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

To get notices on each new Ticket item sent to your cellphone, go here and register. We've got tomorrow's vote and then, immediately, construction of a new White House administration

Comments

[NYC]

This is classic. It's what kids do. Everyone knows that trick. Flipping the bird in a covert manner. Very street. Congrats to O for pulling that one off. As well as the other gestures in that video. But I thought he was about a different kind of politics. How can he change things, if he's still slinging mud too? I'm sure he'll get a pass on this too. But this doesn't help the stereotypes people have of black people. And it doesn't look presidential.

[Jim B]

What a joke.

[Jason London]

This is news!?! Come on your the LA Times!

[Skip]

He thinks he's got plausible deniability but the audience knew what was happening and so did he. It was stupid and juvenile, but that appeals to his followers.

[sue]

I can't believe this appeared as headlines. How low can the LAT get! Shameful!

[Sick of the Press]

Are you serious Mr. Malcolm? No wonder your paper is going under. Your blogs are frequently puerile and often bely the self-importance and arrogance that has doomed your industry to oblivion. How can you "real" journalists complain about bloggers when you stoop to--and sink below--their level. Find some substance or make room for someone who can think.

[max]

Obama is acting like an child/adolescent boy. This is news, he is a scam. He is unfit to be President. His narcissistic rage is dangerous in any position of power.

[sue]

I can't believe this appeared as headlines. How low can the LAT get! Shameful!

[mandy]

This is right in keeping with the "class" that Obama has shown throughout his campaign. But like every other crappy thing he's done, it won't stick. Hillary will probably gt the blame for it. Grrrrr

[Muzza]

This candidate is a DISGRACE. I will disown the Democratic Party if they support this shamelessly desperate man. He cannot take criticism. He gets a few tough questions in ONE debate and he has a complete BREAKDOWN!. His supporters are also hysterical! Now he gives the finger to his opponent showing his TRUE COLORS.

Game over. Obama is OUT with this one.

[bodhi]

I hope Obama flipping off Hillary was intentional. She deseves it. Every Democrat should be flipping her off right now.
Where did George Stephanopoulos get that Bill Ayers question from?
The day before George was on the Sean Hannity talk show and was fed the question from the looney right wing.
shame on Stephanopoulos and the Clintons for sleeping with the enemy!
check out my blog
http://psychedelictourist.blogspot.com

[Alan]

You're reading too much into it. Get a life!!

[Gion]

its very ironic that in a speech chastising the media for this sort of thing, the media is starting at fingers and trying to find things.

Obama wasnt giving the finger, Andrew. But I'd gladly give it to your face for nontroversies like this.

Get bent.

[Palomino]

The reaction of the crowd cannot be explained by anything other than the gesture of the raised middle finger "scratching" Obama's cheek. That gesture is one of a series, including the Jay-Z shoulder dust-off and the "got to scrape that sh*t right off your shoes" gesture, not to mention the Best of Reverend Wright "ridin' dirty" hand motion presented in the guise of a knife twist and quickly performed twice, with cheers from the crowd and smirks from Obama. Everybody knows how to give somebody the finger with "plausible deniability." But when you do it as a supposedly frontrunning male presidential candidate who just got his butt handed to him in front of millions in a debate with a woman, the deniability is no longer so plausible. What a stupid thing for Obama to do. Is he self-destructive or what? What a jerk. As I said before, the Obamabots can minimize and deny all they like. The rest of us know what we saw, and so do the Obama fans in this audience.

[Xu Xu Fang]

You are part of the problem for reporting this.

[Steve]

What an absurd suggestion. The guy scratched his face.

[Pat]

Poor Barack, he can't even get away with a subtle rude gesture.
The silly part is that it most likely wasn't aimed at Hillary.
Like other folks said, he does the middle finger thing ALL THE TIME.
He thinks he is superior to all of us. He is giving all of
us the finger both verbally ( with his excellent speeches ) and manually.

Wait until you see what we get if Obama is in the White House. Right now Obama is the
Freshman Senator with the most missed days for a first term in the Senate.

