Missouri, McCain jumped on comments from Obama's running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, that Obama would be tested with an international crisis within six months of becoming president.
"We don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars," McCain said.
"Senator Obama won't have the right response, and we know that because we've seen the wrong response from him over and over during this campaign."
Obama touted his endorsement from Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"He will have a role as one of my advisers," Obama said on NBC's "Today" a day after earning the endorsement of Powell, who is also a retired four-star general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that's a good fit for him, is something we'd have to discuss."
And close to death, she got released from the hospital and went home like a typical uninsured person.
OTOH, maybe 0bama arranged for home care so Grandma wouldn’t let slip anything “sensitive” to hospital personnel. He can certainly afford to set up hospital-quality care for her in her home. So she could be dying, but in a controlled environment.
Not only that, but as I understand it he is suppose to resume his campaign rally schedule less than 48 hours later.
I hate to be cynical but could it be that BHO’s internals are showing that he’s in decline in the polls and this would shut up the other side since his grandmother is in “decline”? Just a thought. Since I have watched dems for years, nothing they would do would surprise me. The McCain campaign has to keep on doing what they are doing! I am afraid John McCain will go all wobbly on us!
Last time I heard Barama speak of Granny he was calling her a racist.
There will be a very special place in h@ll for people who treat their grandparents like that.
I agree. It is disgraceful if he did indeed treat them like that.
Apparently when Obama was in Hawaii, or is it Hawai’i, he visited his granmother for 1 hour only. One would think he would have spent at least an hour and 15 minutes with someone who raised him.
We are getting some interesting rumors that while Hillary is “campaigning” for Obama, her people have been steadily working for McCain.
Sorry, I think it’s an “emergency” trip for his ailing birth certificate fight. Grannie has little to do with it.
He’s going just to stand on the oxygen hose.
Here’s a possibility: Obama got the fix in when he took that week off & went to Hawaii. This showdown will require his attention to make sure it goes off without a hitch.
How noble. That old racist white woman kept him down all those years and he still has the grace to go see her.
If memory serves me, you and I tangled earlier this year. You want another piece of me? That what this is about?
If she is so sick, how does he know she’ll hang in there until after Thursday? Sounds suspicious to me.
I agree. This is about his birth certificate. Why aren’t Michelle and the girls going?
If memory serves me, you and I tangled earlier this year. You want another piece of me? That what this is about?
I don’t remember so it must not have been that good. Obviously it still bothers you. When discussing conservative matters, I may be passionate especially when talking to liberals like yourself. I am not mad one bit.
Very True. If she was “gravely ill” and “near death”, why would Hussein wait 96 hours to leave. Especially for an 86 year old. People that old will can pass so quickly. So waiting 96 hours really does not make any sense. Why did he not leave last week when she was in the hospital?
Also, McCain has all the “MO” in the campaign now (all polls and state polls are tightenting up and he is beginning to lead in some of them). To leave the campaign now for a few days would be damaging. This is especially true for someone like Hussein who is a narcissist.
Timing is everything. This is happening when a an emergency filing is made to the Hawaii Supreme Court. If he has to appear in court as a result of this trial, then we will know it had nothing to do with his sick grandmother.
BTW, he was supposed to register in early Aug. 1980...by law.
My money is on a little strong arming about to go on in Hawaii.....and yeah, I am a cynic.
” funny how its the same time Andy Martin is about to drop the bomb on his eligibility in HAWAII. “
Interesting choice of words; I was just wondering if he was going to get Ayers to blow up the record-keeping facility.
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