Presidential candidate Barack Obama is canceling nearly all of his upcoming campaign events for this Thursday and Friday to fly to Hawaii to visit his grandmother, who has fallen seriously ill.
Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise Obama and whom he cites as a major influence on his life, was released from a hospital last week, but her condition has since “deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious.”
Oh no, it sounds bad.
A spokeswoman said that instead of separate events on Thursday in Madison, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa, there will be one event in Inidianopolis before Obama departs for his grandmother’s bedside. His wife, Michelle, will take his place on Friday at rallies in Akron and Columbus, Ohio.
Obama will return to the campaign trail on Saturday, somewhere on the westcoast.
Out of respect for the family, the exact nature of Dunham’s illness was not stated, although it is speculated that the situation is quite grave since “everyone understands the decision that Senator Obama is making.”
Sadness!!!
Obama has often cited his grandmother as a great influence on his development, and mentioned her at length when he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, saying, “She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.”
We understand his urgency too and we wish him the best as well.
[Image via WENN.]
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