Barack Obama makes a one-fingered gesture while speaking of Hillary Clinton

This is one of those political moments that really needs few words.

We'll no doubt hear much more about this incident in coming days.

Right now, we'll just leave this video for Ticket readers to view and judge for themselves. It's Sen. Barack Obama, according to the caption on YouTube posted just minutes ago, speaking to a friendly crowd in Raleigh, N.C., today.

He's talking critically about his opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, and the kind of distasteful gotcha politics that occur in Washington. And he says, "That's all right. Sen. Clinton looked in her element."

Watch the video right then. The presidential candidate raises his right hand to seemingly scratch his cheek.

He doesn't use his whole hand though. Just one finger. Briefly. A couple of strokes.

He pauses. He smiles slyly as the crowd begins to mumble and then he tries, somewhat distracted, to continue his remarks, smiling as the buzz spreads through the crowd.

He'll no doubt deny it later, but that mischievous smile seems to confirm plenty. And the crowd sure sees something.

(UPDATE: A new item has been posted on the Obama campaign's reaction to this issue, calling it "absurd and untrue.")

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Comments

[Adrienne]

Utterly retarded. I knew mainstream journalism was on the decline, but you guys just sped up the process by a few years.

[OGLib]

As others have noted, all these clips claiming to be from different locations are all from Raleigh, NC. And he's clearly scratching his face. I always use my middle finger to scratch my cheek....don't even realize I'm doing. And his smile came at least 3 seconds later. If some of the people there thought he flipped the bird, well, they can think whatever they want. But he did give Hillary the finger.

For the love of pete, this is why nothing ever gets done or changes in this country. We spend are time on crap like this. That this was posted on the blog of the LA Freaking Times by a so-called journalist is atrocious.

Pathetic.

[MikeI]

Are you a grown up? I think you need to find yourself a real job. This "story" really scrapes the bottom of the stupidity barrel.

[Doosch Baghd]

Wow, Obama is totally giving the author of this "story" the finger! Eat it up you idiot. Your legacy has just 14 minutes left.

[Peter]

Andrew, how do you sleep at night when this is the garbage you produce all day?

You have a job, and you do it very, very poorly. Way to go!

[sunshine484848]

After he performed this classless act, he looked like a little boy who got caught with his FINGER in the cookie jar!

[Kentucky]

Obama continues to self destruct. Middle of the road voters and older voters will not find this CUTE.
These are the same voters that were disturbed to hear Obama say that church goers went to church because they were mad about gays, immigrants and others not like them. Really? Most people who go to church because they love God.
Elections are won in the middle not on the far left or far right. Obama has tacted far left in the last month and is losing the middle fast and hard.

[Mimi]

I'm in the minority opinion here - having watched the video twice (and even with the other finger slightly extended as well) it seems to me that Obama is giving her the finger. When I was a kid, my brothers and I used casual gestures to mask giving the finger, so I know what it looks like to do so. This alone would not confirm, but the audience reaction, and more importantly, his reaction to the audience's reaction is pretty clear to me. I have no skin in this fight as I don't vote democrat, and have had no major beef with Obama for most of the campaign...

[Grant]

"Barack Obama makes a one-fingered gesture while speaking of Hillary Clinton"

I've had my disappointments in the state of journalism in this country... but a displayed inability to count to TWO reaches new lows. He used his middle AND index fingers. Your own imagery clearly shows it.

As it if matters, since he was *scratching his cheek you idiots!*. How desperate are you bottom feeders to stir up controversy that you need to try to pull this one off? Taking our cues from the ABC debate moderators are we? You should be ashamed.

[AJ in DC]

Lisa Marquise: Says that "this is OBVIOUS", that Obama is giving Hillary the finger.

2 words: COMPLETE INSANITY!

Please REMOVE your face from the glue jar! Hillary supporters are beyond delusional at this point!

[I Love My Country]

WHAT AN INSANELY STUPID ARTICLE

[Hopeful in 08]

This is a joke, right? Obama touched his face on either side at least four times with each of his hands (it's called fidgeting). The fact that this is being seriously reported is unbelievable. Hey, I've got an idea... Why don't you people who call yourselves journalists actually go out and hit the pavement to uncover a real story that will help move this country forward. I know it is easier to sit on your duffs and watch youtube videos frame by frame, but its your job. Good grief.

[G]

Looks like much ado about nothing. Perhaps if it was blatant then yeah, it may be an issue. It just looks like he has an itch to scratch.

