Breaking News: Senator Obama Calls Off his Campaign

[pinksirfidel]

Well... for two days! Will there be any consequences?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27287222/

Obama to take break to see sick grandmother
He is scheduled to fly to Hawaii Thursday and Friday to visit her

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama is canceling nearly all his campaign events Thursday and Friday to fly to Hawaii to visit his suddenly ill 85-year-old grandmother, his spokesman said. Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday that Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him, was released from the hospital late last week. But he said her health had deteriorated "to the point where her situation is very serious."
Obama was expected to resume campaigning on Saturday, though Gibbs was unsure where.

Obama events originally planned for Madison, Wis., and Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday will be replaced with one in Indianapolis before he makes the long flight to Hawaii.
Gibbs said it was still being decided whether surrogates would fill in for Obama. His wife, Michelle, for instance, was not accompanying him to Hawaii.

"Senator Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has always been one of the most important people in his life, along with his mother and his grandfather," Gibbs said. "Recently his grandmother has become ill and 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."

Citing the family's desire for privacy, Gibbs would not discuss the nature of Dunham's illness. It seemed likely that she was close to death, as Gibbs said that "everyone understands the decision that Sen. Obama is making."

It could be a momentous one for his bid for the White House against Republican John McCain, with Election Day just two weeks away on Nov. 4.

In a campaign ad this year, Obama described his Dunham as the daughter of a Midwest oil company clerk who "taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland" — things like "accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you'd like to be treated."

She's also the "white grandmother" he referred to in a speech on race.
Obama last visited Hawaii in August, when he spent a week on vacation after clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.

ETA: oops...moderator, please move thread! Sorry

[BabyPiNK_FL]

His grandmother may be dying. I highly doubt that being concerned and pausing will be a huge blow. There aren't many people who would react differently in his position. And if they did, I probably wouldn't vote for them.

In fact, I'm surprised he doesn't just go now. He's doing a huge rally in Miami, but I'd really hate for him to not be there for her just in case.

[UGAalum94]

If anything, I think it helps. It makes him seem compassionate and shows his love for his family.

Pragmatically, if you are ahead, it might be better to be kind of remote so you don't say anything to alienate anyone. Visiting a sick family member is probably one of the best things one could do since you get to be out of the public eye and be sympathetic.

ETA: anyone else love the way they left off "the one he accused of being racist and a typical white person" when the article noted Obama mentioning her in a speech about race?

I realize that it doesn't seem appropriate, but you know they'd do it if it was John McCain or Sarah Palin. Or even if Cindy McCain went to visit her half-sister; it'd be the half-sister that Cindy McCain has frequently failed to note existed. Some folks can't win with the media and others can't lose.

[pinksirfidel]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

ETA: anyone else love the way they left off "the one he accused of being racist and a typical white person" when the article noted Obama mentioning her in a speech about race? I realize that it doesn't seem appropriate, but you know they'd do it if it was John McCain or Sarah Palin.

What good would that do him to mention that? His grandmother is sick.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by pinksirfidel

What good would that do him to mention that? His grandmother is sick.

It wouldn't do good HIM any good. And that's my point.

My criticism is about framing a story so it's most sympathetic to him, without the constant criticism that anyone associated with McCain gets.

ETA: think about it. Why do any of us know anything about the grandmother and what did we know about her before tonight? One of the main things was what he said about her in that speech.

EATA: I'm just cranky because I want to go to Hawaii. I have living grandmother and Hawaii trip envy. (My grandparents all died before I was twenty. He is very fortunate to have his grandmother in his life this long.) PS. I was trying to be bring a little levity to my own comments here; in hindsight, it seems sick. Sorry.

[pinksirfidel]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

It wouldn't do good HIM any good. And that's my point.

My criticism is about framing a story so it's most sympathetic to him, without the constant criticism that anyone associated with McCain gets.

ETA: think about it. Why do any of us know anything about the grandmother and what did we know about her before tonight? One of the main things was what he said about her in that speech.

Tru, when it comes to knowing who his grandmother is. The story did mention Obama's comments about her.

Usually when someone is on their deathbed, their loved ones mention the positives about the person--Not the negatives. You can disagree with your family members, but that doesn't mean you love them any less.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

EATA: I'm just cranky because I want to go to Hawaii. I have living grandmother and Hawaii trip envy. (My grandparents all died before I was twenty. He is very fortunate to have his grandmother in his life this long.) PS. I was trying to be bring a little levity to my own comments here; in hindsight, it seems sick. Sorry.

You know...you really could have kept that part to yourself...

I mean think....going to HAWAII when a loved one is dying?

