Barack Obama's grandmother dies
Monday November 3, 2008
Categories: Democrats
This just in: Madelyn Dunham, the woman who raised Barack Obama, has died of cancer on the eve of his election as president of the United States. How impossibly tragic. It's utterly, utterly heartbreaking. Only one more day, and she...
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About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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Oh, how terribly sad.
Aaaand, that didn't take long. Only two comments on the Free Republic thread, and these are it:
To: Buddygirl
Oh how convenient that she kicks the bucket the day before the election so he can get the sympathy vote.
2 posted on Monday, November 03, 2008 3:46:50 PM by 2CAVTrooper (Say NO to marxism, say NO to 0bama)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]
To: Buddygirl
Perfectly timed terminal sedation.......
3 posted on Monday, November 03, 2008 3:47:00 PM by Hardshell
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]
Oh, so sad. My heart goes out to the candidate and his family. I only hope she is watching over him from heaven and praying for him at the foot of the mercy seat.
Don't feel like checking, but I give it an hour before the Freepers determine that Obama poisoned her to cover up...
...THE TRUTH.
She stepped forward to raise a child when others would not.
May her memory be eternal.
That's very sad and I'll be praying for him too. I just lost my grandmother two months ago and it's hard no matter how old you are.
Oh no! I'm so sorry for him and for Mrs. Dunham. What a bittersweet memory this week will be for Barak Obama. The best and the worst of his life in the space of two days. The acceptance speech, then off to the funeral. I hope he can take a week of rest and reflection after it's all over. (and before the real work starts...)
Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say unto the Lord, Thou art my hope, and my stronghold; my God, in him will I trust. For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall defend thee under his wings, and thou shalt be safe under his feathers; his faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day; for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day. A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Yea, with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the ungodly. For thou, Lord, art my hope; thou hast set thine house of defence very high. There shall no evil happen unto thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their hands, that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver her; I will set her up, because she hath known my Name. She shall call upon me, and I will hear her; yea, I am with her in trouble; I will deliver her, and bring her to honour. With long life will I satisfy her, and show her my salvation.
Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.
Oh how sad. So tragic. But she must have been miserable. Now she can see her grandson from heaven without being in pain. The one in pain is Barack and his family. I cannot imagine the stress he is feeling. Pray for his health! no matter what the outcome tomorrow...
Perhaps this is the divine mercy at work. She has been called home to God the day before the grandson she raised is defeated in his presidential bid.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon her. And may her grandson do her proud these next four years as he finishes his senatorial term.
Roland, a McCain win would be truly supernatural at this point - and I don't think the Lord is going to intercede.
I feel so sorry for Sen. Obama--my own Granny died two and a half years ago, so I know what it's like. But right at the end of the campaign....... OUCH.
I read an article on NYTimes.com yesterday called Following the Script: Obama, McCain and ‘The West Wing’ which is about the parallels between the election in the sixth and seventh seasons of the show and the current election. At the end of the episode titled Election Day Part 1 Matt Santos' running mate, Leo McGarry, has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. In the next episode (Election Day Part 2) he's pronounced dead.
Right now I'm just shaking my head at the similarities between fiction and reality (oh, and the next President of the US--that would be Obama--was part of the inspiration for the Santos character). What the...........??
Our condolences to President-Elect Obama.
Tragic.
Zechronam l'vracha (Z"L) May her memory be a blessing.
Wow, Roland de Chanson, you're a class act all the way.
My grandmother passed away when I was a young boy. That was a very long time ago. I loved her like crazy.
After all these years, it still brings tears to my eyes to think about her. Every once in a while I drive past her house, where I remember nothing but the pure joy and ecstatic freedom of youth. My grandmother and my grandfather were warm, loving, and absolutely fabulous.
I cannot imagine the profound loss for Mr. Obama.
I pray for peace and I pray for the healing of our country.
http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/i_hope_this_is_in_good_taste.php
The always good Ta-Nesi Coates:
Likewise, I was looking at this picture of Obama's grandparents and thinking how much he looks like his grandfather. And suddenly, for whatever reason, I was struck by the fact that they had made the decision to love their daughter, no matter what, and love their grandson, no matter what. I'd bet money that they never even thought of themselves as courageous, that they didn't give much thought to the broader struggles in the the world at the time. They were just doing what right, honorable people do. But the fact is that, in the 60s, you could be disowned for falling in love with a black woman or black man. There is a reason why we have a long history of publicly biracial black people, but not so much of publicly biracial white people.
