Mark Penn: We Were Just Kidding (Updated) ; )

Ah, after taking a beating from the MSM about their press release on Barack Obama's presidential ambitions (from Kindergarten)...Mark Penn goes on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning to tell the whole world that...wait...give me second...I'm still laughing...okay...wait...still not ready...wiping away the tears...okay, now I'm ready...he now says that the press release was a big joke.

Yep, that's right folks...Mr. Poll-Central himself says that their so-called oppo-research on Barack Obama's childhood ambition was a big joke. They were just kidding. No need for us to take it seriously. Yeah right. Like we're really supposed to believe that. How can the most calculated and poll-driven operative of the most calculated and poll-driven campaign say that a press release that they gave out was meant to be a joke. Come on Mark Penn...don't insult our intelligence like that...we know that you were trying to score some cheap political point, but, I'm sorry (well, not that sorry) to say sir, that the joke is on you.

Jump below for some fun!!!

That's right Mark, the joke is on you and your campaign. That excuse could have worked if maybe this happened on April Fools Day, but not now. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and this is certainly desperate. You could have come up with a number of excuses...here's some help:

-An Obama supporter hacked into our system and sent out the press release.

-Aliens overtook Clinton headquarters and sent out the press release.

-It was GWB's fault.

-It was Karl Rove's fault.

So Mr. Penn...was this a "botched joke" ala John Kerry. In defense of the good senator, at least his assessment was correct..."if you're dumb like Bush, you'll get us stuck in Iraq." John Kerry had the cojones to tell it like it is and apologized to anybody he offended...you sir, fall way short, just like your candidate. So, if this is your candidate's idea of "fun," by all means continue the silliness. No one is stopping you. Just remember that the American people are smarter than what you and your candidate give them credit for. We know negativity when we see it and we know desperation when we see it; and right now, those are the only things coming out of your campaign. How unfortunate :  (

Update: Thanks to my girl icebergslim, here's a link to some more video http://video.msn.com/...

•  Tips for stopping the silliness ; )

  by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:34:28 AM PDT

  •  If you believe this was a joke, I have a bridge

    in Brooklyn that I would be happy to sell you.

    by blue jersey mom on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:38:03 AM PDT

    •  Well, It Was A Joke When It Was On SNL!

      But it got better. The mock Matthews asked about Democrat primary voters that might be unhappy with her initial support for the war. The mock Hillary perfectly responded: "Chris, I think most Democrats know me. They understand that my support for the war was always insincere."

      Marvelous stuff. Of course, the defining moment might have been when the mock Matthews said, "But, in fairness to Sen. Obama, until today when you’ve been asked if you’ve been running for president, you’ve always denied it." With that, the mock Hillary unleashed a vulgarity filled rant that included:

      Is there anyone in the f-----g country who didn’t know I was running for president? I’ve been running for president since I was five! Are you f-----g retarded?

       Source
      Thew were so mad about this, they finally found a way to tie it together with Obama's - Hillary's been running for "20 years," line of attack.  Mark Penn, is such a Fucking Liar!

      by leonard145b on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:53:44 AM PDT

      •  What did the Daily Show do?

        They must love the Kindergarten thing.

        by Democrat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:01:14 AM PDT

        •  sadly

          The Daily Show and Colbert Report are not airing because of the Writer's Strike. The SNL skit was from January.

          by sideofzen on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:08:57 AM PDT

          •  Right.

            I don't have a TV so I only watch what ends up on youtube.

            by Democrat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:28:40 AM PDT

      •  Don't they realize that SNL is so

        1980s ?

        by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:01:28 AM PDT

  •  Pie? More sexist attacks. eom

    by Geekesque on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:38:07 AM PDT

  •  I realize you think this

    "it was a joke" is just spin.

    But, um, it was a joke. Not a Clinton person; planning to vote for Edwards.

