Obama visits grandfather's Kansas town

For all the talk about Barack Obama's quest to be the first black president, his visit to his grandfather's hometown Tuesday was a reminder that it is only half the story.

Obama is the son of an African father and a white mother from this heartland state, which holds its presidential caucus Feb. 5. "We're family!" Obama said as he took the stage in a packed community college gymnasium for an event that combined politics with a personal story that does not get a lot of attention in his campaign.

Obama told reporters on the flight from Washington that the stop in Kansas would remind voters about his roots and that he was not born into privilege.

It was his first visit ever to El Dorado, where his maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham, grew up. Obama was raised by his mother and his grandparents in Hawaii; his father left the family when Obama was just 2 years old and then returned to his native Kenya.

Obama told the audience that his story "spans miles and generations, races and realities."

"It is a varied and unlikely journey, but one that's held together by the same simple dream," he said. "And that is why it's an American story. That's why I can stand here and talk about how this country is more than a collection of red states and blue states because my story could only happen in the United States of America."

Obama's campaign feels confident about his chances to win the Democratic contest in Kansas — one of the smaller prizes among the 22 states holding Democratic nominating contests next Tuesday.

His staff has been organizing in Kansas for months without much activity from rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he picked up the endorsement of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on the visit.

Sebelius, a Democrat who won election twice in solid GOP territory, told The Associated Press that Obama "brings the hope and optimism that we really need to restore our place in the world, as well as to bring this country together and really tackle the challenges that we have."

Obama told reporters his grandfather was raised by grandparents and was a "wild child" who married his high school sweetheart from nearby Augusta, Kan., over objections from her more traditional family. He said his grandfather served in World War II and was educated on the GI Bill, while his grandmother stayed in Wichita with their baby — Obama's mother, Ann Dunham — and worked on a bomber assembly line. The family eventually moved to Hawaii, where Obama was born and raised.

Obama's upbringing in a white household contributed to some questioning early in his campaign about whether he is "black enough" to win over black voters. But that no longer is a prominent discussion around his historic bid that has won overwhelming support from blacks. Instead he has faced constant questions about whether a black candidate can be elected president in a country where racial divisions still exist.

Stanley Dunham died in 1992, Obama's mother in 1995. But Obama said his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, is "glued to CNN" and follows the campaign closely, even though severe osteoporosis keeps her from traveling from Hawaii.

Obama said he still has extended family in the area who have gotten involved in the campaign.

"It's been fun actually meeting them," Obama said of the distant white relatives. Then he added with a laugh, "You wouldn't spot them out in a crowd as my cousins."

Among Obama's more distant cousins is Dick Cheney, according to genealogy research done by the vice president's wife. Obama said, "It's not a close relationship."