Barack Obama's Grandmother Dies a Day Before Historic Election

Barack Obama with his grandmother Madelyn Dunham,
during his high school graduation in 1979.

A day before the election in which her grandson could become the first black president of the United States, Madelyn Dunham, Barack Obama's grandmother, age 86, died of cancer.

Barack Obama has said that one of his greatest regrets was not being by his mothers side when she died of ovarian cancer in 1995.

It seems sad that Mrs. Dunham could not have lived another day or two to see if her son makes history. Then again, she was there for Barack when he needed her. She has been such a large inspiration and support to Obama, and helped him get to where he is today.

I really and truly wonder if Republican strategists and pundits like Brad Blakeman are feeling any remorse for attacking Obama for his visit to his grandmother last week or if these humans are in fact as soulless as they seem. It is really beyond me to imagine how these people think, people like Blakeman, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, W. Bush plus a few of my relatives and acquaintances.

If stressful events like this election bring out the true essence of an individual, I have learned quite a bit about those on the modern right and left. I have witnessed so much downright skulduggery as well as compassion and empathy. I have learned about people that spin and spin and spin and haphazardly cast the worst insults they can dream up vs. those who keep an even keel and stick to their principles.

All of this makes me remember a time when I was proud of this great country; and today I have hope reborn that this pride can return in the near future.

Sen. Barack Obama cries while speaking about his grandmother
during a rally at University of North Carolina on Monday.