News - Obama's grandmother has died

[Dan McLaughlin]

Just heard it on the news. I'm glad he took time off to visit her. Brings back memories of my own grandmothers.

[sekhmet]

Oh my, that is so sad.

[mccoyblues]

yes that is sad news. Just a few days short of making history.

[Fingerplucked]

Sad. Too bad she didn't make it just a little bit longer.

[Deleted]

That's very sad

[Tim Alexander (fmrly. Camalex)]

She is watching I am sure....

...but this is very sad news.

[Deleted]

Prayers for the family. No good time for such and event but this has to be especially tough the day before the election.

[dradtke]

She musta been a pretty strong lady, and a pretty good grandmother.

[Supertramp78]

She did good. Thoughts to her family.

She'll have a great seat to watch the returns.

[patrick]

Obama's grandmother, family 'rock', dies on election eve

WASHINGTON (AFP) — In a tragic twist to his White House campaign, Barack Obama announced on the eve of election day, that the grandmother who brought him up had died, aged 86.

A tearful Obama, who stands on the historic threshold of becoming the first black US president, told 25,000 supporters here that Madelyn Dunham had passed away in her sleep at her Hawaii home after a long battle with cancer.

The Democrat lauded Dunham, who raised him when his anthropologist mother was studying in Indonesia, as one of America's "quiet heroes," and delivered an impassioned vow to work for all such heroes if elected to the White House.

Obama had dashed to his grandmother's side in Hawaii two weeks ago, fearing she would not live to see what polls suggest may be his triumph against Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election.

His voice thick with grief, the 47-year-old Illinois senator thanked McCain for an "incredibly gracious" statement of condolence, and said this was a "bitter-sweet time for me."

"She is going home," he said. "So there is great joy as well as tears."

Obama recapped his grandmother's life from her birth in 1922 and her marriage to his grandfather, their struggles through the Great Depression and with his infant mother through World War II.

"She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America," said Obama, who was criticized for remarking on his grandmother's latent racial prejudice after a storm over incendiary sermons by his former pastor.

"They're not famous. Their names aren't in the newspapers," he said.

"But each and every day they work hard. They sacrifice for their children and their grandchildren. They aren't seeking the limelight. All they try to do is just do the right thing.

"And in this crowd there are a lot of quiet heroes like that, mothers and fathers, grandparents who have worked hard and sacrificed all their lives," drawing satisfaction from the hope of a better life for their own offspring.

In a joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng Obama said "it is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer."

"She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility.

"She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.

"She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure."

Obama campaign spokeswoman Linda Douglass said Obama had learned of Dunham's passing on Monday before his first rally in Jacksonville, Florida, but he showed no obvious signs of distress during the event.

Dunham died between four and five a.m. eastern time, she said.

Dunham, known affectionately to her grandson as "Toot," helped raise Obama, who barely knew his Kenyan-born father.

Since his mother died from cancer over a decade ago, she was Obama's last surviving close older relative.

"Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time," the Obama family statement said.

"It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date.

"In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer.

Dunham had been in fragile health, suffering from osteoporosis and cancer. Her health had further deteriorated after she recently broke her hip.

Along with his mother, Ann Dunham, a white American from Kansas, Madelyn Dunham raised Obama and grounded him despite his rocky childhood after his Kenyan-born father deserted the family.

Obama paid moving tribute to her in his Democratic National Convention speech in Denver in August.

"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," he said.

"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."

Unlike Obama's wife Michelle and young daughters Malia and Sasha, Obama's grandmother never entered the spotlight during the campaign due to her frail health.

The only direct contact voters have had with her is through old photographs showing a youthful Obama with his grandmother and grandfather, who served in the US army in World War II. Madelyn Dunham worked on a bomber production line.