Obama’s departure from the trail for a few days to visit his ailing grandmother is one of those rare developments that is good for both sides. Obama’s already doing well, obviously, and he’s dealing with a circumstance that will generate a great deal of public sympathy. But this news also takes him out of the daily back-and-forth of the campaign, and the New Leader face from the ubiquitous commercials and posters is revealed to be, at times, a very ordinary guy with very ordinary concerns that everyone can relate to.

But it’s also a good development for the McCain campaign, as every statement for the next two days or so will begin with, “Senator Obama and his family are going through a tough time right now, and our thoughts and prayers are with them. I come here today not to point out the flaws of the man, but the flaws in his ideas…” For at least two days, McCain and Palin will stick to policy, which I think is actually a more vulnerable area for Obama and gets them off lines of criticism that the press instantly denounces as “personal attacks.”