# Was Obama wrong to go visit his sick grandmother? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268 "2008-10-23T23:01:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/21 "2008-10-24T07:00:55Z")
I have donated to Obama and have no problem with him using the campaign plane for this. It’s not like it is taxpayer money as in McCain’s case. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/22 "2008-10-24T08:28:51Z")
Well, I would enjoy seeing this Republican spokesperson fired outright and drummed out of the Corp. I would also enjoy learning that he/she had been officially excommunicated or kicked the hell out of whatever, if any, church he/she held membership in and I would further like to see his/her entire family band together to publicly swear they would have nothing further to do with him/her forever unto eternity, amen. And he/she should be made to walk the streets to the city gates while ringing a small bell and wearing a sign bearing the warning “unclean, unclean” and there he/she should meet the final fate of being stoned and I don’t mean by smoking weed. Some of the old ways still have a lot to recommend them. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/23 "2008-10-24T15:03:03Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > It’s his grandma. He should get there by any means he has available, he wants to take. It’s his grandmother, **who raised him** from when Obama returned to the US until he graduated from high school. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/24 "2008-10-24T16:41:38Z")
Of course it wasn’t. The ONLY excuse for the McCain staffer to criticize it would be that he was sick & tired of the piling-on about Palin’s wardrobe expenses & grabbed onto the first thing that came to mind, and that’s still a crappy excuse. However, he did not criticze the visit itself, but the supposed use of a campaign-funded plane to do so. Still crappy. There’s a lot of things I think Obama is just wrong about & I’ll be voting against him because of these. But this is something in his favor. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/25 "2008-10-24T16:42:55Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I’m not an Obama supporter, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him going to see her; she’s his grandmother for God’s sake. Ditto, and shame on the McCain spokesman for trying to make hay out of an ailing grandmother. Jeez, guys. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/26 "2008-10-24T17:15:03Z")
I honestly could not possibly care less if he goes to visit Grandma or not. It’s none of my damn business, and if he wants to take his own private plane and thousand staff members, sure, whatever. That said, the first thing I read about this said that his grandmother was on the brink of immediate death, and I assumed she was sick with cancer or pneumonia or something. Apparently she has a broken hip, which obviously isn’t good, but that’s hardly a life-or-death situation - she’s not even in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/27 "2008-10-24T17:36:55Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > (I don’t like Obama or McCain. I’ll vote for one of 'em, I just won’t like it.) The lesser of two evils is still evil. -Ralph Nader. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/28 "2008-10-24T19:10:09Z")
> [@Obsidian](#): > > Someone requiring the security detail Obama must have can’t just “hump it on a commercial plane”. He’s at the level where the Secret Service tells you how and when you’ll travel. I don’t think McCain’s allowed to just book a seat on Delta, either. > > And if he had. . . can you imagine being the poor slob trying to get to your honeymoon in Hawaii or your business meeting in Sydney and being in the airport or on the plane with Obama and his massive entourage (and the press)? He doesn’t need a massive entourage. The Airport is a secure area and it’s routine to move people behind the scenes to avoid crowds. He could have boarded with a handful of SS without any problem. With that said he can certainly afford to rent a private jet to make the trip. I would go to see my Grandmother. I would also take my family. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/29 "2008-10-24T20:21:52Z")
It was only wrong if he did it for political reasons. Which I see no reason to think he did. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/30 "2008-10-24T20:31:02Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > I honestly could not possibly care less if he goes to visit Grandma or not. It’s none of my damn business, and if he wants to take his own private plane and thousand staff members, sure, whatever. > > That said, the first thing I read about this said that his grandmother was on the brink of immediate death, and I assumed she was sick with cancer or pneumonia or something. Apparently she has a broken hip, which obviously isn’t good, but that’s hardly a life-or-death situation - she’s not even in the hospital. It is a life or death situation when you’re that old, however. > [@](#): > > According to Dr. Jonathan Cluett, an orthopedic surgeon, while the treatments are not technically too complicated, the mortality after a hip fracture is surprisingly high. Mortality rates in the first year following a hip fracture are around 25 percent, and the rates are highest in older populations. The cause of mortality is often due to blood clots, pneumonia, or infection. From [this](http://www.caregiverslibrary.org/Default.aspx?tabid=228) fact sheet, though a quick search on “broken hip mortality” or something along those lines will find numerous cites for the 25% mortality figure. I was under the impression she had been released from the hospital to die at home. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/31 "2008-10-24T21:18:03Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > **ArchiveGuy** , your story made me tear up. I’m glad you made it in time. Me too. Thanks for the kind words. And I’m glad pepperlandgirl’s sister is going to be OK, too. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/32 "2008-10-24T21:22:21Z")
> [@CaerieD](#): > > It is a life or death situation when you’re that old, however. > > From [this](http://www.caregiverslibrary.org/Default.aspx?tabid=228) fact sheet, though a quick search on “broken hip mortality” or something along those lines will find numerous cites for the 25% mortality figure. > > I was under the impression she had been released from the hospital to die at home. 25% mortality rate != death sentence. Again, I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with this, but the media coverage of it has been kind of half-assed. Not that that’s a surprise. It’s one of those situations where less information would be better: “Senator Obama flew home to Hawaii to spend time with his grandmother, who is unwell” is IMO better than “Sen. Obama flew home to Hawaii to spend time with his dying grandmother,” which reeks of sensationalism, regardless of how true it may be. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/33 "2008-10-24T21:55:50Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Me too. Thanks for the kind words. > > And I’m glad pepperlandgirl’s sister is going to be OK, too. Thanks. And thanks **Harmonious Discord**. I went to visit her today (she lives about 40 miles away) and her face looks like nothing worse than a sun burn, so she should be back to normal soon… ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/34 "2008-10-24T23:26:24Z")
obama’s grandmother has severe osteo, and the prognosis is that she will pass before election day. she is in hospice care at her home. and yes, sen. obama had to get there. if the mccain camp wants to jump on that they are in a very, very, sad place. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/35 "2008-10-24T23:29:24Z")
Neither McCain or Obama is evil. Especially not Obama. And this is more evidence that McCain wants to lose. To attack a guy for visiting his dying grandma is ludicrously poor judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/36 "2008-10-25T02:07:39Z")
Isn’t McCain’s mother still alive and in her 90’s? I have no doubt that were she to fall ill McCain would be there to see her by whatever means necessary. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/37 "2008-10-25T02:13:50Z")
Yep. She was at the RNC. She’s like 100 and still looks like she could take a full-grown man in a fair fight. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268/38 "2008-10-25T02:24:04Z")
It’s sad that anyone would think there should even be a debate about this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-obama-wrong-to-go-visit-his-sick-grandmother/469268.md?page=1)