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Mark Penn: Hillary 3 A.M.-Kids-Sleeping Spot Is A "Positive Ad"

On a conference call just now, Hillary pollster Mark Penn offered an intriguing defense of the new Hillary ad asking who you want answering the red phone in the White House when your kids are safely sleeping at 3 A.M.

Asked if the ad was reminiscent of the famous Lyndon Johnson ad showing a young girl picking at a daisy before an ominous-sounding announcer counts down from 10-to-one towards a nuclear apocalypse, Penn said:

This is a positive ad. Very soft images. Not at all like that ad. Soft images. It poses a question to people -- who do they want to pick up the phone? Let them make their own judgment. This is a spot that puts [the question] in the hands of voters.

It scarcely needs to be pointed out, of course, that the ad implicitly suggests that you can't trust Obama to answer that red phone while your children sleep.


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POSITIVE my ASS!!

NOTHING good EVER happens when the phone RINGs at THREE friggin AM in the morning!!

Everyone KNOWS that!!

it is death, an accident, jail, or some human frightening experience.

Mark Penn is a liar, just like Hillary.

"NOTHING good EVER happens when the phone RINGs at THREE friggin AM in the morning!!"

I don't know about that. Back when I got phone calls at three in the morning, they almost involved someone scoring pot.

kenny,
you think illegal activity is a good thing? Or is it the 3 am part that is good to you as you are up and needing someone to hold a convo with?

Yes to both.

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Mark Penn... a great advertisement himself...

what's the point of even making this comment?

The infamous Johnson ad also used "soft images." Can't get any softer than the flower and the little girl.

But BAM did it ever pack a wallop! And was almost universally despised as unfair.

It is hard to determine which is more disastrous, Hillary's would-be national security staff or her current campaign staff.

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Maybe Penn is high on COCAINE!

Mark Penn's career is over. Clinton's presidential aspirations are as well. You can tell, because at this point, they are still letting him out from under his bridge to speak to the press.

But it worked!

Why is Penn still talking anyway?

"It's 3 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep," the announcer says. "But there's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing — something's happening in the world...
The people of the Middle East have passed the hat around to buy the good old US of A flowers for their birthday. They just misplaced the address...
Who do you want answering that phone.
YOU DECIDE.

Sounds positive to me.

HIL-ar-ious

a laugh a minute ... i wish he'd talk more really.

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And white is black, and up is down, ignorance is strength and we've always been at war with Eurasia. Sound like newspeak to me! Sound like anyone we know?

What a slimy bastard. Of course he defends it, his Rovian ass is who came up with it!

We should also remember this quote from Bill Clinton back in 2004, when he attacked Republicans who were using fearmongering against Democrats (before his wife took up that hobby):

"If one candidate is trying to scare you, and the other’s trying to get you to think; if one is appealing to your fears, and the other is appealing to your hopes - it seems to me you ought to vote for the person who wants you to think and hope."

http://thepersonalispolitical.tumblr.com/post/27622528

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it should also be pointed out that the phone RINGS SIX TIMES before Hillary freaking answers it. Was she asleep in the Oval Office? Or just finishing up reading My Pet Goat?

HAHAHA, great point! :P

well, she had to dress up, how could she answer the phone without her pantsuits on?

bwaaaaahahahahaHAHAHAHA

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Hmmmm..... The fact that they need to "explain" their ad suggests to me that the ad is not self-explanatory.

I'm no ad specialist, but this suggests the ad is not working!

♪♪♪

Which, as we know, is "excellent news for Hilllary!"

The ad is self explanatory, but since it's obviously not working, they have to try to spin it another way.

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I have learned that when I see a sentence which includes "intriguing" to modify something said by Mark Penn, that a more precise word is "stupid".

It's always positive when this fat pig has a lump of baloney in his mouth.

Will you people stop whining? If you want him to answer that phone, vote for him. But if it turns out the people of Texas want her to answer it, don't whine about it.

Maybe you should ask Hillary to stop whining. Obama hasn't complained once, so far as I can tell.

And that's what we want in a Democrat this year. Not a person who will play the victim, but an aggressor who will hit the Republicans first, with the truth, with clarity, and with reason. He's got the Clinton camp on their heels, and soon he will have McCain on his heels.

