Obama leaves campaign trail to visit ill grandmother

HONOLULU -- Sen. Barack Obama will cancel his presidential campaign stops and return here Thursday and Friday to visit his maternal grandmother who raised him, the woman he calls "Toot," whose health has suddenly deteriorated.

Madelyn Dunham, 85, recently had to be hospitalized after a fall, and "things have taken a serious turn," said Obama supporter Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii. "It's an accumulation of several difficulties. She's faced a lot of challenges.

"Things have taken a serious enough turn for Sen. Obama to come home," Abercrombie said. "It's his family. Everyone understands what's going on. The campaign is secondary. The campaign has its own velocity, its own trajectory."

Obama's great-uncle, Charles Payne, told The Associated Press that Dunham, his sister,broke her hip. Payne spoke with The Associated Press in a brief telephone interview Tuesday from his home in Chicago.

Dunham has already voted for Obama through absentee balloting, "which she was very happy about," Abercrombie said. "She's very, very strong-willed. We have every confidence she's putting up a good struggle. Obviously, we wish Sen. Obama was coming back home under a little bit different circumstance. But any time in Hawaii will strengthen his resolve."

After her hospitalization, Dunham last week returned to the Beretania Street apartment where she raised Obama.

Obama regularly speaks about the important role that Dunham plays in his life. During an August family vacation in Honolulu, Obama told reporters that his grandmother was "sharp as a tack" but is struggling with osteoporosis that limits her mobility.

"She is somebody who helped raise me, and she's the last person of the generation ahead of me who's still living, so it means a lot to me to spend time with her," he said.

Obama grew up calling Dunham "Toot," short for "tutu," the local word for grandparent. Her osteoporosis prevented Dunham from joining Obama on the campaign trail, but she does appear in a campaign video.

Obama's decision to cancel campaign stops comes just two weeks before the Nov. 4 presidential election.

"His suspension of his campaign is indicative of his strong affection and love for his grandmother," said state Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd, (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), an early Obama supporter. "The circumstances obviously are very different from the vacation he took in the summer, no question about that. If there are people who think this is some kind of campaign ploy, it's a statement that says more about them than Sen. Obama. Anytime someone is seriously ill, it's a time for prayer and a time for privacy. I would expect that local people will rally silently and spiritually to support him at this time."