# Senator gets upset over ad showing him with 5 fingers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184 "2011-09-30T18:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/1 "2011-09-30T18:44:18Z")
At first I thought it was an Onion article, but once you read it, you realize it wasn’t. [Montana Senator, who lost 3 fingers in an accident, shown in Republican ad with 5 fingers.](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/sen-tester-team-gets-testy-over-ad-depicting-155916962.html) Republican Committee Member 1: “Hey, lets show how cozy that liberal senator is with the hated Barack Obama!” RCM2: “We’ll show them hugging and patting each other on the back, that’ll get the closet homophobes on our side too!” RCM1: “As if they ever left!” _laughter_ RCM2: “Ok ok, but what do we do about Tester’s left hand. People might think he’s a war hero or something” RMC1: “Why don’t we just draw some fingers on him?” RCM2: “Nobody will catch that!” _high fives_ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/2 "2011-09-30T18:49:45Z")
> [@](#): > > _high fives_ Well, not really. Surf’s not up for that big kahuna. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/3 "2011-09-30T18:55:24Z")
[“Our research tells us that voters like fingers…”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcQPsklmsnY) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/4 "2011-09-30T19:04:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Republicans said Thursday that the hand that appears in the campaign video image belongs to someone in the background and was accidentally kept in the image after the ad’s producers had cropped out other figures in the background, the Tribune reports You have _got_ to be kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/5 "2011-09-30T20:23:00Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > [“Our research tells us that voters like fingers…”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcQPsklmsnY) I love this quote so. hard. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/6 "2011-09-30T21:23:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You have _got_ to be kidding. So where’s the original image? ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/7 "2011-09-30T21:46:55Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > So where’s the original image? Actually seems to be legit: From a 2010 Blog: [http://rightmontana.blogspot.com/2010/12/two-years-of-obamatester-team.html](http://rightmontana.blogspot.com/2010/12/two-years-of-obamatester-team.html) probably an honest mistake ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/8 "2011-09-30T21:51:29Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > Actually seems to be legit: > > From a 2010 Blog: > [http://rightmontana.blogspot.com/2010/12/two-years-of-obamatester-team.html](http://rightmontana.blogspot.com/2010/12/two-years-of-obamatester-team.html) > > probably an honest mistake How do you figure? That link shows a picture of Tester and Obama that looks very obviously Photoshopped. It’s a fake-Tester hand on Obama’s back in that picture, not some other person. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/9 "2011-09-30T21:53:06Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > I love this quote so. hard. I pretty much love that whole movie for the random quotes. I’m just waiting for Tester to snarl, “I’ve played this stinking state like a bat from hell!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/10 "2011-09-30T21:58:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > How do you figure? That link shows a picture of Tester and Obama that looks very obviously Photoshopped. It’s a fake-Tester hand on Obama’s back in that picture, not some other person. That’s not the hand in question. It’s his LEFT hand that is missing fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/11 "2011-09-30T22:00:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > How do you figure? That link shows a picture of Tester and Obama that looks very obviously Photoshopped. It’s a fake-Tester hand on Obama’s back in that picture, not some other person. Left hand, the low hand, not the one on Obama’s back. There is something to Tester’s left, mostly occluded by Tester’s body, but visible behind his neck and mid-back. Likely this is another dude who is extending his left hand at about Obama’s navel. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/12 "2011-09-30T22:01:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > How do you figure? That link shows a picture of Tester and Obama that looks very obviously Photoshopped. It’s a fake-Tester hand on Obama’s back in that picture, not some other person. No, it’s Tester’s \*left \*hand that only has two fingers. He’s got his right hand on Obama’s back - or actually, I think, in the air, mid-back-slap, which is (part of) why it looks so weird. Between their stomachs, though, you can see the left hand of the guy directly behind Tester - he appears to be clapping. (You can just make out a bit of his back and head just behind Tester’s back and head.) If that were Tester’s hand, it would look almost like he’s going in for a crotch-grab on Obama, so I can see why they kept it in. But I suppose it’s plausible it’s a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/13 "2011-09-30T22:05:46Z")
Navel-grab, Crotch-grab, Tomato, Tomahto. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/14 "2011-09-30T22:06:22Z")
Ah, I was focused on the right hand. Yeah, carelessness makes more sense as an explanation for that than deliberate malice. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/15 "2011-09-30T22:39:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Ah, I was focused on the right hand. Yeah, carelessness makes more sense as an explanation for that than deliberate malice. I dunno. This is the Republican party we’re talking about, the same one who thinks making up racist caricatures of Obama is ok. When Republicans are concerned, never attribute to carelessness when maliciousness is an option. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/16 "2011-09-30T22:59:48Z")
And once again, Poe’s Law rears its ugly heads. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/17 "2011-09-30T23:08:53Z")
Every image on the internet looks very obviously photoshopped - you can tell from the pixels, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-gets-upset-over-ad-showing-him-with-5-fingers/598184/18 "2011-10-01T05:27:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Every image on the internet looks very obviously photoshopped - you can tell from the pixels, apparently. That, and all the shops you have seen in your time. Anyway, this is a strange little argument and I can’t see it having a huge effect on how the race actually goes.