We earlier ran THIS POST that has an audio clip of a radio show in which former President Bill Clinton again thrust himself into the news — this time by charging that Senator Barack Obama’s campaign played the race card against him and that memos prove it.

But now Clinton is denying he ever said what was in the interview:

Bill Clinton denied Tuesday he had accused the Obama campaign of ‘playing the race card’ during a Monday interview. A recording of the former president making the comment during that interview has been circulating online.

Go the link in the first paragraph here and re-listen to what he said on the radio.

Outside a Pittsburgh campaign event, a reporter asked Clinton what he had meant “when you said the Obama campaign was playing the race card on you?”

Clinton responded: “When did I say that and to whom did I say that?”

The reporter replied that the former president had made the remarks during his interview with WHYY Monday night.

“No, no, no, that’s not what I said,” said Clinton. “You always follow me around and play these little games. And I am not going to play your games today. This is a day about Election Day, go back and see what the question was and what my answer was.

“You have mischaracterized it to get another cheap story to divert the American people from the real urgent issues before us, and I choose not to play your games today. …

“I said what I said you can go back and look at the interview, and if you will be real honest you will also report what the question was and what the answer was. But I’m not helping you,” said Clinton.

And the memo?

Clinton wouldn’t answer what he meant when he charged that his allegation was proven by Obama campaign memos.
Writes My DD’s Jonathan Singer:

Do I think this will have a tangible impact on today’s results in Pennsylvania? Not really. Do I even think that this particular exchange will have a long-term impact? Again, no. However, I’m just trying to figure out exactly what the former President is trying to do here. Clearly, he claimed the Obama campaign was playing the race card, and clearly just a day later, he denied saying as much.

I think President Clinton is as talented a politician as I’ve seen in my lifetime — he knows how to connect with voters in a real and genuine way, and, what’s more, plays the game as well as anyone. But this type of move, along with the statement in South Carolina linking Barack Obama with Jesse Jackson (the hubbub surrounding which was arguably the turning point, or at least a turning point, of momentum away from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama), is just not politically effective. So in a Hillary Clinton administration, would we see the Bill Clinton who was virtually unbeatable during his own presidency, or would we see the Bill Clinton who, while no doubt adding significantly to his wife’s campaign, has had a tendency to say things that are, shall we say, politically uncouth? Heck, in a general election against John McCain, which one would we see?

This could be a REAL problem for some voters — and expect the GOP to latch onto it if Hillary Clinton does manage to win the nomination.

Hillary Clinton by herself has established a record as a good, center-left, smart Senator who has responded to constituent requests. When Bill Clinton gets red-faced and explodes, or says something and later comes back to insiste he never said something that all over the Internet, it further underscores the Clintons credibility problem among non-supporters. “Non-supporters” means those who are not Clinton haters as well.

The problem with this kind of credibility problem is that many Democrats (as well as independents and non-lock step Republicans) are tired of having an administration where voters feel they must tape record every word or have a lawyer look at assertions for loopholes.

Singer is correct: Clinton’s latest verbal bomb, and attempt to say he never said what is now all over the Internet, most likely won’t hurt Hillary Clinton in today’s vote.

But, increasingly, there are some voters who will cringe (and balk) at the idea of putting Hillary Clinton in the White House if it means “two for the price of one.”

NOTE: This kind of press isn’t helpful to Hillary Clinton’s campaign OR the image of the Clintons. Just look at some of the press and website coverage. Here are the news leads and a few quotes:
–AFP:

Former president Bill Clinton was embroiled Tuesday in a new campaign flap after accusing his wife’s White House rival Barack Obama of playing “the race card on me.”

A day after making the race card remark in a radio interview, in a discussion about January’s bruising South Carolina primary, Clinton told reporters in Pittsburgh: “No, no, no. That’s not what I said.

–The Boston Globe’s blog:

Bill Clinton became a distraction — again — today on voting day in Pennsylvania, at least on the cable TV shows and political blogs.

…..Pressed to explain his comments, Clinton seemed to deny today that he said them, though they are on tape.

Obama was incredulous when reporters asked him today about the former president’s comments. “I have no idea what he meant,” he said. “These were words that came out of his mouth.”

–CNN:

Former President Bill Clinton denied Tuesday he had accused Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign of “playing the race card” during an interview Monday.

A recording of the former president making the comment is posted on the WHYY Web site.

–ABC News:

With Sen. Hillary Clinton locked in a dogfight with Sen. Barack Obama for votes in today’s crucial Democratic Pennsylvania primary, her husband and former U.S. president, Bill Clinton, stole the spotlight by loudly rehashing his controversial comparison of Obama to Jesse Jackson.

“He would do the [Clinton] campaign good if he would just stop saying stuff like this,” said Bob Shrum, a former Democratic strategist who worked on both the Al Gore and John Kerry campaigns. “There are plenty of times when he goes out and is very effective, but then he pops off in other ways that don’t help.”

–Hot Air’s Allahpundit:

Exit question: Compulsive lying or willful sabotage? Or head injury? As you ponder….watch Obama try to keep a straight face when asked about it. Truly Slick is the gift that keeps on giving.

–Ed Morrissey:

Has Bill Clinton lost his mind, or does he want to kneecap his wife’s run for the presidency?…Whether or not he feels he has to “that that s*** from anybody”, Clinton knows he’s playing in the big leagues, and knows what the rules are. Clinton has made a career out of playing the race card, and in fact plays it again here. He wants to go back to the silly meme of being the nation’s “first black president” by accusing the man who might actually become that of relying on identity politics to smear him. That’s a gas coming from the same campaign that has tried to use gender politics since 1992. Or perhaps no one remembers “soccer moms”?…He has become a loose cannon whose actions hurt more than help. His leash obviously needs more shortening.

–Liberal Values:

Certainly it was ridiculous for Clinton to claim that it was Obama who had been playing the race card, but it doesn’t help to simply pretend he didn’t say something that was recorded. He didn’t get away with it when he claimed he didn’t “have sex with that woman” and it is even harder to get away with denying something that has been recorded. Does Clinton have any idea of the difference between reality and fiction, or between telling the truth and lying?

–The Swamp:

The former president seems to not to want to let this matter die, which doesn’t help his wife’s efforts any.

What’s more, he’s only making it easy for the Obama side to know what buttons to push to get him way off message.

–Commentary:

You can count on two daily occurrences in the Democratic race: Barack Obama brushing off the media and Bill Clinton displaying his self-absorbed and increasingly out-of-touch psyche.

–Michelle Malkin:

Is Bill Clinton working for the Obama campaign? Because it’s the only sane explanation for this behavior.

--Political Machine:

Full disclosure: I twice voted for Bill Clinton, and, by and large, thought him to be a pretty good president. The way he has campaigned for his wife’s bid to become commander-in-chief, however, has left me scratching my head and wondering: What the hell has gotten into him?

–Newsday’s Spin Cycle has a link to the memo that could be the one Clinton is talking about but says it is not a slam dunk:

It’s like negative campaigning — everything the Clintons are accused of doing is actually being done to them: “I think that they played the race card on me. We now know, from memos from the campaign that they planned to do it along.”

….Here’s the memo Clinton is apparently referring to. It doesn’t say what he said it says, but it’s probably close enough to meet his standards for making the claim.

And the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire has this interesting update:

Update: Obama communications director Robert Gibbs appeared amused and surprised by the idea the Obama campaign had made any deliberate effort of the kind Clinton suggested. “The secret memo? Where we put the idea in his head to say what he said so he can blame us for having said it?” Gibbs said while offering a wink. “That would be pretty good if we could do that.