I'm not completely sure what to make of Obama's fashion statement but it is most helpful to hear from an expert. Although we may not know now who released the image, a photo of Obama wearing Somali clothing is causing a fire storm after it was released on the Drudge Report website.
I'd let an expert address the clothing.
Yusuf Garaad Omar, head of the BBC's Somali Service, explains the meaning of the robes.
These are the normal clothes that nomadic people wear.
The head turban is especially used by elderly people as a suggestion of respect. It is something that has no meaning whatsoever in Somalia culture.
If you see someone dressed like that in Somalia, you think it is a nomadic person - that is all.
There is no religious significance to it whatsoever. It is mainly the nomadic people who use it. Some of them are religious, some are not.
It is simply a tradition of the place where they are from.
In this particular place, Wajir in north-east Kenya, the community is majority ethnic Somali.
They have a council for Peace and Development, and when they get delegates they dress them as a nomadic person.
Given that the expert, Mr. Omar, has weighed in, the costume does not appear particularly significant, but it has allowed the Clinton campaign some room to deny that they were behind the picture's release.