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Former President Bill Clinton endorsed California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown on Tuesday.

Because of the tangled permutations of a ubiquitous Meg Whitman (R) TV ad, Brown鈥檚 response to it, and the checkered relationship of Brown and Clinton, the high-profile endorsement will have a convoluted effect on the race, analysts say. Polls find Whitman and Brown in a dead heat with weeks to go before the election.

Clinton found himself interjected into the California governor's race three weeks ago when Whitman began airing an ad with footage of him in a 1992 Presidential debate attempting to dismiss Brown鈥檚 claim that he had lowered taxes while governor of California from 1975 to 1983.

鈥�CNN, not me, CNN says his assertion about his tax record was, quote, just plain wrong,鈥� said Clinton at the time. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 tell people the truth,鈥� said Clinton in the 鈥�92 footage within Whitman鈥檚 ad.

That language contrasts strongly with the following note Clinton :

鈥淚 strongly support Jerry Brown for governor because I believe he was a fine mayor of Oakland, he's been a very good attorney general, and he would be an excellent governor at a time when California needs his creativity and fiscal prudence."

In an , Clinton sought to put distance between now and the 1992 campaign.

"The tough campaign we fought 18 years ago is not relevant to the choice facing Californians today. Jerry and I put that behind us a long time ago."

Brown's campaign has asked Whitman鈥檚 to withdraw the ad, and has been refused. Analysts say this could backfire on Whitman.

鈥淲hen it first came out, I thought this was a brilliant ad, but they鈥檝e been running it non-stop and now that Clinton and Brown have made nice and the public knows the claims aren鈥檛 true, it鈥檚 time to stop airing the ad,鈥� says Barbara O鈥機onnor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento."The ad could backfire on Whitman," she says. "It doesn鈥檛 look good especially if Clinton comes out to campaign for Brown.鈥�

鈥淲hitman simply should not promulgate mistruths in her advertisements,鈥� adds Jessica Levinson, political reform director for the Center for Governmental Studies 鈥淐linton鈥檚 charges against Brown back in 1992 need to be put in an honest context, since they have been discredited. Negative attack ads are fair game, but mistruths are not.鈥�

Other analysts say Clinton鈥檚 endorsement, if played correctly by Brown, will certainly help him.

鈥淐linton is currently the de facto leader of the Democratic Party,鈥� says Villanova University political scientist Lara Brown, author of 鈥淛ockeying for the American Presidency.鈥� 鈥淢oreover, he is popular in the Golden State鈥�.鈥�

Before Clinton endorsed Brown, the attorney general went on the offensive to discredit the ad, bringing up the former president's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

鈥淵ou remember, right? There's that whole story there about 'did he or didn't he,' 鈥� said Brown Monday, referring to Clinton's infamous defense of his relationship with Lewinsky. Brown apologized to Clinton soon after making the remark.

Because of all this, some analysts say Clinton has simply out maneuvered Brown by taking the high ground.

鈥淐linton and Brown have always disliked each other,鈥� says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. 鈥淏ut apparently Clinton thought that it would be in his own interest to endorse Brown. It enhanced his reputation as a party-unifier. It also gave him a chance to look big when Brown looked small.鈥�

鈥淏rown miscalculated with his words,鈥� says Villanova's Brown, 鈥渂ecause certainly Clinton is better-liked among Democrats in California than Brown 鈥� and he was right to apologize to the former president.鈥�

How it plays with voters from here depends on actions by both Whitman and Brown, say analysts. The California State Department of Finance has supplied Factcheck.org with the precise tax figures on record during Brown鈥檚 governorship, and director Brooks Jackson has issued the following: 鈥淎 story I reported 18 years ago for CNN has recently become an issue in the California governor鈥檚 race. Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate, quoted it on her website on Sept. 6. Her Democratic rival, Jerry Brown, says I got it wrong. Brown is right; I made a mistake in my 1992 report.鈥�

The ad back-and-forth providers fodder for the spat to continue, says O'Connor. 鈥淚 suspect Jerry will incorporate this in his next round of ads,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really talking about the need for both candidates to get the 30 percent of voters calling themselves Independents."