HONOLULU, Aug. 9, 2008
Obama Begins Hawaiian Vacation
Democrat Plans To Visit His Grandmother, Bodysurf "At Undisclosed Location"
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his wife Michelle Obama speak at welcoming ceremony at the Keehi Lagoon Beach Park, Friday, August 8, 2008 in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
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In-Depth VP Hot Sheet: Obama CBSNews.com ranks the top contenders to be Obama's running mate.
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Obama's campaign plane arrived Friday, with 17 of his friends and family members filling the seats normally occupied by his traveling advisers. The band included his wife, Michelle, 10-year-old daughter Malia and 7-year-old daughter Sasha.
They were staying with friends and family on Oahu, where his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and 85-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, live. Obama's grandmother helped raise him, but Obama has said osteoporosis keeps her from traveling and instead she follows campaign coverage closely on CNN.
He told reporters Thursday that time with the family was worth ceding the campaign spotlight to Republican rival John McCain. The vacation was timed for the start of the Olympics when the country's attention would likely be diverted from politics anyway.
"I am going to see my grandma, who I haven't seen in almost 18, 19 months, and who's getting to the age that I want to make sure I am spending time with her on a consistent basis and so she can see her great-grandchildren," he said. "And I want to spend some time with those children as well.
"We had a very long primary, we had the longest primary in history, and so I can imagine folks need a break from politics," he said. "I think that the majority of people had been fed a constant stream of political chatter, and I am sure that having a couple of weeks off and enjoying the Olympics is probably what the doctor ordered for everybody."
Obama had a little work to do - he spoke at a welcome ceremony at Keehi Lagoon Beach Park upon his arrival and on Tuesday he was to headline a sold-out $2,300-per-person fundraiser.
"We're not here to politic," Obama told supporters gathered at the park. "I'm going to go body surfing at an undisclosed location. I'm going to see my tutu, my grandmother. I'm going to watch my girls play on the beach."
He talked some politics, promising to help address soaring food and gas prices that are hitting Hawaii especially hard because of increased shipping costs and thanking residents for supporting him in the caucus. He said he carries the "aloha spirit" with him on the campaign to help those in need. "It's that spirit that I'm convinced is what America is looking for right now," he said.
The events made Hawaii the 48th state that Obama has campaigned in, an extraordinary sweep for modern presidential campaigns that have focused on a smaller number of early primary states and general election battlegrounds. But the long primary campaign took him to almost every state - Arkansas and Alaska are the only two where he hasn't stumped for votes in person.
Obama planned to stay on Oahu until Aug. 15, and he promised the slimmed-down press corps that accompanied him on the flight over that he would introduce them to the island favorite treat of shave ice at some point during the stay. Campaign aides said the destination was chosen in part because it offers a secluded beach where he can relax with his family out of the public eye, and they are trying to avoid the pictures of him in his bathing suit that appeared in celebrity magazines after his last visit in December 2006.
The time away will also give Obama a chance for reflection on his running mate selection. He'll return from vacation with just nine days until the convention, a short window to announce his pick. He told reporters he'll be working on his convention speech while he's Hawaii.
Obama was born in Hawaii. His Kansas-born mother and Kenyan father met as students at the University of Hawaii.
His father left when he was a toddler, and his mother later remarried an Indonesian who moved the family to his home country when Obama was in elementary school. Obama returned to Hawaii without his mother after four years, lived with his grandparents in a modest apartment and got a scholarship to attend a prestigious private high school.
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See all 124 CommentsEarly when they were desparately trying to show McCain was fit they claimed he was going back packing this summer in the Grand Canyon- BACK PACKING! That''s about the ultimate elitist tree hugging vacation there is!
At least Obama was born in America- unlike John McCain who was born in an Hispanic country- his election would defy our Constitution that provides only native born shall serve as US President.
Then look at where McCain lives- Sedona, Arizona- that''s about the most elitist place in the US- also it''s the center of the so-called "new age" anti-Christain movement including the US center for the Rajneesh cult (Osho) that was responsible for the only bio-terror attack in the history of the US- talk about wierd places to pick to live- why would any body pick an anti-Christian community to live- come on it makes San Francisco look like the Vatican!
Posted by trrrorislamx at 06:27 PM : Aug 10, 2008
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Your mama will, so don''t worry, turkey.
