UPDATED BELOW 1:00 PM. UPDATED AGAIN 6:30 PM
The Drudge Report flash this morning claims that the Clinton campaign is sending around an email with the picture on the left. This picture, taken in 2006, is of Barack Obama in Kenya during a five-country tour of Africa, donning the garb of a Somali elder while stopping in his father's native Kenya.
The Clinton team, obviously taking advantage of the internet-based fearmongering about Obama's paternal ties to Islam, has not denied putting this out, but as of this writing has not offered any comment.
The Obama camp reacted quickly (via Politico);
(Obama campaign manager David) Plouffe said in a statement: "On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we've seen from either party in this election. This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it's exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world," said Plouffe.
Despite Senator Clinton's warm words at the end of CNN's Democratic debate Thursday night, the rhetoric coming from the campaign and Clinton herself has turned decidedly negative since this past weekend. My colleague David Knowles covered one of Clinton's more strident attacks on Obama on Saturday here.
If proven that this did indeed come from the HRC camp, this will be one of the lowest blows laid on Obama to date outside of the right-wing blogs and virtual crayon-written spam emails. Some will see this as a desperation move by the campaign to instill fear and loathing before the crucial upcoming March 4 primaries.

The last time we had some outrage on wearing native dress was when Nancy Pelosi wore a head scarf and black abaya in Syria - while in a mosque. Where were these flames fanned? Right-wing blogs and talk radio.
And who else has worn a hijab? How about Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush? No complaint there.
If fear-mongering is all Clinton has left - if her own message isn't cutting it - then is this what we want for the Democratic Party? Will she scare a few voters away from Obama with these tactics? Probably, but at what cost?
Update:
Clinton campaign's Maggie Williams responds (via CNN's Political Ticker):
"Enough. If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely," said Williams.
"This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry. We will not be distracted."
So let me get this straight. They send an e-mail meant to be divisive and then complain that the negative reaction to the divisiveness is something they won't be distracted by.
These people are seriously screwed up.
Update II:
Via TPM, Josh Marshall reports that during a press conference call this afternoon, Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson issues a stronger denial of any "official" involvement with the Drudge account from this morning:
Asked if the campaign had any role, Wolfson said, "No, not to my knowledge...I've never seen that picture before. I'm not aware that anyone else here has. I'm not aware that anyone here has circulated this e-mail."
Wolfson did say, however, that the campaign agreed with part of the message in the email -- that if the same photo had appeared of Hillary, it would have been a big story: "It is a common view among this campaign and our supporters that there is a difference in how the media covers our campaign and how it covers Senator Obama."
Wolfson also grew exasperated with a reporter who pressed the issue, saying: "If you have any original reporting to suggest that this campaign was circulating this e-mail, please let me know."
"We've been very clear that we're not aware of it," he added. "Obviously the campaign didn't sanction it, and don't know anything about it."


