The Gullible Public, err … Pundit

gul·li·ble [guhl–uh-buhl]
–adjective
easily deceived or cheated.
—Related forms
gul·li·bil·i·ty, noun
gul·li·bly, adverb
—Synonyms credulous, trusting, naive, innocent, simple, green.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

I try hard not to meet that definition. Especially in politics. Especially when it comes to the Clintons. But …

Mark Penn may be a fine individual. He may be brilliant. I’ve never met him. But he clearly screwed up when he tried to meet with Colombian officials about the U.S.-Colombian trade deal in his role as the head of Burson-Marsteller and somehow differentiate that from his role as the guru of the Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) campaign for president.

When the Monday headlines screamed about the campaign cutting him loose, it appeared that meeting was the political bridge to nowhere. No one wanted to defend it.

The campaign even leaked stories of supposed outrage by the former first couple. Plus, the move made political sense. The upcoming Pennsylvania Democratic primary will largely be fought over economic issues. There is not a lot of support for free-traders among Democrat primary voters in the Keystone State. This revelation could not have come at a worse time for the campaign, and they needed to kiss up to the union powers and fast.

To borrow from former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry when it comes to the Clintons, we do, indeed, need to parse the statement. Now it turns out that “fired” may not mean fired after all.

The fine print of the statement by the Clinton campaign said, “Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign.” However, most observers simply read that as a throwaway line to help him save face.

Turns out it was just another Clintonian move to make a lot of noise but change little. One Clinton insider told the New York Daily News that Penn — whose firm has billed the campaign $14 million — is “very much still in the loop” and even participated in a high-level campaign conference call just the day after he was supposedly fired.

Sometimes after being sucked in by the Clintons I feel like the Chris Farley character who is doing a poor job of interviewing Paul McCartney on “Saturday Night Live.”

“Idiot!!! So stupid!!!”