Did Obama contradict himself

Without even reading any further than the title some might say, "of course he did." But I just recently read an article from NBC quoting the President making a statement about how race affects his popularity. What the President said just recently seems like a blunt contradiction of what he has said before.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/19/22360951-obama-pot-not-more-dangerous-than-alcohol?lite

“There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black President,” he said. “Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black President.”

Now think back to a few years ago during the health care debate. President Obama was addressing a joint session of Congress on his agenda for health reform. In the Speech congressman Joe Wilson shouted "you lie." Former President Jimmy Carter said that some of the opposition to the president was due to racism. The white house press secretary released a statement saying, "[President Obama] does not believe that the criticism comes based on the colour of his skin."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8260109.stm

So did the president change his mind or does he contradict himself to get across the point he wants. I'll let you be the judge. But there's a difference between saying "there's no doubt that there is," and saying "he does not believe that there is."