War of Words Over Obama Photo

WASHINGTON -- Reacting to a Drudge Report articlethat reported Hillary Clinton campaign staffers were circulating a photo of Barack Obama dressed in a traditional African outfit, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe called it "offensive fear-mongering."

"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.

Drudge reported this morning that "Clinton staffers circulated" the photo over the weekend.

"The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat front-runner dressed as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya," said the Drudge Report.

Clinton's campaign manager Maggie Williams said, in a written statement, "Enough," adding that just because it's being circulated doesn't mean it's being done so in an underhanded way.

"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," Williams continued.

"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."