On last night's Hardball, host Chris Matthews led a lengthy discussion about Bill Clinton's weekend comments noting that conservatives are leveling baseless and outrageous attacks on Barack Obama, just as they did to him during the 1990s. That isn't particularly surprising; Chris Matthews is obsessed with the Clintons, and even more obsessed with anything that allows him to bring up the Lewinsky story.

But in dismissing Clinton's comments about the “vast right-wing conspiracy” working against him in the 1990s, Matthews ignored a key part of what Clinton said. Matthews reacted throughout the show as though Clinton had blamed his relationship with Monica Lewinsky on the right-wingers. Here's Matthews:

Do you remember when Hillary Clinton said the Monica Lewinsky story was a frame-up, a conspiracy by the right to make her husband look like he had a sexual entanglement with the young White House staffer? Well, now Bill Clinton said that conspiracy of the right continues. Is he trying to spin away his scandal by identifying himself with President Obama? ... Bill Clinton that says the conspiracy that sort of created the Monica mess for him is still at large and is going after Obama. ... Pat Buchanan, your thoughts about this “vast right- wing conspiracy” which Hillary Clinton blamed for the trouble her husband got in. I don't buy that. I think he got into his own trouble.

And so on. Now, here's the clip from Sunday's Meet the Press that Matthews played during his show:

DAVID GREGORY, HOST: Your wife famously talked about the “vast right- wing conspiracy” targeting you. As you look at this opposition on the right to President Obama, is it still there?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, you bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was because America has changed demographically, but it's as virulent as it was. I mean, they're saying things about him -- you know, it's like when they accused me of murder and all that stuff they did.

That last part -- the part where Clinton points out that conservatives accused him of murder -- went completely ignored by Matthews. Just pretended it didn't exist, so he could focus on Lewinsky, and mock Clinton for saying he was wrongly accused.

What makes Matthews' disappearance of the bogus murder allegations all the more absurd is that those allegations were made, among other places, on Chris Matthews' own television show.

Here's an exchange between Matthews and Gennifer Flowers from the August 2, 1999 edition of Hardball:

MATTHEWS: Now what do you think of Hillary's sort of role here in this role of offering herself up as the therapy nurse, and he's the jade--juvenile delinquent from the troubled background, and she's looking out for him all these years, and she ought to get rewarded for that with a Senate seat?

Ms. FLOWERS: Well, in the first place, I--you know, I hope that she does not succeed at becoming a United States senator from New York. I think that would be a travesty. We've had enough of these people, these criminals, these liars, these murderers. We need to get them out of political office, please.

MATTHEWS: Murderers?

Ms. FLOWERS: I--I--well, there is a Clinton death list if anyone would like to go to my Web site and--and take a look at it.

MATTHEWS: Well, we have your Web site here, www.genniferflowers.com. But what will they find if they go there in terms of murder? I didn't know that one.

Ms. FLOWERS: Well, there are--there are a number of deaths associated with Bill Clinton and the--and--and his administration and his operatives. And--and there's a--there--I would just suggest that they go on and take a look at it, because...

MATTHEWS: Do you believe that the president ordered the killing of anyone?

Ms. FLOWERS: I believe that he did, and I believe that I wouldn't...

MATTHEWS: In what case?

Ms. FLOWERS: ...I believe that I wouldn't be sitting here talking with you today had I not become high profile, as I did. Even though I didn't do it on purpose, it saved my life.

MATTHEWS: And who did he try to kill that you know of? Give me one hard case.

Ms. FLOWERS: Look--well, I would tell you that Jerry Parks, who was the head of his security when he was involved in the campaign, was shot five times and on a major thoroughfare in Arkansas because, according to his son, he had claimed to have videos and photographs of Bill Clinton with other women, as well as Hillary Clinton.

MATTHEWS: Right. But you don't know there's any connection.

Ms. FLOWERS: I don't know for--I didn't hear Bill get on the phone and call and place the order to have this man killed, no.

MATTHEWS: Well, that's not--you sort of need evidence like that to accuse even this guy, your--a guy you don't like, perhaps, of murder, don't you?

Ms. FLOWERS: Well, I--well, I think if it looks like a chicken and walks like a chicken, perhaps it's a chicken. I mean, come on.

MATTHEWS: Well, perhaps, perhaps.

Chris Matthews knows damn well there were, as Bill Clinton says, a bunch of right-wingers running around accusing him of murder and making other ridiculous and false claims. Matthews knows this happened because he played a key role in promoting this crap.

This isn't really a surprise, of course. Matthews has long been a key practitioner of the media's Clinton Rules (Rule Number 1: You can say anything you want, no matter how false, as long as you say it about the Clintons. Rule Number 2: If any allegation against a Clinton turns out to be true, you behave as though all allegations have been proven true....)