Posted by lopezf11 at 01:43 PM : Aug 10, 2008
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And so is Bush, you idiot. And Bush is your president, not Obama.
Posted by hungry1968
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And no one knows it but you? Get a life, you idiot!
will his grandmother???
HEY HUSSEIN,,,
is the iraq war lost???
imbicile DEMONIC-RAT reid says so,,,
Obama Begins Hawaiian Vacation
Demonic-rat Plans To Visit His Grandmother, Bodysurf "At Undisclosed Location"
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=HAWAII+SHARK ATTACKS
could he be looking for a better forgery of his BIRTH CERTIFICATE???
Is Obama%u2019s %u201CFight The Smears%u201D Passing Off A Fraudulent Document As His %u201CCertificate of Live Birth%u201D?
Barack Obama%u2019s Achilles heel?
This may be the most damning evidence to date. Obama may be over the barrel now, once and for all.
Janice Okubo, Director of Communications of the State of Hawaii Department of Health confirms all earlier suspicions of a forgery.
The million dollar question remains. What is Obama hiding?
Faked certificate suggests that Obama may not be %u201Cnatural born%u201D US citizen
It is now a certainty that the %u201Cbirth certificate%u201D claimed by the Barack Obama campaign as authentic is a photoshopped fake.
The image, purporting to come from the Hawaii Department of Health, has been the subject of intense skepticism in the blogosphere in the past two weeks. But now the senior spokesman of that Department has confirmed to Israel Insider what are the required features of a certified birth document %u2014 features that Obama%u2019s purported %u201Cbirth certificate%u201D clearly lack.
http://conservablogs.com/velvethammer/2008/06/25/obamas-fight-the-smears-daily-kos-are-passing-off-a-fraudulent-document-as-his-certificate-of-live-birth/
This is one issue that is not like a typical rumor or smear. It MUST be settled before the convention.
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Posted by hungry1968
John McCain, who ran for the Republican party nomination in 2000 and is the presumptive Republican nominee in 2008, was born at the Coco Solo U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone to U.S. parents. Although the Panama Canal Zone was not considered to be part of the United States, federal law states that "Any person born in the Canal Zone on or after February 26, 1904, and whether before or after the effective date of this chapter, whose father or mother or both at the time of the birth of such person was or is a citizen of the United States, is declared to be a citizen of the United States". The law that conferred this status took effect on August 4, 1937, one year after John McCain was born %u2014 albeit with retrospective effect, resulting in McCain being declared a U.S. citizen from birth.
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Remember Kerry''s wind-surfing vacation in lieu of campaigning? (Kerry could power the sail just by reciting one of his speeches. Reportedly, hussein can do the same for a 50-foot schooner.)
I guess all shallow, arrogant, platitude-spouting, elitist, inexperienced, narcissistic, flip-flopping gas-bags would rather vacation than work hard.
Hopefully, the voters will treat the new Kerry just as did for the original.
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Posted by Besscannon at 11:55 AM
Um, you do know he is a US Senator with a salary of $150,000, right? Even without all his campaign money, he isn''t exactly poor.
Posted by Besscannon at 11:55 AM
you are joking, right? Or just hating with no idea what you are talking about? He is going to see his family who LIVES there, duh. do you ever go to see your family on vacation?
Remember "King George" comments and cartoons? Step back and think, people, before you make another terrible mistake. One more like Bush, and this country will be lost as is and become another third world country. Another arrogant, big-headed president that thinks he should have a monarch''s powers and calls himself "The Decider" will be fatal to our way of life. I don''t see where Obama will be about change, except to try to change "White Supremacy" into "Black Supremacy". I don''t think he has the smarts enough to deal with the big problems we have facing us. I can see him being too elitist and indulging in lots of finery and posh for himself and friends. HOW is that going to help us?
Posted by sparkyforfun at 10:34 AM : Aug 10, 2008
Name ONE ISSUE that McCain DID NOT change his position on -- just ONE.
And please tell us all, how he could oppose offshore drilling in March, and then support it in June, in exchange for $1.3 million in campaign donations.
Tell us how he said in January that we were better off than we were 8 years ago, but this week he said we were worse off than four years ago.
This should be good for a laugh.....
Then that person better not be a politician because they all do it. Try reading sometime.
Posted by thcarson at 09:19 AM : Aug 10, 2008
I''m not questioning his citizenship - I''m just pointing out the fact that according to the LAW, he''s not allowed to run for president.
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