[Suzan]

I smell desperation too, from Obama's supporters. They know exactly what he did, and they're terrified their candidate is imploding before their eyes. Otherwise, why would he model such appallingly imature behavior for all the young people he's supposed to be inspiring and bringing into the arean of modern politics.

He gave her the finger. You'd have to be blind not to see that, no matter how much Kool Aid you're drinking. She whipped his butt in the debate and he's a sore loser. Great role modeling, Senator. You'll make a great COC. Another arrested adolescent cowboy in the White House.

[Tom]

Desperate media attempt ... non-story

[MW]

Get a life! I don't think even Hillary will be childish enough to go with this alleged insult. There is nothing here, report some real news!

[Christina CA]

What surprises me more than this video are the blog posts. Some of the Obama excusers readily admit he did it, with style, and that they want to do it too... other excusers cry foul, he didn't do it.

You guys can't even make up your own minds.

Pick an answer. He either did it and should be ashamed of himself (not hailed as their hero) or he didn't do it and it's just all one big conspiracy against him

Oh, Obama isn't stuipd enough to do it? No, he's not stupid... he's arrogant.. arrogant enough to continue to think he could get away with one thing after another.. so for all of you who continue to post vulgarity on the internet in support of him, he will be your nominee.. but I guarantee you he won't be President.

[Goldie]

What? I think this is the most stupid thing I have every heard from a paper. So if I scratch my cheek, I am giving someone the finger? How pitiful. What is wrong with you? Andrew Malcolm must have brain disease or something. This is ridiculous. Now everyone will have to be very careful how they scratch a nose, a cheek whatever. I guess we can go back through all the political tapes and see who else was scratching a nose or a cheek in a supposedly suggestive way. This is more revealing of the people who see it where it doesn't exist than anything.

[ck]

How offensively does this man need to act in order for his kool-aid drinking supporters to recognize that he isn’t fit to even think of running for the Presidency? Yes indeed, he deliberately, intentionally and without question gave the international gesture of ill will when speaking about his female Democratic primary opponent. It’s there on video for anyone with eyes to see. But, worse than the fact that he made the offensive gesture at all in front of a public audience (which must’ve included children) is the fact that he so clearly believes that it was not only acceptable but also somehow ‘cool’ for him to do so! The man obviously believes (and has no qualms about teaching children this) that it’s acceptable for him (and by extension, for any man) to behave dismissively and even abusively and offensively toward a woman (and by extension, toward any woman) for no reason other than that she has the audacity to be his opponent, and because she is so obviously better qualified than he is, as was demonstrated during the debate. One has to wonder how he treats his wife and daughters when no one is watching. God help the Democrats if this abusive, adolescent, arrogant, self-impressed misogynist gets the nomination. Does America really want a potential President who resorts to vulgar junior high school hand gestures to express himself when the issues and the questions have become a little too tough and frustrating and he hasn’t been able to fall back on a canned speech from a teleprompter? Could this man who has been so praised for his so-called eloquence not think of any more intelligent assessment of the debate than to raise his middle finger? And Obama claims to be a Christian? Right. So are Louis Farrakhan and Tony Rezko…

[Jermaine A Fields]

!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!what!
Fuck off with that shit. Hillary would't believe that shit.

[JimBob]

This is truly pitiful journalism.

[Dionne]

Andrew Malcolm, you should be fired. This is the height of irresponsiblity. Obama supporters, you should be ashamed to even pander to this piece of crap by posting comments on this site. Rather, you should be writing to the LA Times editor to ensure this ass is fired.

[tbmennett]

It isn't the salute, that may or may not be intentional--it is the "brush-off" that happens next. If this man wins the nomination, we're in for another unfortunate four year ride. I am already getting my "don't blame me" bumper sticker ready.

[steve]

What else have we come to expect from Senator Obama. He is always "ragging" on Clinton and everyone else including middle class Americans.....Why are so many people so fooled by this man. He's positively scary. Another George Bush, in a Democrat guise, waiting to kill off what's left of our society. He's a phony, scary man.....

[C.H.G.]