[Hanna]

Hey Obama watch my finger flip to you this Nov. when I vote for McCain you horses behind.

[Ulmo Patiostoné]

Mr Author,

I salute your salesmanship - a 'brazillion' responses to an article predicated on a brain-sneeze. You have!, I trust, heard the story of the little boy who cried 'One fingered salute', once too often? People stopped reading him.

[patty]

another prime example of a total loser ,... a real class at coming from a president elect. who couldnt be elected to the ASPC.... this moron needs to resign from anymore embarassment... Gary Hart resigned for less than whats on this circus clown

[justme]

Wow. What an incredibly awful attempt at smear "journalism". If you're going to do it, at least do it well.

What can we expect, I suppose, from somebody who's bio claims that he fathered four books (that must hurt).

[Charles]

This is the type of action we can expect from someone who would be President of the United States?

I don't think so.

[justme]

"come on we've been devouring exactly this type of coverage since drudge report talked about the blue dress."

Whatchu mean "we"?

All I can say about that is that using drudge as your yardstick tells us all we need to know about you. Thank goodness you are a FORMER "reporter".

[Michael]

Is that it? Seriously? That the best you can do, and the worst thing since the atomic bomb that could happen? This is newsworthy? Enjoy your political circus if this is what really captures your attention.

[Cyndeewi]

It does not matter if he gave her the finger the witch deserves it.

[John Kerry]

HAHAHAHAHA ... losers, all of you!!!

[Nothing to see here]

Found the link below unthread
(presumably provided by a Senator Clinton supporter)
and the blogger concludes that "he was just scratching his face”.

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/4/18/02146/4585#147

If you look at the four minute version of the clip, you'll notice that,
at the beginning of his remarks, he scratches his nose as well.
Comments have been closed for the above blog.

Andrew, will you follow that lead here as well??

[tony]

Who gives a crap??? This whole election thing just gets drawn out more every time we have one. Get it over with already!!!

[Jeff Stewart]

This kind of bizarre reporting by the press - even though this is merely a MSM weblog - is approaching the surreal. And to think that one of the finest newspapers in the United States is actually PAYING someone to write this wacko stuff...

[MikeI]

The story is not legit. It is "news" only because you print it. You are reporters, so anything you print is, by definition news. The fact that people "eat it up" proves nothing. People eat up stories from tabloids as well. Is that news? Unless that's what you're going for... You view the LA Times as a tabloid?

It's a good thing you're a "former reporter." Hopefully you've chosen a completely different line of work and become a productive member of society for a change.

[Katherine]

He definitely was flipping the finger, I have reliable source analysis on this too, I hadn't heard this story until I got home today, that's when my 15 yr old nephew a long with 3 of his friends declared "Guess what? Obama gave Hillary Clinton the finger!" my first reaction was "huh?!" they then explained the situation and proceeded to verify that it was indeed what he was doing.

[David S. MI]

As a math teacher, I've been witness to and on the receiving end of, these types of underhanded gestures. The only difference being, they were coming from children. Not Adult, Presidential Candidates.

[david wayne]

I agree with the writers of the article. Scratching one's cheek with one's middle finger is NOT a natural action.

I am a teacher. I am very aware of my hands, my motions, etc. If I wanted to scratch my cheek, I would either use my index finder or all the fingers.

[Zoe]

Didn't you all know? The middle finger is the symbol for Hope and Change! What a classless act.

[ye be douchery]

You have to love it when people call out a reporter for their reporting by being comment trolls, "Your article sucks because you are an anti-obama poo-poo head!"...ah, the internets!

[Sted Ruckus]

I can't believe someone actually made the concious decision to give you a job and pay you to speculate on what must be the most utterly useless and ridiculous piece of "political" "coverage". Yeah thats right. Double quotes... this is a joke. Go get a a job at US Weekly you hack.

[heidi]

LA TIMES,

ARE YOU STUPID, YOU MUST BE RUNNING OUT OF STORIES, HE IS CLEARLY STRACHING HIS CHEECK WHILE TALKING AND MAKING HIS SPEECH. GIVE ME A BREAK AND REPORT ON ALL THOSE MURDERS AND GANG ACTIVITY THAT YOU HAVE OUT THERE.

