Obama’s family takes spotlight to open forum

Maya Soetoro-Ng, his half sister from the islands, is seen as a strong campaigner

DENVER » U.S. Sen. Barack Obama introduces his family to America tonight with the help of his wife, Michelle, brother-in-law Craig Robinson and his half sister from Hawaii, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

Although the precise time is not set, Soetoro-Ng is expected to give one of the first speeches today before the national convention.

Soetoro-Ng's speech marks one of the rare times that a presidential nominee's sibling addresses a nominating convention.

Hawaii delegates, however, say Obama's younger sister, born in 1970 to Lolo Soetoro and Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, is a powerful campaigner for her brother.

Star-Bulletin reporter Richard Borreca is in Denver covering the Democratic National Convention. IN BLOGS In Politics Richard Borreca Hawaii Democrats Guest bloggers

Chuck Freedman, an early organizer of the Draft Obama for President campaign in 2006 in Hawaii, helped brief Soetoro-Ng on media appearances on the strength of his experience as communications director for former Gov. John Waihee.

"She has a view of him as a young sister -- like every younger-sister and big-brother relationship," Freedman said here in Denver. "She can put her brother in a kind of perspective that people can understand."

Andy Winer, the Hawaii state coordinator for the Obama campaign, who is also a delegate to the national convention, says Soetoro-Ng is now a national draw. During the summer she campaigned across the mainland and proved to be a popular speaker with both women and Asian-American groups, Winer said.

"The demand for her is through the ceiling. She is one of the most sought-after speakers, not just this week, but through the general election," he said.

In September, Soetoro is expected to campaign on each of the neighbor islands and also participate in rallies on Oahu. In October and through the election Nov. 4, she will be campaigning on the mainland.

"She connects with women voters, working mothers who have children in school and also with Asian voters," said Winer. "They are going to send her to areas where they thing she can make a difference -- in swing states."

Soetoro-Ng, a history teacher at La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls on the slopes of Diamond Head, is married to Konrad Ng, a Chinese-Canadian assistant professor at the University of Hawaii's Academy of Creative Media. They have a daughter, Suhaila.

"She's the real thing," said Freedman. "I find her to be a real upbeat, smart, working woman with a family, who represents what a lot of younger women are going through."

Flo Kong Kee, the isle Democratic Party's executive director, who is also at the Denver convention, called her a "really warm and honest speaker."