Anybody who ever taught high school -- or anybody who even went to high school -- ought to know that teenagers use this gesture to give the finger while being able to protest their innocence. "I was just scratching my face! Honest!" Yeah, right, Barry. Detention for you, buddy.

I guess this means most of the Obama supporters posting here are still in grade school or dropped out of high school before they learned all the sneaky ways to flip somebody off. That helps explain their infatuation with Barry the Empty Suit.

[Mike C]

Oh, get real.

It is like the mainstream media is engaged in a deliberate self-parody.

[anthony]

That is the bird if I ever saw a bird!
And good for the Times for telling it like it is. Of course some people will deny it, but it won't make it not true!

REAL GROWN UP OBAMA, REAL GROWN UP!

[Sushmita Bhaskaran]

He made the same gesture in 2 different venues at the same point during the speech.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/obama_fingers_a_gotcha_debate.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/obamaflipsoffcl.html

this proves he did this on purpose.

Obama is toast ... i am gonna call clinton campaign tomorrow.

[Prabhata]

BO does it twice, with two different audiences.

The LA Times is one video

Here is the other
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/4/18/02146/4585#147

Notice the different audiences
Bush, the immature president for 8 years. Do Americans want another whiny immature person?
Not I.

[robin]

At first I didn't want to believe it, but then I saw a clearer clip on CBS and there is no doubt about it. I am really scared for our country. I'm sure he'll deny it and most of the in tank MSM will back him up. I am ill.

[Peter]

I can't believe this! This is really it....

He absolutely did this on purpose, I understand having doubts, I would too. Unfortunately, he did the same exact thing in two different speeches today, at the same point in the speech, he absolutely gave Hillary the finger in two different speeches! Do a quick search, you'll find the other one. He's done, sorry Obama fans I feel for you but this is way too childish for a President.

He's been making me wonder if he's self-destructing on purpose.

[Marin Joe]

His smug, arrogant smirk tells it all. It was OBVIOUS that this man fully intended to give Senator Clinton an obscene gesture because for the first time in all of the debates, the focus was on him to provide explanations. Boo Hoo.

He is in no way qualified, nor does he possess the personal character to hold the highest office in the land.

He has a lifelong history of being given a free ride because he appears to be very personable and possesses wonderful oratory skills. Now the majority of Americans are going to allow themselves to be manipulated by him into yet one more free ride to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

I am a lifelong Democrat, but if this pompous elitest is the Democratic nominee, I will write-in my vote for Senator Clinton.

[bbln]

He FLIPPED THE BIRD - AT TWO DIFFERENT EVENTS - at the same point in his speech - so this is planned gesture:

This is the CBS video which is an entirely different audience in the background:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4025010n

[serena1313]

After watching the sham called a "debate" last night on ABC and now the LATimes jumps on something this trivial epitomizes everything wrong with the traditional news today!

The media does not want to have an honest, intelligent discussion. So to avoid that they focus on the "gotcha" moments and red-herrings to distract us from the issues at hand -- c'mon enough already. You are insulting our intelligence.

Is it any wonder why the public is fed-up and sales are down?

[Desmo]

Wow, the wingnuts sure are out in force on this blog. Proud of that, Donnie. You might have the dumbest commenters in the blogosphere, and that says a lot. The last 11 commenters really plumb the depths of stupidity. I hope none of you have children, and if you do, that the stupid gene isn't passed on. They deserve a chance.

[Melissa]

It's official. Andrew Malcolm and the LA Times -- prime examples of idiot entities. This story is stupid!!! And anybody who believes this crap is nuts.

Get real people! You've lost it!

[maggie]

What a loser! This guy is so scary...he is a junior senator with little or no experience, little or no intelligence, a phony white guy posing as a black, he's just SCARY...God help us all if he get's the nomination over an experienced senator with a proven track record...who happens to be a minority...
Are people so afraid of a woman that they would resort to this guy. George Bush junior...dumb and dummer.

[Marin Joe]

HE DID IT TWICE AT TWO DIFFERENT SPEECHES AT THE SAME POINT IN THE SPEECH.