[bernadette bradley]

What do I think? I think that when Senator Obama finally decides to give the finger to the media, you won't have to wonder if he means it, you won't have to dissect every possible permutation of face-scratching vs. finger-giving. Right now, for instance, my middle finger is raised straight in the air, with that extra little "punch" that makes the meaning so crystal clear-- nothing ambiguous about it. That's what I "think" of this piece of- journalistic analysis.

[paul hoffman]

You gootta be kidding!!This is not even worthy of reporting-making something out of nothing-must be hard up for some critical reporting of Obama campaign . I am not even a supporterof him!!

[Vanessa]

What happened to real journalism?

This is ridiculous. NO, I don't think he gave Hillary the finger. Give me a break.

I'd love to read some news that actually matters to Americans.

[Jacob Simms]

For all the people(BO supporters) that are saying he wasn't doing it and complaining this isn't news, I guarantee you, had this been either of the other two candidates, you would be jumping all over this and there is no way you can deny it.

[Nick]

Even the picture of him doesn't look like he's doing that.

Good thing the war and the economy aren't being discussed here.

[Chris]

Barack, class act, I stopped doing that in Jr. High

[Alex]

You know, my dad always told me that, if you really wanted to insult somebody, you would flip your pinky at them, "when you don't care enough to send the full bird."

If you watch the beginning of the video closely, he scratches his face with his pinky!

He flipped her off twice!

You know what? He's probably passing secret signs to his secret Communist Cabal too! Oh no!

But seriously. If this is what passes for journalism these days, it is no wonder that newspaper readership is going down.

This story should be retracted.

[so very tired of this]

Hasn't he been addressing Hillary Clinton's attacks for WEEKS?

For a face scratch during that time to be called "news" is silly.

[kyderbymom]

You have got to be kidding me? This is news??? Are you guys insane?

[David]

So this is the state of affairs for the media and politics? While there is a war, devastating economic crisis, people
loosing their houses right and left, the country officially condoning torture, privacy a thing of the past, it comes down
to whether or not you think he scratched his face with the wrong finger????

[Sean Collister]

Personally, this even appearing in a newspaper is a smear upon the entire industry, but primarily upon the L.A. Times. What is next, claiming that when he was four, Barack Obama didn't finish his vegetables, so since he is wasteful, he can't be our president?

This is one camera angle, and I won't make a permanent decision based on it, but it does appear that he paused to scratch his face, but purposefully left the middle finger extended slightly. The scratch is to buy time, most likely, for readingthe next couple lines of the speech he reads during the speech, or to let his vague compliment of Hilary soak in. The scratch, I would say, was planned, but the finger was accidental.

He also may have been frazzled because the croud was reacting to something he was not aware of...that kind of thing makes you self-conscious, regardless of who you are.

In the end, it doesn't matter how his personal relations are with competitors. In the end it is what each candidate can do for America. I personally don't feel that Hilary is the right woman to be the first woman president...but neither do I feel the rest of the candidates are the best for the job. I'll research each one when they are chosen by their parties and decide who I'll vote for then. I urge you all to do the same.

(Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Just a reminder that this is not a newspaper. This is an online political blog.)

[REALLY?]

How is that a 'one fingered gesture'?

I guess "Barack Obama scratches his face while speaking of Hillary Clinton" doesn't get the page-views, now does it?

Just because many liberals want to give her the finger doesn't mean a face scratch is news.

[Deb for Obama]

To Vinnie:

You say you saw two videos. Was he wearing the same clothes? The same poster in the background? The same podium? Is it possible you were looking at THE SAME VIDEO from different angles? OY!

[Seth Russell]

for those accusing Obama of giving Hillary her much deserved finger should do their homework. Barack frequently touches his face with that finger at different points in his delivery ... i just saw him on CNN touch his forehead with that finger when talking of McCain. It is just part of his body language. it may well be a "tell" but i there is no way it was "the finger".

[Alexandria]

Yep. And this is the "Gotca" politics Obama is talking about. You guys just don't get it. Most people are tired of these games! Stop it!

We are tired of this mess!

It's not funny, cute or gonna help us get out of the messed up trouble this country is in.

Get a damn life!

[al]

To all those who think he used only one finger see here:

http://impiousdigest.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=346

Now go and feel rather dumb that you fell for whatever somebody in the media says.

And Malmcolm, you should change the headline for this post as it is lying. He clearly makes a two-finger gesture - of scratching his cheek.

[Karen Del'Marmol]

There's no doubt about it. If he hadn't smiled afterward I would think differently. And the smile is what I was waiting for. There is no doubt in my mind what he was doing.