A photograph of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama dressed in traditional local garments during a visit to Kenya in 2006 is making its way around the Internet and has caused yet another flare up with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.
The picture shows Obama wearing a white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders in Wajir, in northeastern Kenya, the home of his estranged late father.
The Drudge Report posted the photo Monday and said it was being circulated by "Clinton staffers."
It also quoted an e-mail from an unidentified aide from the Clinton campaign.
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson denied that Clinton was involved in the dissemination of the photo.
"I just want to make it very clear that we were not aware of it, the campaign didn't sanction it and don't know anything about it," said Wolfson. "None of us have seen the e-mail in question. If anybody has independent reporting that they've done on it I would welcome it."
During an interview with WOAI radio in San Antonio, Obama addressed the issue by saying voters are "saddened when they see these kind of politics."
"Everybody knows that whether it's me or Senator Clinton or Bill Clinton that when you travel to other countries they ask you to try on traditional garb that you have been given as a gift," said Obama. "The notion that the Clinton campaign would be trying to circulate this as a negative on the same day that Senator Clinton was giving a speech about how we repair our relationships around the world is sad."
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