How much 'fun' is that??

oh...and let's not forget he lived part of his life there BTW....

Hell I wanna go to Hawaii too but not at the expense of possibly having to bury a loved one.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I realize that it doesn't seem appropriate, but you know they'd do it if it was John McCain or Sarah Palin. Or even if Cindy McCain went to visit her half-sister; it'd be the half-sister that Cindy McCain has frequently failed to note existed. Some folks can't win with the media and others can't lose.

Really? Because you'd think if they did that, they'd also mention that John McCain is an adulterer who claims to protect the sanctity of family values yet breaks his marriage vows and calls his wife a cunt in every article. But you're right, some folks just can't win and some folks get a free pass on some pretty egregious behavior.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

Really? Because you'd think if they did that, they'd also mention that John McCain is an adulterer who claims to protect the sanctity of family values yet breaks his marriage vows and calls his wife a cunt in every article. But you're right, some folks just can't win and some folks get a free pass on some pretty egregious behavior.

While they may not do it in every article, they have done it. And they don't even limit the allegations to things they can substantiate. Did you miss the New York Times article about McCain's affair with a lobbyist? Did you see the article on Cindy this week? Did you see the New Yorker article on her in the last few weeks?

[CrackerBarrel]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

Really? Because you'd think if they did that, they'd also mention that John McCain is an adulterer who claims to protect the sanctity of family values yet breaks his marriage vows and calls his wife a cunt in every article. But you're right, some folks just can't win and some folks get a free pass on some pretty egregious behavior.

I think the issue wasn't with not bringing it up, it was with the disingenuous way it was mentioned.

She's also the "white grandmother" he referred to in a speech on race.

To go with your comparison, that would be like, in an article about McCain's ex-wife, saying:

She's also the "wife" he referred to in an off-the-cuff comment about his wife.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

I think the issue wasn't with not bringing it up, it was with the disingenuous way it was mentioned.



To go with your comparison, that would be like, in an article about McCain's ex-wife, saying:

Thanks for understanding this.

I really had in mind a brief snark about the media and not a big derailing.

Why mention the speech but not acknowledge what was said?

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

ETA: anyone else love the way they left off "the one he accused of being racist and a typical white person" when the article noted Obama mentioning her in a speech about race?

I realize that it doesn't seem appropriate, but you know they'd do it if it was John McCain or Sarah Palin. Or even if Cindy McCain went to visit her half-sister; it'd be the half-sister that Cindy McCain has frequently failed to note existed. Some folks can't win with the media and others can't lose.

Seriously?

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by pinksirfidel

Well... for two days! Will there be any consequences?

Just to be clear, he didn't call off or suspend his campaign. He just will not be participating in the campaign for 2 days.

And UGAalum94, I really do think you're making more of the comment than it calls for. Saying what he said about his grandmother =/= calling her a racist. The point was that even people who typically are not racist can still have the occasional racist impulses. It's called human nature, and what matters is so not much that people have those impulses but how they deal with/react to them.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Seriously?

Well, sort of seriously, yes. I think the handling of the issue in the article was more generous that McCain could expect for a comparably controversial statement.

I did get pretty entrenched last night and overstated my limited case, I admit.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

And UGAalum94, I really do think you're making more of the comment than it calls for. Saying what he said about his grandmother =/= calling her a racist. The point was that even people who typically are not racist can still have the occasional racist impulses. It's called human nature, and what matters is so not much that people have those impulses but how they deal with/react to them.

Your point about human nature is certainly a good one, but if you look back and note who and how she was compared, I'm not sure the comment from the speech works as well or is nearly as generous to his grandmother as you do. The "typical white person" I think was probably intended as you suggest here.

I just want to note that I wasn't all fired up about Obama's comments at the time and didn’t even want to attempt to make a whole lot of anti-Obama hay out of it now. I just found the mention of the speech without mentioning the nature of the comments noteworthy. And when I was called on to defend my observation, I did and admittedly went overboard.

[pinksirfidel]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Just to be clear, he didn't call off or suspend his campaign. He just will not be participating in the campaign for 2 days.

Just being a little dramatic! lol... i got the headline from CNN last night!

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I don't see how there would be "consequences" for someone spending time with an ailing relative; I can't imagine that people wouldn't be able to understand how difficult that is, especially with everything else going on in his life.

I remember how hard it was losing a grandmother who I was very clsoe to, and I wasn't nearly as close to her as Obama appears to be to his grandmother.

Perhaps two full days of being off the campaign will allow McCain to get all the media attention! The McCain camp should look at this as an opportunity! Maybe we will see a press conference on friday?!?