Obama campaign rolls on despite visit to sick grandmother

Barack Obama has arrived in Hawaii to visit his sick grandmother for what is expected to be a 24-hour break from his campaign. The Democratic presidential hopeful said his family had to come first and went straight to the home of Madelyn Dunham, who is said to be gravely ill.

Meanwhile his running mate Joe Biden has been charged with keeping the Obama presidential bandwagon rolling. With a ten point lead in the latest opinion poll, Biden could afford a humorous poke at Republican rival John McCain: “Just today, John McCain tried to compare Barack Obama to George Bush. No really…. I mean….talk about the willing suspension of disbelief,” joked Joe Biden

But the polls are not all bad news for McCain, the Democrat’s lead has been cut from an earlier 12 point advantage. With Obama temporarily out of the fray the Republican candidate has been in Florida ramming home his message at his rival’s expense.

“He believes in redistributing the wealth not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all Americans. Senator Obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie that he is in growing the pie,” said John McCain

In the past the Republican party has tended to benefit from early voting which is taking place in 34 states – the ballot papers however will not be counted until the day of the election.

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