BlogHer - Leaving the campaign for his grandma: that is presidential leadership - Comments

Barack and Family

Cynthia Samuels — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:18:58 -0500

Morra we're so lucky to have you here taking note of this. Honestly it never occurred to me that he would NOT go, and you're right to praise the decision. It's moving and sad - I just hope she lives to see him elected.

I have learned over the years that what we regret most are the moments like this one that we didn't seize. I hate to say it, but Barbara Bush, in her great 1990 speech at Wellesley said it best:

At the end of your life, you will never regret not having
passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not
closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a
husband, a child, a friend or a parent.

It is a credit to Obama and the kind of leader he will be, and partner he is, that this fact is very clear to him.

(ALSO Ellen Bravo wrote a nice piece about the policy implications of all this: http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/102208.html)

Cynthia Samuels, Partner
Cobblestone Associates, LLP
Blog and Media Strategies and Content Development Online and on Television

Don’t
Gel Too Soon

"This is no stunt"

Mom101 — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:49:43 -0500

I'm so glad to see that quote because I've been seeing that very accusation on the conservative blogs in comments. It's hard to fathom that the divisive rhetoric has hit such a point, that compassion can't be omnipartisan.

Mom-101

Barack Did The Right Thing

MiaHysteria — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:59:19 -0500

Barack did the right thing!

I think the fact that he left to be with his family was the honorable and right thing to do. It seems to me that he doesn't allow media or others who don't truly matter (because in the scheme of things, it's family that matters, right?) run his life or his decisions; that is something I can honor, respect and "look up to".

Good for him. My thoughts are with him and his family.

~Mia.

My blog is General Hysteria~

This shows what Barak Obama is about.

AngieLaa — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:39:13 -0500

I agree with you! This shows that his is a family man and don't we look for that in a president? It also shows he hasn't gotten so wrapped up in everything that is going on and forgot where he came from. I applaud him for that and the rest of America should too. All those people who are talking negatively about it should really take a look at what is important in life.

Angela

www.moving-along.com - My personal blog

www.hotter-than-biscuits.com - A website just about what chicks like.

www.talking-gossip.info - Website for Gossip Girl Podcast

Leaving the campaign for his grandma: that is presidential leadership

Morra Aarons Mele — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:30:51 -0500

Pundits debated Barack Obama’s decision to suspend campaigning for 36 hours and visit his sick grandmother, the woman who raised him from age 10. I guess they can be forgiven for a little cynicism, given McCain’s fake suspension last month to go to Washington, DC and “help” with the bailout plan in Congress. But I applaud Obama’s decision and I pray for his grandmother, who Obama has said “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." The Washington Post quoted Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, "everyone understands the decision that Sen. Obama is making." Dunham turns 86 on Sunday.

I’ve written before how the Obama family unit gives me hope for a new family model in our country. And I was so distressed that Hillary Clinton never took a single day off during primary season. We’re struggling with so many issues right now around work and family. In hard times, especially, it is tempting to throw oneself into work for fear of losing security. And while Obama offers a comprehensive plan for working families, perhaps the most important policy example he can set lies within his own behavior. Sometimes, you do have to prioritize the personal, no matter how large the risk. How many times have you wished to put family first at work, only to feel as if you'd be punished or derided if you did so?

Ms. Verite Parlant writes,

“His trip to see his grandmohter [sic] shows Obama's strength of character. A man who has the courage to leave the campaign trail for two days to check on the woman who helped raise him is unselfish, not a grasping, power-hungry fool. It also shows us that Obama honestly believes that family is important and he values people and knows how to love. We need a man like that in the White House, someone who will do what's best for his national family and not himself.”

Liz Gumbinner says,

“Not only that, it's Michelle who's stepping in for him and taking over on the campaign trail in his absence. I could imagine Cindy McCain doing the same, but can't say I could see Todd Palin filling those heels. I love seeing how they're pulling together as a family when in crisis. It says a lot about the strength of their relationship and their value system when the chips are down.”

The New York Times quotes Ross Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers, “I think that perhaps inadvertently, and perhaps tragically, this is showing a side of him that even the best and most eloquent presentations of himself can’t achieve. This is no stunt. This is the act of a loving grandchild.”

Indeed, Obama has written of his regret of missing important family events. He’s written of his grief that he didn’t get to say goodbye to his mother as she was dying, and we've heard of Michelle’s struggles when Barack was at the Illinois State House. Michelle Obama was left to shoulder most of the parenting (and breadwinning) on her own, and one senses this was an issue for Obamas. So I take it heart that now, at a vulnerable time, Obama has chosen to put his family first to see his grandmother in Hawaii. That is leadership, and it feels deeply, truly human too.