Patrick Oliphant in his studio with "Nelson Rockefeller as St. Francis of Assisi" lithograph

In 1976, while campaigning for the Ford/Dole Republican ticket, a group of hecklers flashed Vice President Nelsen Rockefeller the middle finger, and he reciprocated in kind. This profane gesture was caught on camera and became known as the “Rockefeller Salute.” 

Oliphant’s caricature of Rockefeller “flips the bird” with one hand and raises his pinky on the other — perhaps a reference to his reputation as a refined connoisseur of art. While St. Francis renounced his wealth and preached to birds, Rockefeller, scion of one of America’s wealthiest families, arrogantly “gives the bird” to his constituents.