Come on, Dems, look at what is happening here. Obama is our guy. It's getting clearer every day.

Indeed, a good point. But that's not what the ad is about. The ad is about fear- 3 in the morning, your kids safe in bed, just when you thought you were safe... the call comes. There are other clever ways to make the case of foreign policy judgment. This was not clever.

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Whining is complaining that they didn't know the deal with the Texas primary/caucus (even though it was no secret). Whining is threatening a lawsuit in Texas to stop the caucus results from getting published on Tuesday night. Whining is saying that you always get the first question during debates. Please, Billy, you're getting boring with this "whining" meme. Look to your own candidate's campaign and its supporters for some heavy-duty whining before you start pointing fingers.

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It's not so much "whining", as it is "celebrating". There's a difference, although I'm not sure you're ready to understand it.

Seriously, is this really Billy Glad, or did he leave himself logged in, and his child has started posting?

Obama is being attacked by Hillary, McCain and George Bush simultaneously, and he's doing fine.

kjoe,

exactly.

The good news is, most Democrats will see this ad for what it is, and vote for Obama.

I'm beginning to think Penn is an Obama plant. No one can really be this stupid... can they?

The good news is, most Democrats will see this ad for what it is, and vote for Obama.

I'm beginning to think Penn is an Obama plant. No one can really be this stupid... can they?

Yes.....The Person who hired him, and has not fired him!

"No one can really be this stupid... can they?"

SCMadden, I'm guessing you've never worked at a Washington, D.C., public relations, lobbying or polling firm. This town is full of morons like Mark Penn who think they're God's gift to the world, get paid obscene amounts of money, and whose only real talent is convincing clueless clients to hire them. They're scam artists who bring nothing to the table other than salesmanship while younger aides do the real work. When you leave them to their own devices, as Penn apparently is on the Hillary campaign, their colossal incompetence is exposed for all the world to see.

Another point: When you look at who is running their campaigns, it is clear that both Hillary and McCain would have White Houses staffed by villagers -- amoral, cynical D.C. lobbyist types like Mark Penn, Rick Davis and Charlie Black. You don't see those types on the Obama campaign. So when Obama talks about changing the culture of Washington, I really do think it's not just about rhetoric; I suspect his White House will be made up of people who aren't and don't want to be part of the K Street/government revolving door. Based on who's running his campaign, there is at least hope this will be the case.

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!!! FOR HILLARY!!!!

!!!HILLMENTUM™!!!!

Looks like you've started a movement of your own, Idiotic :)

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!!! FOR HILLARY!!!!

Oh, and I'm changing my middle name to Hussein for the duration. Pass it on.

Obama seems to be holding up quite well under the Right Wing Attack Machine.

This is sort of fun, Senator Clinton. What next?

I suggest flag burning.

Senator Clinton actually has verifiable experience dealing with the grave and gathering threat of burning flags.

I look forward to the ad.

The phone is clearly black.

Hey, anyone out there from Texas and Ohio? The Clinton campaign thinks you're stupid. Please prove them wrong on Tuesday and spare the Democratic party from another six weeks of this ridiculousness before Pennsylvania. Thanks.

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From the Politico:

I would encourage you on March 5 to call Sen. Clinton at 3 a.m. and ask that question."

Obama spokesperson, when asked if Clinton should drop out if she loses in Ohio and Texas...

As a woman post GWB, this is a real possibility and I'd rather let it be her to answer it.

geez this is reality we're talking about and GWb has left us a dangerous country.

I lived in NC when Jesse Helms aired the affirmative action ad in his race against Harvey Gantt. I lived in GA when Saxby Chambliss ran his soft-on-terrorism ads against triple-amputee war hero Max Cleland. I live in Texas now.

This might be the worst of the three ads.

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This might be the worst of the three ads.

The worst? Can you elaborate? Worst because it will be so ineffective or worst because it will be more effective than the Helms/Chambliss offerrings, or worst because it's so obviously fear-mongering, or worst because it's so stupid?

There are a lot of ways something can be the worst.

Now we know how Hillary is 'change you can xerox'...she just flips out former political ads as re-treads for her campaign. Here is the original narration from the Mondale redphone ad.


