Senator Obama is taking a break to fly to Hawaii to be near his sick grandmother. From his speeches, we know that what an important role in Obama’s childhood his grandmother played. He doesn’t have a father, mother, or grandfather. She is one of the last close family members alive. His decision to travel at this critical moment of the elections shows how much he cares for and loves his grandmother. As the Bambara of Mali say, “The motherless child will suckle the grandmother.”