Call it the Bachmann backpedal: After saying that she’s concerned that Barack Obama “absolutely … may have anti-American views,” Rep. Michele Bachmann is now easing off that assessment — and faulting MSNBC’s Chris Matthews for the incident. On Fox 9 this morning, she said her words were “completely misconstrued,” adding that she “did not suggest the word ‘anti-American.’” On WCCO on Sunday she made a similar claim: “I’m not saying his views are anti-American. That’s a misreading of what I said.”

MPR’s Bob Collins — who puts a little blame on Matthews, saying he should “learn to be quiet after asking a question” — offers a partial transcript of the seven-minute discussion. While Matthews did first use the word “anti-American” (Bachmann used it 10 times), he did so after trying to piece together Bachmann’s logic. Using a word often associated with Stalinist Russia, she referred to four Democrats Obama, Joe Biden, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as “a troika of the most leftist administration in the history of our country.”

Did he sense where she was going — or did he lead her on?

MR. MATTHEWS: If you have liberal views, does that mean you have anti-American views? What’s the connection? I don’t get the connection. What’s the connection between liberal and leftist and anti-American?

REP. BACHMANN: Anti-American is the point, because –

MR. MATTHEWS: I mean, if you’re liberal, are you anti-American?

What’s done is done, of course. Bachmann did say, as the tape shows, that she worries that Obama’s views may be “anti-American” and she did say that the media should look into whether members of Congress are pro- or anti-America (a fact downplayed in many of the early local news stories). And citizens cross-country are outraged: Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg has reported raised more than $640,000, which he’ll be using to buy ads later this week.