(CHICAGO)(January 3, 2007) During the recent campaign I wrote about Senator George Allen of Virginia ("Bubbe is Bupkis"), who had hidden his grandmother to conceal his Jewish roots.

When is Barack "Barry" Obama, the itinerant hustler-senator, going to bring his grandmother out of the closet?

Grannies are special. They offer unconditional love to grandchildren. They overlook family troubles and try to bring peace to domestic disturbances. They are a treasure.

The way Obama treats his white relatives is scandalous and racist.

Barack Obama nominally represents the People of Illinois. I say nominally because he does everything he can to avoid Illinois and, when he appears, he appears clueless. He claims "his staff" actually represents Illinois. Obama represents only himself.

Last month Obama was on the road to New Hampshire and other points far away from Illinois. When he had a chance to go home and at least spend Christmas with his fellow Illinoisans, he chose to go off to Hawaii to "visit family." Well.

Obama "visited family" last summer. He went to Kenya and posed as a Kenyan-American. He prominently featured distant cousins and half siblings, all of whom were African-African.

For Christmas he went to Hawaii, with a totally different approach. He ignored any public displays of connection to his white relative; his white grandmother was kept out of press view. Likewise his sister. He made no disclosure of any family contacts and media were forced to rely on second-hand information. There were no photo-ops with his white relative. (Check Google and Obama + sister or grandmother under Images)

Obama's sister spoke with the Associated Press, but it is not clear if that conversation was in person or on the phone. His sister, Maya Soetoro, said she was discussing presidential politics with her brother so there is a natural interest in who she is and what she is advising.

If the closeting of Obama's white relative is not blatant racism and contempt for the intelligence of the people of Illinois and America, I don't know what is. Hiding your relatives because they undermine your racial politics? That's what it looks like.

I have stated in the past Obama is a deeply conflicted human being. Under the veneer of what Washington Post writer Donna Britt last week called "cool," there is burning conflict and contradiction. Is he angry with his white relative? Ashamed of her? Why does he treat her differently than his Kenyan clan? Why are the blacks publicized and the whites ostracized? Why? Where's Granny?

Mr. Obama, you have a lot of explaining to do. And it ain't cool. I can't believe anyone would feature one side of his family and hide the other, but that's what you are doing.

Where's your white grandma? And your sister?

Or don’t they want to be seen in public with you?