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."
“not very compassionate of you. It’s one thing to bash Obama, but when his relative is gravely ill, that’s another matter.”
His (”typical white person”) grandma means nothing to him. He abandoned her long ago for political purposes. Even if she is ill, if he’s going to see her it’s only for appearances. This from another thread:
“Monday (today) we petitioned the Hawai’i Supreme Court to order Obama’s secret birth records released.
How did Obama respond? He suddenly discovered that his grandmother, who had supposedly been released from her hospital a week ago, when he showed no interest in her, needed his immediate attention. Cool, calm, collected Obama suddenly suspended his campaign and headed for Hawai’i.
Obama did not pay any attention to his grandmother until I showed up in Honolulu. Suddenly she is the center of his attention. She is so central to his campaign that he has suspended it! But when Obama was here last summer he only visited his grandmother for an hour. One hour! Now he suspends his campaign for her?”
Sorry you bought in to Obama’s scam.
She is close to death? Then why was he not on a plane last night? Is he trying to be like Jesus and Lazarus? When he gets there will his grandmother miraculasy recover?
I heard on tv Obama’s coming to Indianapolis after his granny visit. He’s in Fla today getting early voting illegal aliens to the polls.
boyfriend need hush money?
His plane smells too.
Obama made more cell calls and emails to Rail Odinga in Kenya than what he’s done for his grandmother. An hour and a fruitbasket? He’s stingey too. Liberals want everyone else to sacrifice for the greater good but don’t touch their piece of the pie.
“”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.”
Say what? What about all those years he spent with his step father in Indonesia?
This story just keeps changing doesn’t it?
Will the real Barak Obama please stand up!
“What about all those years he spent with his step father in Indonesia?”
Yeah, the picture circulated of him sitting with his Indonesian muslim step-dad, his mother and baby sister in Indonesia...sure didn’t look like his grandmother was around......hhhhhmmmmm
SO he didn’t think that doing his job and dealing with the financial crisis was important enough to “suspend his campaign”, and chastised McCain for doing so, but he DOES think that visiting his sick Grandmother is a good reason to “suspend his campaign”.
I agree with you, but we are dealing with the dhims that have an absolute lust for absolute power over those that will never submit to their demands.
Extremity in the defense of liberty is no vice.
McCuda08
the Deets
What about that NY Slimes article on Cindy McCain?!?
Kinda destroys your argument.
McCuda08
the Deets
“”You have to work really hard to violate Gov. Palin’s standards on negative campaigning,” Obama said.”
Pretty harsh slam to make while crying about cheap shots. Good grief.
“Ever had a parent or grandparent seriously ill ? Do you really think you’d be thinking about how their illness would be good for your career ? This is one area - illness of an opposing candidate’s relative, that should be offlimits.”
Ever hear Joe Biden trying to gather sympathy for his poor dead wife, who he claimed was “killed by a drunk driver>” Total BS. Saying she negligently pulled out in front of a truck wouldn’t have been quite as much of a tear jerker. These are socialists, my friend and they will use ANTHING. The ends justify the means.
terrible is an Obamatroll.
“Ever hear Joe Biden trying to gather sympathy for his poor dead wife, who he claimed was “killed by a drunk driver>” Total BS. Saying she negligently pulled out in front of a truck wouldn’t have been quite as much of a tear jerker. These are socialists, my friend and they will use ANTHING. The ends justify the means”
What if your wife/husband and child were killed. No matter the circumstances it would not be ok with you for someone else to talk this way about them and to be this disrespectful of a life changing and tragic loss to your family. Please temper your hate.
Please temper your hate.
***Troll alert.
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