Obama Finger

Guide Note

On April 17, 2008, while speaking to a crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina, Democractic Presidential candidate Barack Obama scratched his face with his middle finger while referring to his opponent, Hillary Clinton. The crowd responded vocally, and a moment later, Obama held a smile for several seconds.

Several news organizations and conservative blogs claimed that Obama was, in a subtle and gestural way, flipping Clinton the so-called "bird." Both the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun assert that Obama did indeed give Hillary the finger, while other papers including Newsday, as well as most liberal blogs, either disagreed or questioned the importance of such controversies.

Obama had, at that moment, been speaking about the way the Washington system creates controversies out of petty slips, and attempts to pit candidates against each other. "Now, I don't blame Washington for this," Obama said, "Because that's just how Washington is. They like stirring up controversy, they like playing 'gotcha' games, getting us to attack each other, and I have to say Senator Clinton, you know, looked in her element. [scratches face] You know, she was taking every opportunity to get a dig in there. You know? That's alright. That's her right. That's her right to kind of twist the knife a little bit."

In an email sent to the Los Angeles Times on April 18, 2008, Ben LaBolt, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign, chastised the media for making the "false and childish accusation."

Fast Facts

1. The ancient Greeks and Romans used a similar (or possibly identical) gesture
2. The Roman version was called the digitus impudicus (insulting finger)
3. The Middle East equivalent is the 'thumbs-up' gesture
4. The two-fingered British version of 'the bird' is similar to Richard Nixon's v-for-victory sign
5. George W. Bush's 'W' hand gesture is similar to the heavy metal 'devil sign'