We often give a pass to racists by noting that they were "of their times." Fair enough, and I know Hawaii was a different beast, but still, today, let us speak of people who were ahead of their times, who were outside of their times. Let us remember that Barack Obama learned the great lessons of life from courageous white people. Let us speak of those who do what normal, right people should always do when faced with a child--commit an act love. Here's to doing the right thing.
---------
Rest in peace, Mrs. Dunham. You done good.
The woman who raised Barack Obama when his own mother was unable to do so dies the day before he is predicted by all the polls to be elected.
What does it mean? Why did she die on this day of all days? This is one of those myteries -- the inscrutable workings of a God whose power and majesty and magnificence we can only guess at.
Nothing in this life -- even seeing your own grandson become elected to the highest office in this good and generous country -- can compare with the beatific vision of God. And so we should not feel sad for her but rejoice for her and hope that enjoys reunion with her creator.
Barack Obama remains a mystery to us. This good and generous woman who died today never gave an interview to a reporter -- and never spoke into a camera or a tape recorder to talk about her grandson. Thus we will never have via her a glimpse into the heart of this man likely to become the 44th President of the U.S. A few pictures of her with her grandson, and an unfortunate reference to her racial attitudes in a speech by Barack Obama in April: that pretty much sums up all that we know.
How odd.
Both of his natural parents -- and the grandfather who raised him -- died before he rose to prominence. Only the grandmother remained among his closest family who lived to see him earn a major party nomination, and now she has left us -- the very day before his likely election -- a voiceless witness to his past.
Why? What does it mean?
"Why? What does it mean?"
Maybe god is testing the haters - to see if they can behave like decent human beings, just for one day or so, during a Presidential campaign.
Reaganite: Why? What does it mean?
What a lovely reflection, RNYC. I don't think there can be a clear answer this side of heaven, but the circumstances of Madelyn Dunham's passing certainly do seem to be fraught with providential mystery. It's one of those moments in life when the proper response is not to try to figure it out, but simply to recognize it, and to say in all sincerity, in the quietness of one's heart, "Thy will be done."
Socrates: Maybe god is testing the haters - to see if they can behave like decent human beings, just for one day or so, during a Presidential campaign.
How graceless. RNYC invites us all to contemplate the mystery and poignancy of Obama's grandmother dying on the eve of what is likely to be his total triumph, and you can't think of anything else to say except to purpose the event into a partisan cheap shot.
I have been praying for Obama and his grandmother since I found out she was so sick. How tragic that she died just hours before she watched her grandson (most likely) make history. Surely this would have been her victory too, as she has probably been the most influential person in his life. For better or worse, she made him the man he is.
A similar situation has happened to Charlie Manuel, the head coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. His father died when he was young, and he dedicated his entire life to helping his mother raise his 9 (or 10, I do not remember exactly) siblings. His mother, who was his best friend, and biggest influence died just days before she was able to see her son win the World Series, the greatest accomplishment of his life.
I only pray that both of these woman are still able to watch their little boys are achieve greatness
Socrates: Wow, Roland de Chanson, you're a class act all the way.
Your cheap shot is noted. If it not above your intellectual paygrade, you might try reading my post. Slowly. Sounding out the words.
To spell it out for you: Rod's point was that Obama's election is a fait accompli and it is tragic that the grandmother will not get to see her grandson make history. Given the truth of the premise, I would agree with the conclusion.
But Divine Omniscience may have foreseen otherwise, viz. that Obama will be defeated. In that case, the grandmother, already beset with a terrible illness and on the verge of death, has by the Divine Mercy been spared the disappointment of witnessing her grandson's defeat as the last mortal impression she has on this earth.
Do you understand now? Or is the hubris evinced by your choice of ludicrously inappropriate eponym exceeded only by an obtuseness that your hero never showed?
Socrates: Maybe god is testing the haters - to see if they can behave like decent human beings, just for one day or so, during a Presidential campaign.
That, I take it, is an example of how we're being brought together? Glad we got that clarified early.
If she was suffering in her final days, I'm glad that struggle is over. What a great woman, surely she'll be proud tonight no matter the outcome.
Rod writes: "I don't think there can be a clear answer this side of heaven, but the circumstances of Madelyn Dunham's passing certainly do seem to be fraught with providential mystery."
Everything is fraught with 'providential' mystery. You'd do just as well to read tea leaves or a Rorschach inkblot.
In any case, it often seems that as adults, the accomplishments that mean the most to us are always bittersweet.
At first I was shocked and agreed with you all, how tragic not to see her grandson achieve the presidency. Then, I thought about my faith, and thought how much better to be pain free and enjoying Barack's (or Barry as she called him) victory with her husband and Barack's mom together up above. Sweet.
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