Barack Obama will take a few days off the trail starting Thursday to visit his 85-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who is seriously ill. Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on the Obama campaign plane on Monday, “In the last few weeks her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious.” The announcement scuttles planned rallies in Des Moines, Iowa, and Madison, Wis., on Thursday; the Democratic nominee resumes campaigning Saturday in the West.
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