Obama addresses 'race card' accusation

In his first direct comments about John McCain accusing him of playing the "race card," Barack Obama denied today "trying to inject race" into the presidential campaign.

The McCain camp leveled the accusation Thursday, jumping on remarks that Obama had made a day earlier in Wednesday about Republicans trying to scare voters by saying that he "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."

In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times excerpted on the newspaper's political website, Obama explained: "I was in Union, Missouri which is 98 percent white -- a rural, conservative -- and what I said was what I think everybody knows, which is that I don't look like I came out of central casting when it comes to presidential candidates....There was nobody there who thought at all that I was trying to inject race in this. What this has become I think is a typical pattern from the McCain campaign, whether it's Paris Hilton or Britney or this phony allegation that I wouldn't visit troops. They seem to be focused on a negative campaign what I think our campaign wants to do is focus on the issues that matter to American families."

Obama's campaign on Thursday denied that the "dollar bills" reference had to do with race.

But Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, acknowledged today that it was, at least partly. "He's not from central casting when it comes to candidates for president of the United States," Axelrod said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "He's new to Washington. Yes, he's African-American."

UPDATE: McCain told reporters in Florida today that he was "very disappointed" at Obama's comments, but will not belabor the point.

"Let's move on," he said.