WATCH THE 2nd SPEECH ON THIS CBS LINK WHICH IS ACTUALLY VERY CLEAR VIDEO ...

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4025010n

[janet]

Andrew, you're so right, and bbln at 11:31 has it right. Obama grew up pretty rough in Hawaii, was a "late bloomer" and rebel according to his own best friends, sort of fudged his college career and always was a huge opportunist.

Occidental College in Cal took him because of his 'interesting" and "unsual" backgound (yeah, that's old-fashioned affirmative action), then when he heard he had a chance, he applied to more famous Columbia, where he got the same treatment.

Then same thing with election to Senate, and who but him would have run for Pres. after 2 years and no foreign experience except living abroad for a few years as a kid? He's riding high because of his unique DNA but he's still the Homeboy underneath, and there it is. It's Hillary who's the real "elite" to him -- why he likes flipping her the bird and making fun of her "experience," AKA "privilege." Course, he and Michele have gotten three times richer very recently, just from running for office.

And his going to the old bud, former Weather Underground would-be cop killer Ayers, was more of the Wright Stuff. == Hey, we black brothers, we be havin' special cirumstancEz. We gotz ta make money.

By the way: the most offensive thing about how ditched Occidental, after it game him the chance that put him "on the map," was how he didn't give them a second thought.

[susan]

Amazing, all the pro=Obama blogging going on, that's clearly from a shallow and pre-planned place.

Gee, that's just his finger scratching his nose, stuff... Just like the Chinese pouring onto blogs covering up their assault and genocide against the Tibetans, often using "American" or "Tibetan" phony names to spew Communist Chinese propaganda.

What this shows is, why Obama is ahead: his people blog on the Internet 24/7, getting lots and lots of FREE P.R. And managing to sound "populist." IF this guy Obama gets in, within a year, this country will have the most collective attack of remorse, you can't believe.

For all her "suspicion" and "truth" factor, Hillary SAYS who she is, and gets by on her record, not a bunch of B. S. and fancy rhetoric honed from the AA school of Sharpton, Jackson, WRight, etc.: just RHYME and use tonal inflections to fake sincerity and truth.

[DIsgusted]

Too moronic for comment. This is so low end, so TMZ, I can't imagine there won't be a pink slip in your near future. The man is scratching his face. And the only people who would see it as anything else are the sort of people who would actually give "the finger" - in short, hostile, angry, crazy and BITTER idiots. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

[JJ]

Sho nuff he did!

[Arti]

Get a job. Clearly you have too much time on your hands, shame on you.

[Krishna]

Yes I do think that he did give Hillary a finger. Look at his face and the smile at the time.

I thought it was just shameful. I am just surprised that majority of Democrats are voting for this guy. It will be scary if he becomes President.

[thearcher]

Just as I thought. The Obamabots brushed it off as just plain old scratching face bit. And whine about not covering a decent journalism piece. Well, people when a Politician, a public servant, does this disrespectful gesture to any of his fellow congressman/woman is truly unethical. Is this who you want your kids,grandkids, or more so yourself, to look to for inspiration?! A VERY DISRESPECTFUL INDIVIDUAL!! His TRUE colors are showing everyday. Keep it coming Barry! Pretty soon you'll rant and rave like Wright and show your bitterness to this country and fellow citizens. Your facade is slowly being extinguished. Its true about Karma you know. He opened up the divorce filings of his opponent when he ran for State Senate in IL so that the voters will find out about his opponents baggage. NOw it's coming to home to roost!!! Sounds familiar Barry?! No wonder this society is going down the drain! People are looking to this kind of person for inspiration and respect when he has none to share and show. He was suppose to transcend this political race, only to drag the bar of standard lower.

[Frrrrrrankus]

Seriously, it's stupid things like this that make me hate "reporters" like you. Instead of concentrating on real issues that matter to the country, idiots like you focus on ridiculous bulls--t like this. This "story" is almost as big a joke as the "debate" Obama and Clinton took part in the other night.

You should be ashamed of yourself.