    It was plain as day, to me, that referencing Obama's Kindergarten essay was intended to be tongue-in-cheek.

    by dedmonds on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:38:19 AM PDT

    •  Just want to not pre-emptively

      that I'm not saying it was a particularly good joke.

      by dedmonds on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:39:09 AM PDT

      •  See, that's the thing about "jokes"

        They are supposed to be, you know, funny.

        by houndcat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:16:30 PM PDT

    •  Hmmm...I doubt it...

      Clinton is not known for joking around so I doubt that this was a joke, but, you have the right to your own opinion ;  )

      by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:40:09 AM PDT

      •  They are such scamps!

        Don't you just want to pinch Mark Penn right on his little rosy cheeks? Really hard. Until he yips in pain?

        by speck tater on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:54:51 AM PDT

    •  A botched joke.

      So much for that well-oiled machine.  They had four days to come up with "just kidding" after getting pilloried in the press.

      by Geekesque on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:41:53 AM PDT

      •  And we all remember

        what Hillary's opinion of botched jokes don't we?

        You notice of course who is agreeing with her in that clip.

        Hey Senator Clinton, here's you knife, I found it John Kerry's back.

        by bam bam on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:47:29 AM PDT

        •  Get this

          even Taylor Marsh ripped into Hillary on this subject.

          by bam bam on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:56:25 AM PDT

          •  Wow, I just saw a couple of pigs flying overhead!

            by Jennifer Clare on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:39:24 AM PDT

            •  Yeah and it's getting a little chilly in hell ; )

              by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:44:50 AM PDT

        •  Um, yeah. If it really was meant to be a joke

          you'd think they'd have been able to say so right away. They wouldn't have had to dither for four days.

          In fact, even if they didn't mean it as a joke, geeze they're slow! It was obvious a lot sooner than four days that the ploy wasn't going over well at all. Internal power politics, that's my guess, inside the campaign. Someone's ego was bound up in it, and they couldn't admit it had been a false step.

          by Canadian Reader on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:45:05 AM PDT

        •  $50 bucks says Kerry doesn't

          endorse her this time around.

          by Geekesque on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:47:05 AM PDT

          •  You're right...

            I doubt it...no way.

            by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:53:31 AM PDT

          •  Maybe

            if she wins the primary.

            by bam bam on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:08:23 PM PDT

            •  Myabe. eom

              by Geekesque on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:18:04 PM PDT

      •  Obama's camp should DEMAND an apology

        and follow up with daily demands until she caves.

        Even though it really wasn't a joke, if the candidate of 'experience' in this campaign is going to claim that scouring a Democratic primary opponent's kindergarten records was 'just a joke' then she ought to publicly apologize for it.

        by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:37:28 AM PDT

        •  They're doing something far more devastating.

          They're laughing at her.

          by Geekesque on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:44:21 AM PDT

          •  Fair enough

            by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:46:23 AM PDT

        •  No, Obama should dismiss it, just as he's doing.

          Let Hillary hang herself.  Why follow up overblown histrionics with more overblown histrionics?

          Back to grown folks business and 'real talk'.

          by just passing through on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:28:40 PM PDT

    •  The democratic primaries

      for the office of the President of the United States is not a joking matter in my opinion and hopefully in the opinion of most Americans.

      It's not the Tonight Show.

      Especially in these times we find thrust upon us.  The Office of the President is one of the most solemn subjects I can think of.  I don't appreciate the humor and since I am a citizen who hasn't decided on whom to vote for, I hope her campaign takes that seriously as well.

      by Jeffersonian Democrat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:45:23 AM PDT

      •  She just said she thinks this is 'fun'

        by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:46:28 AM PDT

        •  and that concerns me greatly

          If I was running for this office, I would not be thinking about fun but rather getting our country out of the mess it is in.

          It would not appear to me to be fun having to deal with wars in two, perhaps three, countries, a sinking dollar, no manufacturing in this country, rising oil prices, no health insurance to speak of, etc., etc.

          The next president will have their hands full and no matter how much good they do, will probably not see a second term.

          This is a very grave situation, not fun in the least

          In my honest opinion.

          by Jeffersonian Democrat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:51:55 AM PDT

    •  give me a break

      you take the time to research, create and make up a press release about Obama that mentions possible political ambitions mentioned in his past, including grade school and kindergarten and you think it was a joke?

