Obama's sister emotional after win, death

HONOLULU, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The sister of President-elect Barack Obama said in an e-mail from Hawaii she was filled with emotions after his Election Day victory.

Maya Soetoro-Ng said while she was happy for her brother, a U.S. senator for Illinois-turned-the first black U.S. president, she was also sad over the loss of their maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, just before the election, the Honolulu Advertiser said Wednesday.

"There's a wide swatch of emotion cutting through me, sometimes swirling, never simple ... a briny mixture of elation, sadness, determination, regret, pride, hope, fatigue," Soetoro-Ng said in her e-mail to friends last week.

The grieving sister of the Democratic politician said she was proud Obama will soon serve as the 44th president of the United States, the Advertiser said.

"I wept tears of joy for all of us on Tuesday. He may not be a perfect man. Certainly, he has often said that he'll likely be an imperfect president, but he is a good man, a smart man, a disciplined soul who balances temperance with determination and courage," she wrote to friends. "We've made a great choice, I assure you."