Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama is contemplating a stop in Hawai'i sometime this summer, according to two local campaign spokesmen.

A Hawai'i visit could include a major address at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, where Obama's maternal grandfather, who fought in World War II, is buried, The New York Times reported yesterday.

The stop may be part of a tour that highlights Obama's life, The Times reported.

Andy Winer, Hawai'i state director of the Obama for America campaign, could not confirm a Hawai'i visit.

"On an official level, Obama is now focused on winning the nomination," Winer said. "Any trip would have to be after the nomination."

Chuck Freedman, a Hawai'i Obama for President campaign coordinator and spokesman, said, "The decision whether Sen. Obama will come to Hawai'i or not will be made by the national campaign. No final decisions have been made yet. Obviously the local campaign would support it very happily."

Freedman could not confirm The Times' report that the tour is intended to highlight the life story of the Illinois senator.

"He won't be coming out to campaign specifically because between now and the convention the work is all done," Freedman said. "It's just not a decision that's in our hands."

Obama grew up on O'ahu and attended Punahou School. His sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, both live here, and Obama visits his family each summer.

His parents met at the University of Hawai'i. His mother was a UH student and his father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and come to America.

Barack's father eventually returned to Kenya, and Obama grew up with his mother in Hawai'i and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983.

Calls to confirm a stop in Honolulu, including the visit to Punchbowl, were not returned by Obama's national campaign organizers.

During the February caucuses in Hawai'i, Obama took 14 of the 20 regular delegates while Sen. Hillary Clinton won six. On Saturday U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a superdelegate, said she would cast her vote for Obama, joining U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, an earlier Obama supporter. U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye is committed to Clinton.

Obama has 1,870 delegates compared to Clinton's 1,699.5 delegates. The candidates need 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination at the national convention in Denver on Aug. 25 and 26.