The story is still pretty unclear, but by now you’ve probably heard about “the photo.” The Drudge Report (not the most trusted name in news) released a story claiming that Clinton staffers circulated a photo of Obama from a 5-nation tour of Africa in 2006, in which he tried on Somali garb while in Kenya. This is the kind of thing that happens all the time with politicians traveling abroad; you see photos of congressmen and even presidents doing this a lot. Hell, every time Bush attends an APEC summit he wears something new.

But the problem with the Obama photo is that whoever chose to circulate it chose the one photo which (in the eyes of less-aware people) makes Obama look like he’s a Muslim. This is not just a photo you release randomly or casually. This is a photo you release if you want to do some serious race/religion-baiting, on the level of “accidentally” calling Obama “Osama.” This is a photo you release if you are trying to out-Rove Karl Rove. The photo itself is completely innocent; the intent behind circulating it is explosively sleazy.

Now, here’s the thing: coming from Drudge, you’d want to confirm the story before blasting Hillary for it. Drudge names no sources, though he does quote Clinton staffers. Did the Clinton campaign really release this photo? Maybe it was released by right-wingers attributing it to Clinton in hopes of taking shots at both Hillary and Obama.

However, the responses coming from the Clinton campaign seem to bolster the Drudge story. Had the Clinton campaign not been involved, one would think they would have simply said, “no, we didn’t release that photo; someone is trying to make us look bad,” or something along those lines. But they didn’t. The Clinton campaign simply says the photo wasn’t “sanctioned,” and they are not “aware” of anyone in their campaign circulating it:

“Here’s what I’d say: I’ve never seen that picture before, I’m not aware that anyone here has, I’m not aware that anyone sent any such e-mail.”

That’s not a denial, that’s more a way of saying “it was someone we can claim distance from doing our dirty work.” Hardly proof that the Clinton campaign was involved, but it does give the impression that it’s true. At the very least, it says that the campaign isn’t sure that it wasn’t them, and is covering its bases.

Along with the non-denial denials, the Clinton campaign chided Obama for being offended at nothing, and trying to “distract” people:

“If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely,” [Clinton campaign manager Maggie] Williams wrote in an e-mail to reporters. “This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry. We will not be distracted.”

One thing for certain: if the Clinton campaign really did release this photo, then it was a desperate gambit, and probably a really stupid one; Obama could benefit from this a lot more than the photo would hurt him. But then, the Clinton campaign has done a lot of stupid stuff in the past few months.

All this as a new poll shows Obama taking the lead in Texas, and another poll showing Obama coming to within 4 points of Clinton in Ohio.