Op-Ed: I Doubt Barack Obama Was Flipping Hillary the 'Birdie'

In what has bloggers laughing, criticizing and generally having fun with, Barack Obama was making a speech and when he mentioned Hillary Clinton's name, he scratch his face with the "finger" usually associated with the "birdie"

In my opinion, Obama was not flipping Clinton off, but he did seem to take a moment to enjoy his supporters amusement at how it looked. Others think he may have done it purposely, but after watching it a few times, I think he scratched his face and when supporters started chuckling and laughing out loud, he realized what it looked like and kind of smirked. It was amusement, not disrespect but bloggers and media outlets are getting some entertainment out of it.

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.

Others, like myself, do not really think the gesture was really a gesture at all.

I can scarcely believe that a candidate who's committed to "changing the tone" of the debate in this country would give his opponent "the finger." And from what I've known of Barack personally, I'm skeptical that he actually did it -- it's not his style; he's got too much respect for himself.

So, there you go. An innocent gesture that just happened to get a reaction out of the crowd that Obama found amusing or was it deliberate? My money is on an innocent gesture.