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" As both candidates gear up for the home stretch of election season, Barack Obama announced that he would cancel all his appearances today and tomorrow so that he could visit his grandmother in Hawaii, who is very ill. He plans to return to the campaign on Saturday. A lot of us know what it feels like to be close to a grandparent, but taking time off this late in the game could be a risky move for the campaign. Some worry that the visit will cost Obama valuable face-to-face time in these critical last few weeks, when every appearance counts. But others say that Obama&amp;#039;s choice reinforces his family values, which could be helpful at a time when Republicans have targeted his identity. So taking the time off could actually help his campaign! But when it comes to visiting his grandmother, there&amp;#039;s no reason to think Obama has political strategy in mind. The Dem nominee has often talked about his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who raised Obama from the time he was ten until he went off to college and always put his needs first. Obamaspoke of his grandmother at his speech at the DNC, explaining, &amp;quot;She&amp;#039;s the one who taught me about hard work... She the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me.&amp;quot; Click hereto find out more about the special relationship Barack has with his grandma from the New York Times. Watch Obama explain his decision below:      What do you think about Obama&amp;#039;s decision to cancel his appearances? Tell us below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/a3022/obama-visits-grandmother/>