(Guest Post by Bill Dyer a/k/a Beldar)

Despite the title, the most appealing person portrayed in Barack Obama's first book, "Dreams from My Father," isn't his father, but his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Madelyn Dunham. Politico.com reports tonight that Sen. Obama will "will leave the campaign trail Thursday to travel to Hawaii to see his 85-year-old grandmother, who has fallen ill."

“The decision that Sen. Obama is making to go to Hawaii underscores the seriousness of the situation,” [Obama campaign spokesman Robert] Gibbs said.

Michelle Obama will hold events in place of her husband Friday in Akron, Ohio, and Columbus, Ohio, the campaign said in a statement.

Although Mrs. Dunham has come up many times in this campaign, it's most often been as a result of comments made in the first instance by Sen. Obama himself. I think his opponents in both the primary and general election campaigns have been appropriately respectful of Mrs. Dunham and her privacy, as has been, for the most part, the press. I'll have no trouble finding a place for her in my own prayers tonight.