      Don't you think they should be working on something else, since her campaign is in a free fall?

      by MadAsHellMaddie on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:51:47 AM PDT

  •  Don't stop

    Not until Penn is stripped naked and dragged through a  shallow pool of snot. Fuck him.

    by keirdubois on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:41:11 AM PDT

    •  Don't hold back keirdubois

      LMAO

      by Robinswing on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:45:10 AM PDT

      •  Fine

        A deep pool of snot, then.

        by keirdubois on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:46:10 AM PDT

    •  I second that.

      How is it that the American press has not slandered this guy yet? What are they waiting for? Rove was boy scout compared to Marc Penn. Owning a direct mail company and ruining the repug party is not the same as owning a PR firm that specializes in emphasizing the brighter side of genocide. I really have nothing against HRC. I can't believe she thought it was a good idea to align herself with this evil fucker though.

      by psilocynic on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:45:26 AM PDT

      •  Also...

        ...was it Penn who said the HRC campaign is happily running as Margaret Thatcher 2.0?

        by keirdubois on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:47:49 AM PDT

  •  He really should have taken a poll before

    telling that joke.  If it is good enough for Babs, it is good enough for campaign snark.

    by Yoshimi on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:15:05 AM PDT

    •  Didn't you hear...

      he asked Zogby for one, but Zogby refused ;  )

      by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:16:14 AM PDT

•  If I contributed money to the Coronation Campaign

  I would be pretty pissed off right now that they are paying high-priced oppo-research consulting firms to scour Obama's kindergarten records.

  A 'joke'?  At this point, the joke perhaps is the Coronation Campaign itself.

  by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:39:28 AM PDT

  •  Couldn't have said it better myself ; )

    by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:41:14 AM PDT

•  Here is the video of Penn

  http://video.msn.com/...

  by icebergslim on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:40:53 AM PDT

•  Whether she wins or loses

  Marc Penn will be the bane of America's future.

  by psilocynic on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:41:00 AM PDT

•  It was a joke, alright.

  Just the kind where they laugh at you, not with you.

  I mean, Gawd, what were they thinking?

  by MBNYC on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:41:16 AM PDT

•  if Penn is on the talk shows

  defending his campaign strategy, I consider it a very good day.

  Let's see....war in iraq, afghanistan one big drug running operation, economy going south, people losing their homes, global warming, bush adminstration, neocons lusting for war with Iran....makes me want to crack a joke, too.   With that kind of sense of humor, perhaps I have a career being a paid liar for criminals like Mark Penn.  Hillary did say this was when the "fun" starts.

  Have you heard the one about how the American public finally realized they were being lied to?

  by onemadson on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:41:58 AM PDT

  •  If you're explaining, you're defending.

    If you're defending, you're losing.

    by Geekesque on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:42:28 AM PDT

    •  Politiking

      101. Good point.

      by psilocynic on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:46:29 AM PDT

•  You know that is the favorite

  excuse every asshole uses when they are caught being assholes "I was just kidding." "I was breaking your balls.""I didn't mean nothing by it."

  Tony Soprano did it all the time.

  by bam bam on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:42:18 AM PDT

  •  Someone should follow up and ask Penn

    exactly how much it cost the Coronation Campaign to scour Obama's kindergarten records to come up with such a 'joke' - and even though it was obviously not a joke, it's fallen as flat as a pancake.

    by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:44:38 AM PDT

•  Mark, if it was a joke...

  we would be laughing WITH you, not AT you.

  by rf7777 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:44:08 AM PDT

•  Score one for Obama

  If Clinton's pollster/strategist has to come out and say it was a joke, I think that shows that criticism didnt work.  

  by jj32 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:47:55 AM PDT

  •  Now someone for Edwards or Obama should say

    that the tactics of the Coronation Campaign are bordering on a joke - and a bad one at that.

    by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:49:32 AM PDT

    •  That would be quite hilarious wouldn't it ; )

      by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:50:28 AM PDT

  •  When people can't distinguish

    between your "jokes" and your serious points, you have one of two very serious problems:

    1.  You have a very bad sense of humor; or

    2.  Your attempted "serious message" is indistinguishable from a joke.

    Either way, something is very, very wrong.

    by houndcat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:22:13 PM PDT

•  Penn should stick to his day job

  He clearly reached his level of incompetence as a comedian.

  by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:57:10 AM PDT

  •  His day job is joke creation management,

    didn't you know ?

