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

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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.’

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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.

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(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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