The Obama Diary

President Barack Obama is presented with a gift in honour of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, by Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a state dinner at the State Palace-Istana Merdeka in Jakarta, November 9

Politico: At an emotional dinner in Indonesia, President Obama thanked his hosts for giving him a medal in honor of his mother and for serving foods that were his favorites as a child growing up there.

”I promise it won’t take so long before I come back,” Obama said in a toast, according to the pool, adding that he was “deeply moved.”

“The fact that you would choose to recognize my mother in this way speaks to the bonds she forged over many years with the people of this magnificent country,” he said. “She believed we all share common aspirations: to live in dignity and security, to get an education, to provide for our families, to give our children a better future, to leave the world better than we found it.”

►