    It's where you tell a joke and then spend days trying to spin the punch line and convince the audience that it was, in fact, a joke and that the only proper response they should have is to laugh at your comedic brilliance.

    by RobertInWisconsin on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:00:01 AM PDT

•  Go

  Mark Penn!

  by bink on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:57:13 AM PDT

  •  Now THAT is funny. :)

    by Yoshimi on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:28:33 AM PDT

  •  Now, this is a joke

    right?

    by just passing through on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:33:29 AM PDT

•  Chris Lehane said that last night

  on Dan Abrams shitty show.
  "It was a joke, lighten up," he said.

  Fortunately, Lawrence O'Donnel was there to humiliate him - and call him a lying, spinning idiot, to his face.

  by steelman on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:00:06 AM PDT

  •  doesn't work for me

    joking about the Office of the President of the United States from the individual candidates in this sense just doesn't work for me... that's Dave Letterman's job, not the candidates themselves.

    ...especially in these times.

    And I am still a non-committed voter.

    That's my reply to Lehane

    by Jeffersonian Democrat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:08:28 AM PDT

    •  "Well...

      ...maybe I grew up in a simpler time, but I don't think a candidate for the highest office in the land should joke about the job of President.  I know I never will."  

      Wayyyyyyy back in the ancient 1980s, a Ronald Reagan would hammer that softball out of the park.  Nothing would remain of his opponent but a greasestained podium.

      So it seems to me even the Clinton Campaign just came to a screeching halt.  How do her opponents fail to decimate her over the "we're just joking" excuse?

      If they do fail ... how did the country get even stupider and more gullible over the past 25 years?

      by Quicklund on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 02:10:24 PM PDT

•  I Think I'm Going to Trust

  You to accurately convey Penn on Morning Joe about as much as you would trust me to convey Axelrod on Hardball.

  Hint:  Not one bit.

  by Edgar08 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:03:07 AM PDT

  •  How ya doing Edgar ; )

    by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:05:52 AM PDT

  •  fair enough

    I'm sure there is a video of it.

    by jj32 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:09:17 AM PDT

    •  Yep...

      icebergslim has it upthread ;  )

      by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:12:12 AM PDT

  •  The proof is in the pudding...

    icebergslim has the video posted upthread ;  )

    by bigpappa10834 on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:12:44 AM PDT

  •  bigpappa apparently doesn't know

    that you can link to comments? anyway, follow that for the comment with the link to the video, or just follow this link directly to the video to save a step.

    by dconrad on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 03:21:24 PM PDT

•  Maybe this was also a joke

  "How did running for president become a qualification for being president?" HRC asked Monday in Iowa.

  A great question. I'd like to hear her answer, along with the answer to:

  "How did marrying a president become a qualification for being president?"

  by science first on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:51:56 AM PDT

•  Oh, my sides

  Stop.  You guys are killing me.

  by houndcat on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:23:32 PM PDT

•  Kindergate

  Has totally blown up in the Clinton's faces. Now they are trying to walk it back.

  by turneresq on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:25:06 PM PDT

•  NAFTA, Kindergarden, & Mud

  ...all laughing matters to some.

  I guess.

  by Quicklund on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 01:52:58 PM PDT

  •  But seriously folks

    I am not sure I have ever seen a Presidential candidate's own campaign staff label themselves as unserious jokers.  He may as well have said this instead.

    "Oh you silly.  Just because we release an official statement, it's not like you should believe what we say.  Sometime's we lie just for fun!"  
    [look into camera and flash perky smile]

    How ... how can a Presidential candidacy survive this?  This is beyond gaffe.  

    by Quicklund on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 02:00:46 PM PDT