"The most awesome, powerful responsibility in the world lies in the hand that picks up this phone. The idea of an unsure, unsteady, untested hand is something to really think about. This is the issues of our times. On March 20, vote as if the future of the world is at stake. Mondale. This president will know what he's doing, and that's the difference between Gary Hart and Walter Mondale."


Guess what?

Roy Spence, who has been advising the Clinton campaign, was also the media advisor for the 1984 Mondale campaign, and helped to create the red-phone ad.


Smartasses like myself will point out that Hart was leading Reagan in polling...

Not that that means anything, but it's interesting.

Did the Mondale ad help him win the nomination?

Asked if he was a total shitweasel, Mark Penn said, "No, I'm a great consultant. Soft hands. Soft and well-moisturized. Just look at all the things that I've done. I mean, give people the facts and let them decide."

::::::THREAD CORRUPTION::::::::


Obama picked up three new super delegates today, bringing the Super Delegate tracking total to Clinton 254, Obama 207. Notably, this puts Obama over 1,400 total delegates (Obama 1,401, Clinton 1,291) -- combining supers with the Hard Count, which stands at Obama 1,194, Clinton 1,037. Obama has picked up 37 superdelegates since Super Tuesday; Clinton has lost a net of six.

::::: DONE Corrupting ::::::::::::

Heckuva job Penny!

Maybe if Hillary wins, she'll appoint you head of FEMA.

Will someone get Icke's memo to Clinton telling her
Penn is a double agent working for Grendel,
the son of a son of son of Cain?

So it's not fair to ask who's manning (womanning) the White House, who well answer crises?

Are you people fucking insane?

Look, I had a wonderful reunion with an old friend on 9/10, we had an amazing conversation on all sorts of topics, and we woke up the next morning and absolutely everything was turned on its head, and it's been there ever since.

Look, it's plain and simple - do you want Obama or Clinton handling crises. Just answer yes or no, don't act outraged. Someone has to do it. Decide your pick. Cole bombing, WTC 1 or 2, invasion of Afghanistan, occupation of Iranian embassy, Lockerbie bombing, bombing of base in Saudi Arabia. Somebody has to deal with this and it may not be easy.

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Well, it is positively lame, there is that.

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Maybe Team Billary has hired Bill Kristol as a campaign consultant.

I flipped to FAUX News during a commercial the night of the Ohio debate and Kristol was suggesting this very line of attack for Clinton. In fact he was pretty direct about saying she needed to question his fitness to to be CIC and suggested a good dose of fear. Maybe Kristol is the new Dick Morris.

On the other hand, maybe Penn was watching the same show and thought, "Oh, what the hell, I don't have any other ideas."

Hey SpongeBob! It's Opposite Day in the Clinton campaign!

I'm starting to believe that Mark Penn is really Karl Rove in a costume.

Actually, Rove has HIGHER ethical standards, if you can believe it. He sold out of his PR firm before joining the Bush campaign in 2000. Penn is still chairman of Burson-Marsteller, still making money off their representation of union-busters and the Blackwaters of the world.

Man, Madison Avenue needs to get an immediate contract over to Will.i.am. Another classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghSJsEVf0pU

This guy knows how to do it.

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Ring. Ring ...Well, well Mark Penn, if this is a positive ad pray tell why it takes Hillary six rings to pick up the phone? Avoiding being first?

Mark Rove Penn, another Republican operative working for his Republican candidate.

It is also a plagiarized ad!! Oh noes!!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/29/155558/168/352/466445

If I might say, I think that to focus on this story misses the really brilliant line which Penn trotted out today. Over on Marc Ambinder's blog one can find a memo asking how Obama's campaign can go forward if they do not win TX, OH, VT and RI this Tuesday. In other words, anything short of a sweep of all four states indicates that democrats have reservations about Obama.

Now how's that for spin?

Thankfully for Democracy, this is not a Championship that boils down to a single-elimination game.

Looks like Hillary will drag this thing to the Convention, where Obama will still be ahead in delegates, and will still win the nomination.

It scarcely needs to be pointed out, of course, that the ad implicitly suggests that you can't trust Obama to answer that red phone while your children sleep.

I thought the ad was asking the viewer to decide who they would rather have picking up the phone.

The Johnson ad from the 60s implied that nuclear war was more likely under Goldwater than Johnson.

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