Mark Silva The Swamp: [V]iewers need to pay some attention to the hand that Obama raised to his face, and the finger with which he scratched it.
Stuart O'Neill at Democratic Daily: I’ll withhold most of my profane reactions to this classless, deliberate playing to a young audience who have no political history to use as an anchor point for judgment. Barack Obama is an ass. And you can bet Hillary Clinton, in private, will react much, much more strongly. [I hope she keeps Bill away from any cameras for 24 hours, at least, to let him cool off.]
See the video at Politico for more dog whistles: "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. . . Obama bends over and does something right after the "Dirt off your shoulders" gesture, which I now understand is the "shit off your shoes" shout out to the Rolling Stones. Man oh man, Barack is just so cool! Geez, he gave Hillary the finger - that has to nail down the Beavis and Butthead crowd. "
What Obama said in the longer version of the video at Politico: "Now, I don’t blame Washington for this because that’s just how Washington is. They like stirring up controversies and getting us to play gotcha games and getting us to attack each other. And I’ve got to say Sen. Clinton looked in her element. She was taking every opportunity to, you know, get a dig in there.... That’s all right, that’s her right, that’s her right to kind of twist the knife a little bit...."
Lambert at Corrente: Obama gives Hillary the finger. Classy!
Katiebird at The Confluence: Obama just can’t stop himself
SusanUnPC at No Quarter: Obama Stands Accused of Conduct Unbecoming a Presidential Candidate [Update: Chicago Tribune]
Red State: Talk about no class: Barack Obama gives Hillary the middle finger. And see the discussion at Obama Underground via memeorandum
"I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she's feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal." -- Barack Obama
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